FabFilter

For the next version of Pro-G, it would be useful to be able to trigger the closing of the gate entirely based on time, not based on level.

A typical use case would be gated percussive sounds, like an open hi-hat, where you would like to cut off the hi-hat hit after e.g. exactly one 8th note. This is a common use case for gated drums (or gated reverb sounds).

You can currently approximate this behaviour by setting the threshold fairly high so that the attack of the signal barely exceeds it, setting the hold value to the desired time for the gate to remain open, and turning the release all the way down.

However, this is a clumsy and fiddly workaround with multiple problems:

1. The gate does not necessarily close after the hold time is up (it will remain open if the signal is still above the threshold, hence the need to set the threshold very high).

2. For some reason that I don't understand, there is an issue with setting the threshold very high: As you increase the threshold and approach the attack level of the signal, the gate appears to not fully open, and it doesn't remain open for the entirety of the hold time, leading to the signal to be cut off too early.

3. The hold time cannot be synchronised to the host tempo, but in a drum gate scenario, this is what you want: You want the gate to open for e.g. exactly a quarter note.

It would be great to have a gate mode such that I can set just a threshold and a time for the gate to remain open (in notes, not in milliseconds). Whenever the threshold is exceeded, the gate opens fully and closes after the set time has passed, regardless of the signal level.

I use Reaper other DAWs may be similar or different.
Can you use automation envelopes/objects on the Track timebase or Project timebase from 'Time' to 'Beats (position length rate)'?

Hi PFL.

We'll investigate for a future version of Pro-G. For now, an alternative might be to make a midi track of your hihat and send the midi to Pro-G. The plug-in sees a midi note as a 0dBFS input signal. This way you can adjust the threshold and timing settings according to the midi note and not to the audio.

Honestly using MIDI is so much more flexible. If you want to use time-based fake sidechaining then just use Kickstart or Shaperbox which are not expensive at all.

Thank you Ralph, I'll try to use MIDI notes instead, sounds like a good approach!

It would nonetheless be simpler to use the audio level to trigger the opening of the gate (but not the closing), because with the MIDI approach I'll have to manually draw in MIDI notes for each hi-hat hit across the whole drum track.

Also thanks to tk. I've realised that Shaperbox' volume shaper set to audio triggering does exactly what I want: The envelope triggers on transients and I can set the volume to minus infinity after e.g. an 8th note.