This past summer I did a few shows that were outdoors in a festival set up, and the production was provided by fairly large companies. It’s not uncommon to have way more gear than needed for these types of shows, and one thing I typically see is gates on all of the drums. As you may already know, I want to keep things as simple as possible, yet on the rider I use most often, I ask for at least 4 gates, but preferably 8. My logic is simple. I’m going to use as little as possible, yet if I need more, it’s nice to know they are there waiting for me.

First, let’s talk about the settings most commonly available on gates, what they do, and then we’ll talk application. The first thing a gate needs to operate, is a threshold. The gate keeps the audio muted, until the volume reaches above a certain level. Once the audio reaches this threshold, then the audio comes through, unaffected. Notice this is different from a compressor, that does not affect the audio until it reaches above a certain level (also called the threshold) at which point it starts to attenuate the signal.

On a basic gate, for example a 4-channel Behringer or common Presonus, there might be an attack knob (or button for ‘fast’ or ‘slow’). This determines how fast the gate opens to let the audio through- sort of like fading in. More common and more used is the release. How fast do you want the channel to mute after the audio dips back below that threshold?

A useful parameter you may see is the Hold, usually adjustable in ms. This will ensure the gate remains open for a specified amount of time before the gate closes again, even if the audio level has dipped below the threshold.

And, lastly, you may see a ratio, similar to on a compressor. This is how much you want the audio attenuated if the level is under the threshold. I’ve not found this very practical as the whole point of the gate is usually to turn the audio OFF unless it’s loud enough to turn the channel on. So, just turn the ratio up if you see that option.

Before I tell you how I use gates, let me paint a picture that I usually see at a festival where dozens of bands are playing all in a row on the same system. Usually, I’ll find a threshold that’s around -10db. Notice, your gain structure is important here. Assuming a solid drum hit reaches 0, this threshold means lighter hits will still come through. What gets aggressive is usually the release. Once that drum is hit, the house engineers want that mic back off as quickly as possible. Seeing a release of 100ms (.1 seconds) is not uncommon. What you hear translates into a quick ‘dink’ of the drum.

Pop quiz. How long do you think a drum hit lasts? Depending on the resonance of the drum, it may be up to a second or 2 of usable audio. Think about a good tom hit on a nice sounding kit. The tone will slightly lower in pitch as it fades away, and that is all usable… so keep it in!

Even in a kick drum, if you keep the gate open for 500ms, you’ll notice a fuller sound because the air moves around in the drum, which gets picked up by the mic, and then sent to the subs. So, having a loose gate moves the subs more and sounds more natural.

Of course, whenever adding any piece of gear to the audio chain, we need to answer the question “Why are we using this?” or “What problem needs to be solved?” I know that with the band I am with most often, the hi-hat resonates in the kick drum, and thus produces a low rumble in that channel unless I gate it out. Other than that though, I don’t throw a gate on just because I heard in a magazine or on some website to do so.

The reason most festival set ups include gates on every drum channel, is because a lot of drummers have crappy sounding drums. Let’s just face facts here. Tuning drums, replacing heads, and making the whole kit sound like 1 instrument is rare for drummers. So, if you find you need to add a lot of gates or EQ or reverb to your drums, you may have a bigger issue. Hopefully you can bring it to the attention of your music leader and you won’t have to worry about using the info in this post!