Nembrini Audio Analog Rack Noise Gate is one step closer to the most minimal gate ever.
Not that it’s a bad thing because this powerhouse of a gate doesn’t strut around thinking it’s the top dog, it knows its place and offers a truly amazing noise gate effect.
‘Threshold’ and ‘Range’ are the only two dials you have at your disposal and they are the only two you will need with this plugin. It does what it says on the tin and does it very well.
Given the ability to easily A/B listen to two setups and save your settings this makes Nembrini Audio Noise Gate an awesome free gate.
Key Features:
Very simple and straightforward design for the interface with 2 knobs only
The sound signature for this plugin is specifically designed for guitar and bass which makes this plugin among the best for noise gating guitar and bass samples
All Nembrini Audio Analog Rack plugins are powered by a pre-amp tube. They have an “Analog” switch which if turned ON will add slight harmonic saturation to the overall sound, thus giving it an analog/warmer feel which is more pleasing to the ear
Compatibility:
Nembrini Audio Analog Rack Noise Gate works on Windows 7 or higher for PC and Mac OS 10.9 or higher for Mac. It comes in VST/VST3/AU/AAX formats and only supports 64-bit devices. Download this plugin here.
5. T-Force Trance Gate 2 (FREE)
More Info & Download
Trance Gate 2 is a rhythmic gate effect with sidechain features. It can take any sound and turn it into a rhythmic sequence.
This effect was made famous by the trance music genre and has been revived in this plugin. Two LFO’s make it easy to create modulation without using an external plugin.
ADSR parameters for the amp, filter cutoff, resonance envelope give independence to each module. All controls are automatable, plus a mod matrix.
Key Features:
Trance Gate 2 is also equipped with a 32 step sequencer. Each step can be switched ON or OFF
Each step can be panned individually
Each step’s velocity is individually controllable
Dual delay. User has the option of switching between stereo and ping pong modes
This plugin also comes with a Stereo Reverb
An ADSR Amp envelope which is controllable through the step sequencer
Compatibility:
This is a VST plugin only and it only works on Windows OS. It has support for both 32 and 64-bit devices. Get Trance Gate 2 here.
6. digitalfishphones FLOORFISH (FREE)
More Info & Download
This simple gate/expander plugin ticks a lot of boxes.
Being easy to get started you can opt for a subtle and soft expansion set up or turn the other way for a gating effect you cant compare to others.
What makes this gate/expander different is the fact you can scan for the source and make amendments to the curve accordingly.
It must also be mentioned that the interface of this gate is very eye-pleasing with its analog circuitry feel.
Why not grab this plugin and try it for your gating needs? it’s FREE!
Key Features:
This plugin works amazingly as a de-esser to remove sibilance noise from vocals
Floorfish is a very CPU friendly plugin. Applying it to tracks is seamless and it does not introduce any type of latency whatsoever.
A smooth envelope makes it a great plugin for use on drums as it does not damage the sound characteristics of the drums like its ambience, etc. Its controls are frequency conscious which can be fine-tuned to a level whereby it brings down the grating noise level of hats, snares, etc.
Listen button which allows the user to listen only to the frequencies that are being dealt with by the plugin
It has a very simple GUI where all the control knobs are straightforward and easy to use
Compatibility:
FLOORFISH by digitalfishphones works on Windows 7 or higher for PC. It worked for MacOS but the company decided that it was too old and they removed it. Unfortunately, Floorfish only comes in VST and 32-bit formats which limit its versatility among DAWs for such a good plugin. Get the FLOORFISH here!
Floorfish Vst Plugin Free Download
Conclusion
Noise gating has always been a significant part of music production and audio engineering. Its use on vocals has also become vital in recent years as it can be implemented in live recordings and so on. The market for noise gate plugins is pretty interesting. You can never find any two plugins that offer the exact same set of features and functions as the next plugin. This makes choosing a noise gate plugin quite overwhelming for some users. Thankfully, this article discusses some of the best and most well-known plugins as well as their features in order to make it easier for users to make up their mind.
As this article has shown, there is a huge collection of noise gates/expanders to use within projects and audio creation. Finding the right one is down to your needs or what you find useful for everyday use. It has to be said though that it’s always worth trying a few out and seeing what they have to offer.
Blockfish - Free VST Compressor The BLOCKFISH compressor is a dynamics compressor capable of a compact and dense sound (hence the name). But unlike a lot of digital compressors, it does not 'squash' your signal that much. The focus was to keep your music alive and let it breathe. It comes with a typical 'vca' circuit providing modern compression - best for drums and guitars - and a classical 'opto' unit that recreates the sound of old photo-electrical gain devices and has been optimised for vocal tracks. The basic parameters are easily set up but you have access to futher adjustments that can turn BLOCKFISH into a real 'killer' device. Floorfish - Free VST Expander / noise gate FLOORFISH is a classical gate/expander unit that was originally designed to make acoustic drum recording much cleaner. Especially seperately miked snares and toms often unveil a large amount of 'bleeding noise' if you compress them. The FLOORFISH can help to lower this noise floor. Unlike a typical 'noise gate', the signal is not cut off completely if you do not want it to. Spitfish - Free VST De-esser. SPITFISH serves as an easy-to-use de-esser. If you ever had problems with loud sibilants and s-like vocals, this device can help to make those nasty sounds much smoother. You can also apply it to other signals that might need some evening out within the upper frequency range, e.g. cymbals and crashes. The whole character has been tuned to 'nice' and 'gentle'. It should be almost impossible to make your recordings sound unnatural within the normal operational range. Download them all in one go! Fish VST (win) Fish VST (mac OS 9)
Vst Plugin Floorfish (vst)
Fish VST (mac OS X) Thanks goes out to Sascha Eversmeier