With makeup gain, you can then increase the perceived loudness of the quieter parts of the signal.īy contrast, a noise gate acts as the opposite of a limiter. A limiter (which is an extreme case of compression) will simply block the signal from going any higher than the threshold. If you are familiar with compressors and limiters, then a noise gate should be intuitive.Ī compressor will attenuate a signal by a certain ratio once it exceeds a threshold. However, you can use them in many other creative situations, as we’ll explore. It could also be unwanted hums and hisses due to saturation units. This could for example be during a recording (breathing noise, a click track, etc). In practice, noise gates are used to remove small unwanted noises. But hopefully, it helps paint a picture.) (I know this example isn’t perfect – it doesn’t capture concepts like attack and release. If you’re below the threshold, you’re out of luck. If you are above a specific height (threshold), you can pass and climb on the ride. Most rides will have a height restriction.