Threshold to OFF. Turn on all instruments to be gated but do not pass program material through them (For example, turn your microphone on but do not sing through it). Increase the Threshold (clockwise) until the red CLOSE LED comes on. Any background noise should now be eliminated.
Example: To remove hiss from a guitar amp signal, set the Threshold just above the residual hiss while muting the guitar strings. Playing guitar should produce a signal higher than the threshold, letting through the notes. When the guitar is not playing, the residual hiss signal should be below the threshold, closing the gate.
Rate (20 ms to 2 seconds)
When a signal dips below the threshold, Rate determines how long it takes for the gate to fade smoothly from the gate open to gate closed set- ting. Shorter settings provide maximum hiss reduction but tend to cre- ate a "choppier" sound. Longer settings gain a smoother response at the expense of possibly letting a little hiss come through after the input signal dips below the threshold.
1.7 FRONT PANEL METERING
The 3630's three meters for each channel indicate several important parameters.
Gain Reduction Meter (-1 to -30 dB)
This compares the processed and unprocessed sounds, and shows the amount of gain reduction being applied to the input signal.
Example: A meter reading of
Input/Output Meter (-30 to +6 dBu)
This monitors the input or output signal, as selected by the Input/Output switch. This is useful when matching input and output levels, or to compare the signal level prior to limiting with the signal level that occurs after limiting.
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