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Noise gates are an essential part of your mixing and mastering toolkit. They are best used when you want to clean up a mix, remove background noise or hum, hiss or other sounds that interfere with the clarity of the signal. It is best to use noise gate plugins before any EQ filters in order to preserve the frequency response but it can also be used after effects such as reverb for creative sound design purposes. There are many great free and paid options available. In this article we’re going to cover the 11 best noise gate plugins available right now!
Here is the complete list of the best noise gate plugins updated for 2023:
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- FabFilter Pro-G
- Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey
- Waves C1 Compressor/Gate
- Infected Mushroom Gatekeeper
- kiloHearts Gate
- Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate
- Denise Audio Poltergate
- Volume Shaper 6
- Image Line Gross Beat
- AlexHilton A1TriggerGate (FREE)
- Venomode Complexer 2
Contents
What Is A Noise Gate?
A noise gate is an audio effect that lets sound through if the sound is louder than a certain level – this is called the threshold. If the sound is lower than the set level (threshold), then it won’t let the sound through.
They can stop unwanted background noise, hum, hiss and even mic bleed from causing too much of an issue, opening only at a certain threshold, so that the main parts of your audio can come through, but can make your audio much cleaner.
Gate plugins are fantastic to use when you want your drums snappier, and used in conjunction with transient shapers, can really help things to pop a little bit more.
You can also use gates for the classic Eric Prydz reverb snare, so gates can be used creatively for sound design too, and are not just a mixing & mastering tool to clean audio up.
How Do Noise Gates Work?
Noise Gates are usually controlled by a combination of parameters.
Threshold controls the level, at which your Gate will kick in. When the sound is above the threshold, the gate is open, letting sound through. If it’s below, the gate closes and no sound goes through..
As a lot of effects like this, you also get an Attack and Release interface, as well as Hold.
Attack controls the speed at which your gate kicks in.
Release sets the length of time your gate will fade out for.
Hold controls how long your gate remains in it’s closed state, before checking for new transients.
Some Gates also feature a Range control, which sets the amount by which the signal is reduced, when the gate is shut.
Noise Gates are in general, extremely useful effects, that can be essential to achieving clean mixes, when using distorted and rough sounds.
If you’ve ever dealt with unpleasant hiss or hum in your audio, don’t feel alone, you’re not the first, or the last person experiencing this.
Getting rid of these unwanted elements can be tough, but with the help of a noise gate or expander eliminating these issues can be quite simple. The choices of noise gates on the market are nearly endless, so choosing what fits your production style the best can be a difficult task.
Do I Really Need A Noise Gate Plugin?
Noise Gate plugins are fantastic both for sound design, mixing and mastering. They’re an essential tool for any audio engineer and music producer – especially if you’re recording instrument!
A noise gate can help to clean up your audio and remove background noise, and is especially useful in a studio environment for recording, or for mixing and mastering. If you don’t do much of these two things, it might not be worth getting a paid gate plugin.
There are lots of free options out there you can use first and most DAWs like Ableton 11, Logic & Cubase will have gate plugins built in.
So, before you invest, take a look into whether you need a paid gate plugin. They’re very useful for some people, but for others they’re just not worth it. It all comes down to what you need and how
1. FabFilter Pro-G
FabFilter's Pro-G is the best noise gate plugin out there. It's simple to use, easy to pick up, and damn powerful. Pro-G comes with 6 different algorithms as well as mono, stereo and mid/side processing.
- FabFilter Pro-G offers highly customizable dynamics processing, allowing for precise control over audio levels, transient shaping, and envelope shaping.
- It is known for its transparent and natural-sounding compression and gating, making it suitable for a wide range of audio sources.
- The user-friendly interface with interactive visual feedback enables easy and effective adjustment of parameters, helping both beginners and advanced users.
- Pro-G provides advanced sidechain features, such as EQ-based sidechain and external sidechain input, for creative and targeted processing.
- Different algorithms for compression and gating offer flexibility in achieving various sonic characteristics, making it adaptable to different musical styles.
- It might be considered relatively expensive compared to some other dynamics processors, which could impact purchasing decisions for budget-conscious users.
- While the interface is user-friendly, the vast array of features might be overwhelming for those new to dynamics processing.
- FabFilter Pro-G is available in VST, VST3, AU, AAX, and AudioSuite formats, but compatibility can still vary depending on your specific DAW and system.
- Like many high-quality plugins, Pro-G's advanced features might require more CPU resources, potentially affecting performance in resource-intensive projects.
- While the interface is designed for ease of use, mastering all of its advanced features and options may require some time and experimentation.
Pro G is made by the awesome FabFilter, who are known for their incredible, industry standard mixing utility plugins like Pro-Q3.
FabFilter’s Pro-G is the best noise gate plugin out there. It’s simple to use, easy to pick up, and damn powerful. Pro-G comes with 6 different algorithms as well as mono, stereo and mid/side processing.
In addition to all that, it’s also light on the CPU. Pro-G works as both a noise gate and an expander, and modes are switched between very easily.
What we like the best about Pro-G, is it’s lightning fast workflow. Whatever you might be trying to accomplish with your gate, can be done in just seconds.
Combine that with a bunch of really powerful presets, and you’ll have all your gating needs met in one single awesome plugin.
Pro-G is available in VST, AU, AAX plugin formats for both Windows and Mac.
2. Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey
Gatey Watey is a user-friendly gate plugin with a standout frequency selective attenuation feature for natural and precise audio gating, suitable for various applications including reducing bleed in drums and guitars.
- The standout feature of Gatey Watey is its ability to selectively attenuate specific frequencies when the input drops below the threshold. This allows for more precise and natural gating, making it useful for situations like reducing drum bleed without affecting the desired sound.
- The frequency selective attenuation feature can help maintain the natural characteristics of the audio being processed. For instance, it can let the sustain of an electric guitar ring out while removing unwanted background noise.
- Gatey Watey can be used for a wide range of audio sources, including drums, guitars, and more. Its frequency-selective approach adds to its versatility.
- The simple interface and lack of a steep learning curve make Gatey Watey accessible to users of all skill levels. This can be particularly helpful for beginners who might be intimidated by complex audio processing tools.
- The presence of a lookahead feature can further enhance the gating process by anticipating audio events before the
- While the frequency selective attenuation is a powerful feature, Gatey Watey might not offer the same level of advanced controls and customization options that some other gate plugins provide.
- As mentioned, the plugin might not work natively on M1 Macs due to compatibility issues. Users of these systems might need to use it under Rosetta emulation, which could potentially impact performance.
- Advanced users who require in-depth control over gating parameters might find Gatey Watey lacking in terms of features like sidechain inputs, complex envelope shaping, or advanced filtering.
- Gatey Watey seems to be designed primarily for gating applications. Users seeking a more multifunctional audio processing tool might need to supplement it with other plugins.
- While the plugin supports various formats, compatibility might still be an issue with some digital audio workstations (DAWs), especially if the plugin is not well-optimized for specific environments.
Gatey Watey is as fun to use as it name might suggest. Boz Digital Labs’ amazing gate plugin is frequency dependent. This essentially means that you can gate separate frequencies of your sound. You can choose between low, mid and high modes to accomplish this.
As different as it is from a normal noise gate plugin, Gatey Watey retains the standard gate parameters. So, using it is no different than any other gate out there.
The UI is simple, but inspiring, and the looks alone make us want to use this plugin quite often.
Probably the most unique of the Gate plug ins on our list, Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey is an incredibly fun and creative effect, which can be pushed to great lengths.
If you already have a great Gate plugin in your noise reduction arsenal, trust me, you need this one as well!
Gatey Watey is available in VST, AU, AAX plugin formats for both Windows and Mac.
3. Waves C1 Compressor/Gate
The Waves C1 Compressor is a versatile audio compression plugin featuring user-friendly controls, multiple compression modes, sidechain capability, and a graphical display for dynamic processing tasks, while its complexity and resource usage might require consideration.
- The C1 Compressor offers a wide range of compression possibilities, making it suitable for various audio sources like vocals, instruments, and mixes.
- The plugin's interface is well-designed and user-friendly, allowing both beginners and experienced engineers to easily understand and control its parameters.
- The C1 Compressor includes various compression modes, such as peak, RMS, and hybrid, providing flexibility in shaping the dynamics of audio.
- It features sidechain input, enabling you to use an external audio source to trigger the compression, which is useful for tasks like ducking and pumping effects.
- The C1 Compressor includes an integrated gate/expander module, which can help in reducing unwanted noise and improving the overall clarity of the audio.
- The graphical display shows the input and gain reduction levels over time, helping you visualize the compression's effect on the audio signal.
- While the interface is user-friendly, the plugin's numerous options and parameters might be overwhelming for beginners or those looking for a simple compression solution.
- Depending on the settings and your system's capabilities, the C1 Compressor can be resource-intensive, potentially affecting your computer's performance, especially when using multiple instances.
- Despite the user-friendly design, mastering the plugin's advanced features and various compression modes might require a learning curve for some users.
- Waves plugins, including the C1 Compressor, are known for their quality but can be relatively expensive, which might be a consideration for budget-conscious users.
- Unlike some other compressors, the C1 Compressor doesn't emphasize vintage emulation, so if you're seeking a specific vintage compressor sound, you might need to look elsewhere.
- Waves plugins typically require a DAW or host application to run, which means you can't use them as standalone applications.
Compatibility: Win, Mac, AU, AAX, VST, VST3, 64-bit
A true production workhorse, the Waves C1 is an impressively versatile production tool. The C1 features compression, expansion, gating as well as equalization functions. Split into three modules, these effects can be used separately, or in tandem, to shape your sound even further.
All three options are extremely powerful processing modules in themselves, making the C1’s versatility something to keep in mind when choosing a gate plugin.
Split-band dynamics help you isolate the frequency ranges in your signal, for a more in-depth dynamics control. A look ahead feature also helps the C1 anticipate transients better.
Lastly, our favourite part of the C1 is it’s spectacular sidechaining. Your sidechain comes with it’s own filters, and equalizers, to help shape your tone further, as well as reduce muddiness.
All-in-all, if you’re just starting in production, the C1 is a powerhouse that you’ll get a lot of mileage out of.
The Waves C1 Compressor is available in VST, AU, AAX plugin formats for both Windows and Mac.
4. Infected Mushroom Gatekeeper
The Polyverse Infected Mushroom Bundle is a collection of creative audio processing plugins designed in collaboration with the electronic music duo Infected Mushroom, offering unique and innovative tools for sound manipulation and modulation effects.
- Gatekeeper excels at creating intricate rhythmic patterns and complex modulation effects, making it a go-to tool for producers looking to add unique textures and movement to their sounds.
- The plugin offers a wide array of modulation sources and destinations, allowing for complex modulation routings that can result in intricate and evolving audio effects.
- The LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) options are versatile, enabling producers to modulate parameters in diverse ways, from subtle tremolos to extreme gating effects.
- Gatekeeper enables users to design their own custom-shaped envelopes, which can be applied to volume modulation, allowing for precise and tailored control over the shaping of audio.
- The plugin comes with a variety of presets that showcase its capabilities and offer starting points for users to experiment and build upon.
- Gatekeeper's extensive modulation capabilities can lead to a steep learning curve for newcomers, requiring time and effort to fully grasp and utilize its potential.
- While it's excellent for sound design and creative gating effects, Gatekeeper might not be the best choice for traditional dynamic control tasks like transparent compression or leveling.
- Depending on the complexity of the modulations and the capabilities of your system, Gatekeeper can be resource-intensive, potentially affecting real-time performance and the ability to use multiple instances.
- While the plugin does come with presets, its uniqueness might make it challenging to find ready-made presets that fit specific music styles or projects.
- Price: Like many specialized plugins, Gatekeeper's price might be a consideration for producers on a budget, especially if its specific features are not regularly utilized.
- Integration with Workflow: Due to its distinctive nature, Gatekeeper might require more effort to integrate seaml
Polyverse’s Infected Mushroom line of plugins never fails to deliver. Gatekeeper, their volume modulation plugin, is as good as the rest.
Gatekeeper stands out from other standard gate designs with an interesting feature that includes eight envelopes, independent of each other. This essentially makes Gatekeeper, one of the best noise gate plug ins for rhythmic gating purposes.
While it can perform the same function as a standard noise gate plugin would, The rhythmical capabilities of Gatekeeper are intense.
The UI is also just as complex and eye-catching, as the other plug ins from Polyverse. But while it may look complex, the GUI is extremely easy to operate, and will get the job you need done in a matter of moments.
In addition to everything else that’s already awesome about it, Gatekeeper also comes with hundreds of presets for you to use.
Add to that gain, envelope and pan controls for every envelope, and you have a powerful and unique noise gate plug in.
Gatekeep is amazing for sound design purposes due to its sheer customisability.
Gatekeeper is available in VST, AU, AAX plugin formats for both Windows and Mac.
5. kiloHearts Gate
The Kilohearts Gate plugin combines user-friendly design with powerful gating capabilities, offering simplicity and reliability for effective audio gating tasks without unnecessary complexity.
- The Kilohearts Gate plugin, like other plugins from Kilohearts, is designed to be straightforward and user-friendly, making it accessible to users of all skill levels.
- Despite its simple interface, the Kilohearts Gate plugin is described as highly capable and powerful, suggesting that it can effectively perform gating tasks without unnecessary complexity.
- The plugin's design philosophy is centered around providing exactly what you need for gating tasks without additional bells and whistles, which can be advantageous if you're seeking a dedicated gate tool.
- Kilohearts is praised for offering a bundle of utility-focused plugins that are easy to use, implying that these plugins are great for streamlining various audio processing tasks.
- The plugin is highlighted for its reliability and zero-latency performance, which are crucial factors when working with audio processing plugins in real-time.
- The Kilohearts Gate plugin is available in multiple plugin formats (VST, AU, AAX) and works on bot
- While the plugin's simplicity can be a pro, it might also be a limitation for users who require advanced gating features or more complex routing and modulation options.
- The provided information does not elaborate on any advanced features that the Kilohearts Gate plugin might lack in comparison to more comprehensive gating plugins.
- The plugin seems to be designed primarily for basic gating tasks and might not be the best choice for users seeking a versatile dynamic processing tool with broader capabilities.
Just like the rest of kiloHearts blocks plugins, the Gate is designed with ease of use and simplicity in mind.
The simplicity of this plugin shouldn’t be taken at face value, since, this is a very capable and powerful gate plugin, with absolutely nothing in terms of added functionality. What you ask for, is what you get with the kiloHearts plugins.
We love the kiloHearts bundle, for the sole reason of it being full of extremely useful utility plugins designed for ease of use.
If you’re looking for reliability, ease of use, and zero latency, kiloHearts’ software is absolutely for you.
KiloHearts’ Gate is available in VST, AU, AAX plugin formats for both Windows and Mac.
6. Oxford Drum Gate
The Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate is a software plugin designed to effectively and transparently control the gating and noise reduction of drum tracks in audio production.
- Drum gating plugins like Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate are specifically designed to help control drum bleed, allowing you to isolate individual drum sounds and improve the overall clarity of drum recordings.
- By effectively reducing or eliminating unwanted bleed from adjacent drum sources, drum gating plugins can lead to a cleaner and more defined drum sound in a mix.
- Well-designed drum gating plugins can maintain the natural attack and decay of drum sounds while effectively removing undesirable background noise and bleed.
- Drum gating plugins typically offer a range of adjustable parameters such as threshold, attack, release, and sidechain filters, allowing you to tailor the gating effect to your specific drum recording.
- Drum gates can be automated to adapt to changes in drum dynamics throughout a track, ensuring consistent gating across different sections of a song.
- Understanding how to set the parameters correctly for drum gating can be a bit complex, particularly for users who are new to audio processing.
- Poorly configured settings can lead to gating artifacts, such as abrupt cutoffs or unnatural gating effects that could impact the overall quality of the drum sound.
- Depending on the plugin's features and your system's capabilities, a drum gating plugin can consume significant processing power, potentially affecting your DAW's performance.
- While drum gating plugins are specifically designed for drum recordings, they might not be suitable for other types of audio sources or dynamic processing tasks.
- Compatibility with different DAWs and systems could vary, so it's important to ensure the plugin works smoothly in your setup.
Drum Gate is a gating plugin by Sonnox, who produces several of the industry’s greatest mixing and mastering plug-ins, and produces a favourite of ours – the Oxford inflator.
Coming in with another plugin to add to the Oxford range, comes Drum Gate. This gate plugin has been designed with simplicity in mind, with a workflow to prevent annoyances like chatter, mis-detection, lost & choked ghost notes etc.
Drum Gate stands out from the rest of the gate plugins on this list, because it has been specifically designed for use on drums. At the heart of the plugin there’s an intelligent drum-hit detection algorithm that spots your audio’s transients by type.
You can choose from 3 different detection modes:
- Kick
- Tom
- Snare
Choosing any of these modes will detect what you have selected. So, if you choose Kick as your detection mode, Drum Gate will only detect the Kicks and do its best to keep the other sections of audio silent, only allowing the Kick through.
The enveloper is another useful feature of the Drum Gate. You may smooth out the decay of your gate parameters, letting your snares ring out longer or pull them in to have a snappier sound, rather than having the quick in and out characteristics of a regular gate.
There’s even a fantastic Levelling option, which allows you to make your drummer’s performance more consistent.
Sonnox’s Drum Gate is a fantastic tool, and if you’re looking for a drum specific gate, you should get it.
7. Denise Audio Poltergate
Poltergate is an audio plugin offering advanced transient processing, sidechain EQ, gating, and de-bleeding features for sound manipulation.
- Detection of the signal in maximum detail.
- New possibilities and time-saving.
- Unique feature to detect transients more easily.
- Perfect to get you going.
- Shape & colour to make your sound extra thick.
- Bleed shall not pass with these 3 simple controls.
- Listen isolated to what’s being gated.
- Reverse gate to hear what’s left out of the signal.
- Available for both Mac and Windows users, supporting various plugin formats (VST, VST3, AU, AAX).
- Compatible with Apple Silicon, taking advantage of the performance benefits of this architecture.
- Users might need time to familiarize themselves with the plugin's interface and features, especially if they're new to transient processing and gating.
- Depending on the complexity of the processing and the system's performance, the plugin might require a significant amount of CPU resources.
- If the plugin is not available for free, its cost could be a potential drawback, especially for users on a tight budget.
- The plugin's compatibility might be restricted to specific DAWs or operating system versions, potentially limiting its usability for some users.
- The quality of the transient processing, gating, and other effects might vary, and not all users might find the results to be satisfactory for their needs.
- The multitude of features and options might be overwhelming for beginners who are still learning about audio processing.
- Sound processing is subjective, and what works well for one user might not be suitable for another's preferences or projects.
Denise Audio make some of the greatest plugins for mixing and mastering, including one of our favourites – the Dragon Fire Compressor.
The Poltergate is a new addition to the Denise Audio range, and is a gating plugin, that fuses the powers of gating, transient design, and de-bleeding, into one neat little plugin unit, that has a fantastic interface and workflow.
There’s often been times I’ve been using a stock gate plugin to try and clean up drums, and it just hasn’t managed to quite do the job properly. Some of the bleed comes through, then runs through the compressor, gets squashed and sounds horrible as a result.
With Poltergate, you don’t have this issue.
Denise Audio have specifically designed an algorithm for their De-Bleed functionality, that is easily controlled by 3 knobs and retains all the punch & character of your drums, without the pesky bleed coming through.
The Curve option is also a fantastic feature, allowing you to apply gating to specific regions of the frequency spectrum, allowing you to pick and choose the parts and rhythms you want from a sample.
Poltergate also has a Dynamics option, that essential let’s you add punch and grit to your samples too.
One really cool option, is the ability to add a sidechain input, and reverse how the gate reacts. This gives you some incredible, pumping sidechain that adds so much feeling to your tracks. Using alongside the other controls you have, you can truly dial a precise, musical sound.
Poltergate is a fantastic gating plugin, and is definitely worth checking out.
8. Cableguys Volume Shaper 6
Cableguys VolumeShaper 6 is a versatile audio plugin that offers precise volume modulation and shaping, compatible with various digital audio workstations on both Windows and macOS.
- Precise volume modulation
- Wide compatibility (VST, AU, AAX)
- Versatile for sidechaining and modulation
- Extensive preset library
- Real-time waveform visualization
- MIDI triggering for tempo sync
- Multi-band processing support
- Learning curve
Cableguys Volume Shaper 6 is an incredible volume shaping tool, that can be used to get similar results as a gate, and can also be used for amazing, creative effects.
It’s more of an effect unit that houses a number of modules you can apply, including:
- Gating
- Multiband Sidechain
- Compression
- Envelope
- Stutter Effect
With its own unique level manipulation toolset, VolumeShaper 6 makes it easy to modify the volume of audio signals in precise detail. It’s quick and simple to use, but it packs a punch thanks to drawable volume LFOs and visual compressors on every band.
The LFO in VolumeShaper 6 is unlike any other, and has been made with workflow in mind.
With simple editing tools you can generate any wave shape imaginable, from precise level modifications to pulsing patterns. Sample accuracy allows you to lock LFOs to tempo or start a non-4/4 rhythm with MIDI notes.
Volume Shaper 6 also has some incredible mixing capability, with designer compression that you can draw into, and literally change the shape of your compression until it’s as punchy as you like, using a pen tool to control LFO curves.
Add to that specific frequency control, that gives you the ability to remove certain frequency ranges entirely, and total dynamic control that will shape your transients perfectly, and you have one hell of a gate plugin.
There’s so much stuff in Volume Shaper 6, we can’t include all of it in this article. If you want to learn more about it, check the link we left above. It’s a fantastic gating plugin.
9. Image Line Gross Beat
Gross Beat is a real-time audio manipulation plugin developed by Image-Line, used to create time and pitch-based effects like stutter, glitch, and time-warping on audio tracks.
- Gross Beat offers a wide range of preset time manipulation effects like stutter, scratch, and gate effects that can quickly add unique and creative textures to your audio.
- The plugin supports automation, allowing you to create evolving and dynamic effects over time. It also comes with a variety of built-in presets that you can use as a starting point.
- Gross Beat can be used on various types of audio sources, including synths, vocals, drums, and more. It's not limited to a specific type of sound, making it versatile for different music genres.
- Since it's a plugin, Gross Beat can be seamlessly integrated into your digital audio workstation (DAW) workflow, allowing you to apply its effects directly to your tracks.
- Gross Beat has a unique interface and can initially be a bit challenging to understand. It might take some time to grasp its various functions and controls.
- While Gross Beat offers a lot of creative potential, its depth can also be a drawback for those who prefer simpler effects. It might be overwhelming for beginners or users looking for quick and straightforward solutions.
- Depending on the complexity of the effect and the settings you're using, Gross Beat can be quite CPU-intensive. This could potentially lead to performance issues, especially on projects with many tracks or resource-intensive plugins.
- While Gross Beat can be used creatively, it doesn't offer the same level of control over individual audio slices or hits as some dedicated glitch or granular effects plugins might.
- Since Gross Beat offers a plethora of effects, it's easy to get carried away and overuse it in your productions, leading to a cluttered and chaotic sound if not used judiciously.
Gross Beat by Image Line is not a gate plugin for mixing and mastering, but is more for creative stutter, and glitch effects that add flair to your music. If you’ve watched any FL Studio tutorial on YouTube, you’ll know how useful Gross Beat is.
You can use it for anything from super creative stutter effects, to simple sidechaining, without the need for an input source & even simple gating.
It’s not a plugin we’d use for drum mixing, or cleaning up audio, but rather a creative effect that can morph samples into something entirely new. Use alongside re-sampling and it can be a great sound design tool.
Where it really shines is the glitch & stutter effects, giving you a 2 bar rolling buffer, that can be controlled by 36 different volume envelopes.
10. Alex Hilton A1TriggerGate (FREE)
A1TriggerGate is a VST plugin known for its versatile rhythmic gating effects and pattern customization capabilities in audio production.
- A1TriggerGate excels at creating intricate rhythmic gating patterns and effects.
- The plugin offers various preset patterns and the ability to create custom gating patterns.
- It supports synchronization to the host tempo, ensuring that the gating effects remain in sync.
- Parameter Control: A1TriggerGate provides parameters for adjusting attack, release, hold, and other gating parameters.
- Many versions of the plugin feature visual representations of gating patterns.
- Users can automate the plugin's parameters over time.
- Some users might find the plugin's interface and options overwhelming.
- Utilizing A1TriggerGate effectively might require a learning curve.
- Depending on the version and the settings used, the plugin could consume significant CPU resources.
- Compatibility with various DAWs and operating systems might be a concern.
- Extreme gating settings or fast rhythmic patterns can result in artifacts or changes to the original audio quality.
Lastly, we’ve saved the A1TriggerGate as dessert. This Alex Hilton plugin is truly amazing. The A1TriggerGate let’s you trigger audio with a gated sound. You can even adjust this further with the built-in settings.
A1TriggerGate is absolutely free to download. And, what makes that even more impressive is the included FX section, with access to effects like delay, distortion, filters, reverb, etc.
In addition to this, A1TriggerGate has a built-in pattern sequencer with 4 or 3 beats, divided into 16th notes and 8th note triplets respectively.
Lastly, adding to the already creative approach to Gate plugins, you get a randomize button. If you’ve read some of our reviews before, you’ll know how much we love randomize buttons.
Sometimes you’re just a bit lazy, and want to get results quickly, and easily, which is why having a randomization feature is awesome. It makes crazy things happen without having to do much. You can then resample these crazy things, and turn them into something even more.
All in all, the AlexHilton A1TriggerGate is an impressive free effects plugin. Whether you want to remove some background noise, or want to sequence a rhythmic gate pattern, you can do all of it with A1TriggerGate.
A1Triggergate is available for free in VST, AU, AAX plugin formats for both Windows and Mac.
11. Venomode Complexer 2
Complexer 2" by Venomode is a versatile audio dynamics processing plugin designed to enhance and shape the sound of audio tracks with a wide range of advanced compression and expansion features.
- Diverse audio processing capabilities, including saturation, distortion, compression, and modulation.
- Flexible routing with parallel and serial signal paths for intricate sound shaping.
- Graphic interface that visualizes signal flow and parameter modulation.
- Extensive modulation options with drag-and-drop modulation assignments.
- Host-synced LFOs, step sequencers, and envelope followers for rhythmic modulation.
- Automation and MIDI mapping for dynamic control.
- Initial complexity due to the wide range of features.
- Learning curve for understanding advanced modulation techniques.
- Potential CPU usage concerns, particularly with complex routing and modulation.
- Compatibility considerations with different digital audio workstations (DAWs) and systems.
- Possibility of audio artifacts or unintended sound alterations with extreme processing settings.
Venomode Complexer 2 is a multi-dynamics processor that includes compression, limiting and gating all in one beautiful plugin.
The cool thing about Complexer 2 that it has 3 modules, that have 6 different modes to choose from, giving you incredible control over your sound. So instead of just having a fixed compressor unit, or a fixed limiting unit, you can choose from 6 different modes, replacing a compressor with an expander, or limiter if you choose.
The 6 different modes are:
- Compressor
- Compressor (UP)
- Expander
- Expander (UP)
- Limiter
- Gate
These three stages can also be processed in a variety of ways, including parallel chaining, stereo and mid/side mixing, and multiband processing, as can be seen in the image below.
There’s a lot of control included with Complexer 2 with the dynamics processing, and you can control the basics you’d expect like attack, hold, release, threshold & even lookahead to capture transients early. On top of that there are 3 detection modes including: RMS, peak and average.
You can also control the frequency range of your effects, giving you the ability to gate certain frequencies or even compressor or limit them.
Complexer 2 is a fantastic gate unit, and an even better multi-dynamics plugin.
How To Use Noise Gates
Sadly, while gates are incredibly important, beginner producers rarely utilize it, if at all. Let’s look at some precise use cases and settings to use, to get the most out of this tool.
Noise Removal
Removing noise from a recording is going to be the first, and usually, the most frequent type of operating you’ll do with a Gate plug in.
No matter who you are or how long you’ve been recording for, a noisy recording is something everyone needs to deal with regularly.
Imagine you’re doing some field recording, and want to use a sample as a hi-hat, but the background noise is too loud or you’re getting some mic bleed. Using a noise gate, to catch the hi-hat transient, while removing everything else is a quick and easy way to fix unwanted noise in your tracks.
You can also use noise removal tools, like the amazing Acon Digital Acoustica, but sometimes a gate is better for this.
Make sure to set your threshold above the background noise, but below the main transient of your hi-hat. A great visual representation of your Gate envelope can be very helpful when doing this.
Additionally, if your gate has a look ahead feature, turn that on. Quicker and sharper sounds work better with more precision when gating, so a look-ahead feature can be a life-saver.
Rhythmic Gating
Secondly, a favorite of all EDM producers of the 2010’s, rhythmic gating.
Some gate plug ins allow for rhythmical gating, which will produce a rough and stuttering sound. While this isn’t great as an effect you’d leave on all the time, using rhythmic gating on impacts, or at points of tension in your music, can create intense transitions.
We love to drop a gate going in triplets on our synth bus, and automating it to turn on during a transition, or pulling focus back to the element. Whether you put it on your bass, drums, samples or a snare, rhythmic gating can be a very powerful, and interesting effect to add to your tracks.
Additionally, if your gate plugin has a “Range” control, you can control the intensity of the gating. Automating this further can create an awesome riser in your music.
Rhythmic Gating can be a bit finnicky at times, and just like mixing, or any other process in music production, takes a bit of time to get used to.
Once you become better at operating your noise gate plugin, you can be as precise as you like and create some awesome effects for your tracks.
Finishing Up
Here is the essential list of the best noise gate VST plugins updated for 2021:
- FabFilter Pro-G
- Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey
- Waves C1 Compressor/Gate
- Infected Mushroom Gatekeeper
- kiloHearts Gate
- AlexHilton A1TriggerGate (FREE)
Whether you’re looking to fix your drum spill, add a rhythmic flavor, or just remove some unwanted hum, a noise gate can be a great support for your tracks.
Adding some spice to a sample or fixing acoustics in real time, you probably want the best noise gate plugin you can find.
Hopefully this list has helped you find the best quality noise gate VST plugin for your daw production process.
Check out our other plugin roundups:
- The 50 Best VST Plugins Ever
- The 12 Best Synth VST Plugins Available
- The 5 Best Sidechain Plugins About
Toms is a music producer & DJ, born and raised in Post Soviet Latvia. Currently based in Brighton, Toms has had over 6 years of experience with all things production and in that time, he’s done a tonne of cool stuff! He’s played multiple festivals, had experience in the field with mixing & mastering and even become a freelance journalist in the music industry.
Toms currently creates music under the alias Sovereign. Producing music that’s intimate and subtle, while full of edge and energy, the young producer combines the artistic sounds of Trip Hop artists like Massive Attack, with the energy and youthfulness of producers like Flume, Jamie XX and Yaeji. You can check his stuff on Soundcloud.
