Not sure what a noise gate does? Have a read of our guide to gates.

Introduction

This 4-channel noise gate is made by Behringer and is an extremely flexible signal processor that can be by-passed to take it out of the sound circuit. Across the top of the front panels are a series of 'traffic light' LEDs, offering a visual display of what state the gate is currently in. Like the compressors, Backstage use the gate as an insert for specific channels (usually with the drums). By inserting a single stereo jack into the K1, the signal is sent to the gate, processed and then returned through to the K1's eq section so that it can be mixed further.

Controls

The XR2400 is fairly simple to use, with only a few important controls:

Threshold

The point at which a gate will start to take effect.

Release time

The time for which the gate waits before acting (ie. letting a signal pass to the output stage). The attack time is calculated automatically from this control.

In/Out switch

Controls whether the gate has any effect or not.

Auto switch

Activates the automatic gate function, where the ratio-curve, attack time and release time are varied automatically depending on the input signal.

Range switch

Controls the maximum amount of attenuated (how much the signal is reduced by). This can either be set at 80dB (effectively silent) or 20dB (low but audible).

Slave switch

This allows multiple channels to be linked together (eg. for stereo inputs). When depressed, the channel will be operate on exactly the same settings as the one to its left.

Key filters

These two controls alter which frequency range will trigger the gate. The lowest frequency in the range is controlled by the low cut whilst the high cut controls alter the highest frequency. To listen to what range is actually being used by the gate, press the key listen switch.