Manual
15
Negative Gating
An interesting variant of the groove ducking technique is negative gating that is based on faster
release times and uses the Anti Log mode. Higher ratios are also very typical for this process. If now
a bass drum is fed into the external sidechain input as a trigger signal, for example, the compressor
will reduce the audio signal by a signicant amount, resulting in gain reduction values of 30 and
40 dB.
After the trigger signal has faded away, the gain reduction value is kept constant by the Anti Log
function for a moment, after which it rebounds rapidly. This special envelope makes the eect
almost sound like a gate – but with the dierence that the signal is made quieter instead of being
totally muted.
If you want the eect to be as stable as possible, please take care that the trigger signals have even
attacks and levels.
Ducking FX
Using the mpressor in combination with eect units like reverb, delay or chorus will result in fasci-
nating results. The important point in this case is that compression is applied after the signal has
passed the eects processor. The external sidechain input, however, is fed with the original dry
signal that is also fed into the input of the FX unit.
If a drum track is processed with a reverb, for example, the reverberation can be compressed ex-
tremely strong so that it will almost vanish in very loud parts at rst. It sounds dierent than only
compressing the reverberation without using the external sidechain, because now it depends on
the dynamics of the original signal.
An electric piano which is processed with chorus and delay eects can benet from this tech-
nique, too, as the chorus/delay eect will become more and more prominent while the played
note decreases in volume. Here it is important that all eect units only send the pure eect signal
(100 % wet) which is then mixed to the dry signal on a parallel track.
SCENARIOS – Negative Gating & Ducking FX
Threshold
16
14
9
5
0
-5 -8
-13
-15
-17
-18
dB
Attack
0,01
1,0
5,0
8,0
13
17
21
70
100
140
150
ms
Release
5
7
12
26
50
85
150
380
600
930
1k2
ms
1,2
1,3
1,6
2,0
5,0
10
-0,3
-1,0
-2,0
-3,0
-4,0
1:X
Ratio
EQ Gain
Lo
6,0
4,5
3,0
2,0
1,0 1,0
3,0
4,5
6,0
Hi
dB
EQ Freq
26
28
36
52
90
200 260
450
700
1k3
2k2
Hz
GR Limit
21
19
17
15
13
11 9
5
3
1,5
0
dB
Gain
10
13
17
0
0,5
2,0
3,0
4,0 6,0
20
dB
1,0
EQ Gain
Lo
6,0
4,5
3,0
2,0
1,0 1,0
3,0
4,5
6,0
Hi
dB
EQ Freq
26
28
36
52
90
200 260
450
700
1k3
2k2
Hz
GR Limit
21
19
17
15
13
11 9
5
3
1,5
0
dB
Gain
10
13
17
0
0,5
2,0
3,0
4,0 6,0
20
dB
1,0
Threshold
16
14
9
5
0
-5 -8
-13
-15
-17
-18
dB
Attack
0,01
1,0
5,0
8,0
13
17
21
70
100
140
150
ms
Release
5
7
12
26
50
85
150
380
600
930
1k2
ms
1,2
1,3
1,6
2,0
5,0
10
-0,3
-1,0
-2,0
-3,0
-4,0
1:X
Ratio
On
x10
On
SC Extern
Auto Fast
Anti Log
SC Extern
Auto Fast
Anti Log
On
x10
On
Left
Right
Link
Threshold
16
14
9
5
0
-5 -8
-13
-15
-17
-18
dB
Attack
0,01
1,0
5,0
8,0
13
17
21
70
100
140
150
ms
Release
5
7
12
26
50
85
150
380
600
930
1k2
ms
1,2
1,3
1,6
2,0
5,0
10
-0,3
-1,0
-2,0
-3,0
-4,0
1:X
Ratio
EQ Gain
Lo
6,0
4,5
3,0
2,0
1,0 1,0
3,0
4,5
6,0
Hi
dB
EQ Freq
26
28
36
52
90
200 260
450
700
1k3
2k2
Hz
GR Limit
21
19
17
15
13
11 9
5
3
1,5
0
dB
Gain
10
13
17
0
0,5
2,0
3,0
4,0 6,0
20
dB
1,0
EQ Gain
Lo
6,0
4,5
3,0
2,0
1,0 1,0
3,0
4,5
6,0
Hi
dB
EQ Freq
26
28
36
52
90
200 260
450
700
1k3
2k2
Hz
GR Limit
21
19
17
15
13
11 9
5
3
1,5
0
dB
Gain
10
13
17
0
0,5
2,0
3,0
4,0 6,0
20
dB
1,0
Threshold
16
14
9
5
0
-5 -8
-13
-15
-17
-18
dB
Attack
0,01
1,0
5,0
8,0
13
17
21
70
100
140
150
ms
Release
5
7
12
26
50
85
150
380
600
930
1k2
ms
1,2
1,3
1,6
2,0
5,0
10
-0,3
-1,0
-2,0
-3,0
-4,0
1:X
Ratio
On x10 On
SC Extern
Auto Fast
Anti Log
SC Extern
Auto Fast
Anti Log
On x10
On
Left
Right
Link