Gates and Expanders
Gates and exapanders are both in the same family as a compressor and they have the same controls as a compressor. These controls are the threshold, ratio, attack, release, and output. A gate opens and closes when the signal passes across the threshold. The VCA in a Gate/Expander will turn everything down below the threshold and the VCA in a compressor will turn everything down above the threshold. When the gate closes behind the sound, the gate doesn’t open back up until the audio signal is above the threshold. Gates are good for getting rid of ambient room noise. for example a noisy electric guitar. Gates can be used as effects. They are commonly used on drum tracks to give it that 80’s Phil Collins snare drum sound. Expanders: An expander, expands the dynamic range. It makes a bigger difference between the softer and louder parts by turning the softer parts down. The range can be adjusted so the VCA will only turn the signal down part of the way when it gets below the threshold An expander will turn the noise down, rather than turning it off, like a gate does. Expanders are smoother in their level changes. There are 2 kinds of expanders, upward and downward expanders. upward expanders are not common and they tend to be too noisy. Downward expanders are the most commonly used. Expanders are good for restoring dynamic range to a signal that has been overly compressed too much
To sum this up, a gate and an expander are moslty the same tool, but the gate turns the soft parts off and the expander turns the soft parts down. Can they be used interchangeably? Soemtimes, it really depends on the situation at hand. But after reading this, you shoudl be able to make a wise judgement on what to use for each situation.
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