# Gate

**In the desktop app.** Gate is a device of the desktop app, arriving in its beta; the web studio does not have it. The examples on this page are made with a reference version of the effect, applied to sound from the studio's engine: they show what each control does, and the device itself may differ a little in character.

## What it is for {#gate}

A **gate** turns a track down when it falls quiet and opens again when it gets loud. Whatever was sounding between the notes (the hum of an amplifier, the room, the tail of a reverb, the other drums leaking into a microphone) is closed out, and only the notes themselves are left.

Reach for it when there is something unwanted in the gaps of a part. On drums it also makes a kit tighter and drier than it was recorded.

<AudioSet title="Drums in a long room" hint="The room is still there on each hit and gone between them." :examples="[['gate-before', 'No gate'], ['gate-after', 'Gated']]" />

## Threshold {#gate-threshold}

The level a sound has to reach to open the gate, in decibels. Set it just above the noise you want gone. Too low, and the gate never closes. Too high, and quiet notes are cut off along with the noise.

<AudioSet title="Threshold" :examples="[['gate-threshold-low', 'Low: almost always open'], ['gate-threshold-high', 'High: only the loudest hits get through']]" />

## Attack {#gate-attack}

How quickly the gate opens. Fast keeps the very start of a drum hit. A slower opening softens the start of each note, which suits sounds that begin gently.

## Hold {#gate-hold}

How long the gate stays open after the sound has dropped below the threshold. It keeps the gate from flickering shut in the middle of a note that wavers around the threshold.

<AudioSet title="Hold" :examples="[['gate-hold-short', 'None'], ['gate-hold-long', 'Long']]" />

## Release {#gate-release}

How quickly the gate closes once the hold has passed. Fast, and the sound is cut short, tight and dry. Slow, and it fades out, so the end of each note sounds natural.

<AudioSet title="Release" :examples="[['gate-release-short', 'Fast: cut off'], ['gate-release-long', 'Slow: fades away']]" />

## Range {#gate-range}

How far the track is turned down when the gate is closed. At full range it is silent. With a small range it is only turned down a little, which hides noise without the sudden silence that draws attention to a gate.

<AudioSet title="Range" :examples="[['gate-range-soft', 'Small: turned down a little'], ['gate-range-full', 'Full: silent between hits']]" />

## The reduction meter {#gate-reduction}

The meter at the top of the device shows how far the gate is closed at each moment. Open, it rests at zero; closed, it shows the Range. Watch it while setting the Threshold: it should fall between the notes and snap back to zero on each one, without flickering in the middle of a note.