Editing Noise gate (section)

==Recording usages==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2017}}
A good example of time-controlled noise gating is the well-known [[gated reverb]] effect heard on the drums on the [[Phil Collins]] hit single "[[In the Air Tonight]]", created by engineer-producer [[Hugh Padgham]], in which the powerful reverberation added to the drums is cut off by the noise gate after a few [[milliseconds]], rather than being allowed to decay naturally. This can also be achieved by: sending the ''dry'' snare signal to the reverb (or other process) unit, inserting a noise gate on the path of the reverb signal and connecting the snare sound to the [[Side chain (sound)|side chain]] of the gate unit. With the gate unit set to ''external sidechain'' (or ''external key''), the gate will respond to the snare signal level and ''cut off'' when that has decayed below the threshold, not the reverberated sound.

It is a common production trick to use spurious combinations of side chain inputs to control longer, more sustained sounds. For example, a [[hi-hat]] signal can be used to control a sustained [[Sound synthesis|synthesized]] sound to produce a [[rhythm]]ic melodic (or harmonic) signal which is perfectly in time with the hi-hat signal. A good example of this use of the device can be found on the [[Godley & Creme]] [[concept album]] ''[[Consequences_(Godley_%26_Creme_album)|Consequences]]''. The album's story required the creation of a number of special [[sound effects]] that would convey the impression of [[natural disasters]].

For the "Fire" sequence, Godley and Creme used a noise gate, triggered by the sound of multitracked voices, that created the voice of a raging [[bushfire]]. During the recording of this segment, each time the voice signal began, it triggered the noise gate to open up another channel, which carried a pre-recorded loop of a crackling sound (created by overdubbing the sound of [[Bubble Wrap]] being popped in front of a microphone). The combined voices and crackling created an eerie and quite convincing ''talking fire'' effect.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}}

"One thing I did that I think gave the album a certain sound was I Kepexed everything," said [[Alan Parsons]], engineer on [[Pink Floyd]]'s ''[[The Dark Side of the Moon]]''. "Kepexes were very early noise gates, and we Kepexed not only going from the first [[Multitrack recording|sixteen-track]] to the second, but also on the [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mix]]. They were quite revolutionary at the time and they had a very individual sound. It was very effective on the heartbeats. That was a kick drum, and you hear the noise being modulated by a noise gate, which is an integral part of that sound."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Mark|last=Cunningham|title=The other side of the moon|magazine=Making Music|date=January 1995|page=19}}</ref>

===Multi-latch gating===<!--[[Multi-latch gating]] redirects directly here-->
The invention of a technique, called '''multi-latch gating''' by Jay Hodgson, common in classical music recordings for years, is often credited to producer [[Tony Visconti]], whose use on David Bowie's "[["Heroes" (David Bowie song)|Heroes]]" may have been the first in rock.<ref name="Hodgson">Hodgson, Jay (2010). ''Understanding Records'', p.&nbsp;89. {{ISBN|978-1-4411-5607-5}}.</ref> Visconti recorded Bowie's vocals in a large space using three microphones placed 9 inches (23&nbsp;cm), 20 feet (6.1&nbsp;m), and 50 feet (15.2&nbsp;m) away, respectively. A different gate was applied to each microphone so that the farther microphone was triggered only when Bowie reached the appropriate volume, and each microphone was muted as the next one was triggered.

"Bowie's performance thus grows in intensity precisely as ever more ambience infuses his delivery until, by the final verse, he has to shout just to be heard....The more Bowie shouts to be heard, in fact, the further back in the mix Visconti's multi-latch system pushes his vocal tracks [dry audio being perceived as front and ambience pushing audio back in the mix], creating a stark metaphor for the situation of Bowie's doomed lovers shouting their love for one another over the Berlin wall."<ref name="Hodgson"/>

===Trance gating===<!--[[Trance gating]] and [[Envelope following]] redirect directly here-->
{{see also|Envelope follower#Audio}}
'''Envelope following''' (also called '''trance gating''' because of its prevalence in [[trance music]]) is the use of a gate on a track additional to the one it attenuates, so called because the latter's amplitude profile will then match or closely follow that of the first. Envelope following may be used to create syncopated rhythms or to tighten sloppy performances. For example, a synth pad may play whole notes while keyed to a guitar or percussion part. Examples include DJ Nexus's "Journey into Trance" (1:11), Chic's "Everybody Dance", and Diana Ross's "Upside Down".<ref>Hodgson, Jay (2010). ''Understanding Records'', p. 90–92. {{ISBN|978-1-4411-5607-5}}.</ref>