Noise Gate Vs. Tom Tom's

[BDiNkY30]

I am tracking drums in a decently sounding room. They are very well made expensive drums and the toms sound beautiful. I am not very educated in Noise gates. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me how to Gate a rack and a floor tom so that they do not ring in the background of my drum tracks. I have been experimenting but cannot seem to get the toms to release naturally.... they just cut and it sounds very unnatural.

 

[mattr]

In this situation I might actually suggest using a compressor. Set quite a long attack time that lets through the transients and some of the "body" of the tom, but then with heavy compression following that lowers the level of the decay.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Some gates are just abrupt cut-off gates, and there's not much you can do other than experiment to find the best compromise gate level where it is high enough to still silence what you want it to, but is low enough to sound the most innocuous. Sometimes there is no good compromise.

Other gates, however, offer the option of soft gating where the gating is not abrupt but rather a more natural slope up and down, usually user-adjustable not unlike the attack and release settings on a compressor. Something like that may be better suited to your needs if you can't find that good compromise level on a hard gate.

G.

 

[cavedog101]

Next to compression, gates are the hardest thing to learn to use in the toolbox. It takes a really good circuit design as well to create that natural release. Its usually fairly expensive hardware that you'll find these things in. I dont use the software gates so I cant comment on their usablity.

There is, however, a really inexpensive solution to your problem that will actually sound much better than anything electronic you can add to the signal.

Use tuning. Its simple really. Tune the toms so they arent in the sympathetic over-ring tunings of the kik and the snare. It may take a while but once you get it it will be a skill that you can use in any studio anywhere and yield great results everytime. And you wont lose the great tone of the well made drums. You're simply giving a nod to the physics of the room and the drum kit.This where great drum sounds have always been achieved.

Besides, a little over-ring makes for a more natural sound and if you're in a DAW, you can always go back after the recordings' done and simply pencil out any tones up to the strike and leave in the natural decay for as long as it fits the tempo of the song.

 

[TheChikenMaster]

If you could adjust the release on the gate slow it down. And maybe add some verb to give it a bit of a tail.

 

[noisewreck]

You should be able to set the release time on the gate to cut off gradually once it hits the threshold. Also some gates have Hysteresis control, which prevents gate chatter (i.e. having the gate open and close rapidly when your audio hovers right around the threshold for a while).

Alternatively, try a downward expander. They usually sound more musical.

 

[Waltz Mastering]

Another option, if there aren't a lot of toms is to do editing, volume automation and adsr envelope by hand.

 

[YorkshireTrippe]

I often use gated reverb on toms, it gives them a bit more "ring" in the mix and you can get a much better control over how quickly they fade away using the release on the post-reverb noise gate.

 

[TexRoadkill]

A little bit of ring in drums usually isn't that big of a deal. Sometimes a bit of low cut on the toms will clean all that up. I usually end up manually editing the tom tracks if I need them muted for most of the song. Gates can be great but they aren't always all that neccessary. If it sounds better without them then leave them out.

 

[moresound]

HEY BRIAN........I mean cavedog101. I love your new avatar.

 

[Myr]

I often feel that gating removes some of the attack. I'd rather just use some clever editing and fading, perhaps use some EQ'd reveb if you want more ringing without having hear the bleed.