Gate

Character category, section-level.

Chops the volume in and out at a steady rate, the stuttering pulse that runs under a lot of electronic music.

Controls

Rate. How fast the chop repeats. Turned down the sound breathes. Turned up it stutters.

Depth. How far the volume drops between pulses. Turned down the track just pumps a little. Turned up it cuts to silence and back.

Together they set the character: slow and deep is dramatic on-off pumping, fast and shallow is rhythmic texture that never removes the sound.

Mix. Balances the chopped signal against the original. Fully wet you hear only the chop. Bring the original back and it fills the gaps, which turns a hard gate into a volume tremolo.

Presets

House Chop, Half-Time Pulse, Trance Gate, Glitch.

When to use it

Trance gating on pads and strings, stutter on synths, or across a breakdown. Because it is section-level, a verse can run smooth and the chorus chopped. Automate the rate for a gate that speeds up into a drop. See automation.