scorpio01169 said:
not practical though...if you take the time and set your gate at the proper threshold then you minimize the need to basically what we call mute automation......you have to remember the idea behind recording is not to get the job done quickly without learning and using the tools. but to take your time using the tools to get the job done. yes you still want to automate your fades and mutes for a smooth mixdown but use learn how to use tools to help you get closer to the better mix.
You're absolutely right, it's not about speed, it's about quality. You'll notice, in fact, I said that gating is in fact faster than automation; assuming the noise level stays relatively constant, one just needs to set the threshold once and that's it.
It's not that I don't know how to use gates, I've been using them for a couple of decades now.
I guess it at least partially comes down to different styles. I use levels automation extensively in my mixing style in general, including for this task (which I, being one of the "we" of engineers, also refer to as mute automation
), and almost never use gates on guitars except for special processing effects. It'm not saying that's a better or worse way, just that it's an alternative; and for my mixing style it's an alternative that flows naturally; since I use automation in my mixing extensively already anyway, it's a no-brainer for me to grab a handle on the rubber band and slide it to the slope I want (more on that in a minute.) Now for the guy who just compresses every track and then stacks the compressed tracks like layers in a lasagna, and for whom automation is used only for arrangement fades, gating may procedurely be the more organic route.
But even if you take workflow out of the equation, I often just plain prefer the flexibility and sound I can get out of automation versus gating. The ability to, if I chose, start the down slope
before (or even sometimes after) the noise threshold is hit and to graphically set the slopes however I want is - for me - much more powerful and flexibile than setting a static threshold and envelope on a gate. It's like having a seperate gate on every riff, without the resource usage.
But it's of course, not for all tracks and instruments. A snare drum track would be pretty silly not to gate; trying to automate the envelope around each and every snare hit would indeed be impractical. And because of the nature of the snare as an instrument, the flexibility of automation envelopes isn't anywhere near as necessary - if at all. But for something like lead electric guitar or other electric guitar which is often arranged more in measures and riffs than individual beats, the envelope automation is quite managable and can lead to more creative and organic results than a static gate setting can.
IMHO, YMMV, LSMFT, ETC.
G.