Noise Gates and Expanders
Noise gates and expanders are for the most part, though not only, noise management devices. Undesired noise is the enemy of all stages of the recording process. Noise can be caused by the recording environment or it can be caused by, or in, the recording/processing circuitry or storage medium. This problem with noise is magnified when you are working with multi-track recordings. Noise on each track is added together, raising the overall noise floor. The volume of noise can go well passed audible and into the really annoying region. It is almost impossible to remove noise once it is part of an electrical signal. If you do remove it you will almost certainly affect the tone of the sound. It is a good idea to manage any signal noise before it gets recorded. It is also wise to reduce the amount of noise contributed to the mix by each track. At those moments where there is no signal content between notes or beats, that track is only contributing unnecessary noise to the final mix. Check o...