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With so many plugins available, it can be challenging to sort the good from the bad. I’m going to provide you with an overview of 25 of the best VST plugins on the market to help point you in the right direction. This list contains some of the best sound design plugins, audio editing plugins, mixing plugins, and mastering plugins available. If you're new to VST plugins, compressors, or just want a quick way to enhance your broadcast's sound, this is a great plugin to try. Download Download GranComp3 here (Free, Windows) - Direct Download Link. GranComp3 is a free multi-band compressor, peak limiter, and saturator VST plugin. Other VSTs to Check Out. To sum it all together, all these noise reduction plugins come with their very own unique features for you to explore and work with. The iZotope RX 6 tops them all since it meets all the high standards of what a noise reduction plugin should possess. It’s flexible, fast, and convenient to use. However, the rest of them follow through as well.

1. Best Mic Vst Plugins Vst
2. Best Mic Preamp Vst Plugin
3. Best Mic Vst Plugins Plugin
4. Best Mic Vst Plugins Download
5. Best Mic Vst Plugins Software

This review is all about the best drum VST plugins of 2020. Drum VSTs come in all shapes and sizes. Finding the right drum VST for you depends largely on your goals musically. We will look at some of the most advanced and expensive drum VSTs, as well as some smaller free ones.

It’s worth pointing out that it’s perfectly possible to get up and running right away with a basic drum VST and in many cases these come at no charge whatsoever. If you consider yourself a bit of a nerd when it comes to an authentic drum sound then you’ll find our rundown of the top drum VSTs essential reading.

As with all VSTs, it’s important to have a suitable setup with which to run them on. Many of the higher budget drum VSTs are quite heavy on resources and so will require fast computing speeds with lots of free disk space. If you plan on connecting controller kits such as electronic drum kits to the setup, it’s advisable to have a good low-latency sound card or audio interface. So, let’s crack on with the review.

Here are the best drum VST plugins 2020:

1. Toontrack Superior Drummer 3

First up on our list of the best drum VSTs is Toontrack’s Superior Drummer 3. This plugin is a behemoth when it comes to sound and detail. Toontrack have equipped this VST with practically everything you will need to create your own real-sounding custom drum tracks. There’s everything here, from thousands of acoustic drum samples to a host of vintage drum machine sounds.

Toontrack enlisted the help of musiclegend George Massenburg when putting together this catalog of drums. Georgerecorded the sounds at Galaxy Studios in Belgium, which is known for having oneof the best live rooms in the world. He has previously worked withinternational superstars such as Earth, Wind & Fire and Linda Ronstadt.He’s also credited with inventing the parametric EQ, so he’s bound to know hisstuff when it comes to getting a good sound.

In total there are 230 GB of samples onboard the Superior Drummer 3 VST. That will give you some insight as to the level of detail which is available here. Some of the drum kits used are from world leading brands such as Ludwig, Ayotte, Gretsch, Pearl, Premier and Yamaha. There are also 350 classic drum machine and vintage sounds to play around with should you wish. But with Superior Drummer you don’t just get one sample per drum or cymbal. Each instrument is played with several different drum sticks, from regular hickory sticks to mallets, brushes, blasticks and rods. Adjusting the velocity of the stroke will in turn change the response of the sample sound.

Mic placing is also catered too. With Superior Drummer 3 you can choose where you want to position your microphones about the drum set. There’s also the option to set the level on mic bleed. This is an extremely useful feature for increasing the realism of a drum track. Mic bleed is a natural occurrence in studio and live drumming and something that usually is impossible to replicate with a standard drum machine.

When it comes to the microphones, Toontrack have used only the best. Some notable names include Neumann, Sennheiser, Ehrlund, Beyerdynamic, AEA, Sanken, and Schoeps. There are also 35 studio effects which you can use to further enhance your drum tracks. These effects range from classy reverbs and delays to studio standard compressors.

Navigating around Superior Drummer 3 is quite intuitive. There is a handy search feature which can get you up and running right away if, for example, you need to find a genre of beat or kit type. You can search and browse to choose import sounds from the vast 230 GB of files or simply tap to find the tempo and begin that way instead. Superior Drummer 3 is compatible with 3rd party samples too and has full MIDI support. It even has a cool audio to MIDI conversion tool which lets you rid MIDI drum parts from audio files.

There’s no doubt that Toontrack have knocked the ball out of the park with Superior Drummer 3. It has everything that a recording studio aficionado should need for creating professional sounding drums at the click of a mouse. It has full multi-screen support and is rock solid when it comes to stability. A great drum VST and there’s no surprise that it’s regularly top rated by users.

2. XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2

If you like the look of Superior Drummer 3 but find it a little out of your budget, you’ll be happy to know that this VST is just a fraction of the price. Addictive Drums 2 is aimed at home recording enthusiasts who need a database of high-quality drum kits on a moderate budget. shockwave flash chrome download mac

This VST has won awards and plaudits around the world for managing to create an impressive library of kit sounds. There are over 5000 drum beats and fills in total in Addictive Drums 2. This is a lot of drums, by anyone’s standards.

If you’re not the most technically minded when it comes to music you’ll find the numerous presets extremely useful. They’re laid out in a way which makes it easy to pick and choose what type of drummer you want. You can choose the genre and customize the beat and kit sound. On the other hand, if you prefer to take full control over the kit from the get-go, then you can import your sounds, bit by bit and build the drum track that way instead.

Addictive Drums 2 has lots of effects to play with too. There are EQs, reverbs, delays, compression, distortions and a few others. You also have mixing capabilities such as buses for any parallel processing.

For the money XLN Audio’s Addictive Drums 2 packs quite a punch. It’s one of the most popular drum VST plugins around. The spec says it will work with most setups on only 2 GB of RAM (although they recommend at least 4 GB). To put this in context, Superior Drums 3 by Toontrack requires at least 8 GB of RAM. This makes Addictive Drums more suited to amateur setups and also explains the pricing. It lacks a few of the elite features of Superior Drummer 3 but makes up for that with value for money.

3. FXpansion BFD3

BFD is a drumming VST which has been around for some years now. It’s widely considered one of the top drum VSTs around. BFD has a huge collection of drum samples and loops which you can incorporate into mixes at the click of a mouse. The main man behind the sound sourcing on BFD3 actually worked for 2 years with George Massenburg, who we previously mentioned with Superior Drummer 3.

In total there is 162 GB of sample sounds, but wait, just before you throw your arms up, the makers have managed to squeeze this down into a mere 55 GB. How they did that, we’re not quite sure, but it does mean that you can now carry this entire portfolio of drumming goodness around on a tiny 64 GB flash drive. This makes it super-convenient when working across different setups.

BFD3 contains grooves played by legendary drummers such as Steve Ferrone, Brooks Wackerman, Peter Erskine and more. They’ve added 12 new effects too, which brings the total up to 33. Some of these include DCAM overdrive, new reverbs and envelope shaping tools.

When seeking to get started with a drum track you can choose to build your own kit or pick from one of the finely crafted presets. There’s a fully editable groove engine with a very handy rudiments tool. This tool allows you to work with many of the standard drum rudiments in order to create drum fills. Each rudiment is further explained through drum notation.

BFD3 is an impressive drum VST. While it’s not quite as expensive as Superior Drummer 3, it’s not far off the price. It has many cool features which make it a pleasure to use, and lots of slickly edited samples and loop which are a breeze to work with. This VST works well along with a DAW or as a standalone. It also has full MIDI operational compatibility.

4. Steven Slate Drums SSD5

If you’re after a quick and convenient drag and drop type of drum VST then you may like the SSD5 by Steven Slate Drums. This VST comes with lots of different kit sounds which are split up into different categories and styles.

There are kits such as the Spicy Rock kit, Old ‘n’ Dusty, the Thick Metal kit, the Pure 60’s kit, Steven’s Oldie kit, the Savage kit, the Ribeye kit and more. You can probably tell from the names as to how these kits sound. It’s pretty straightforward. In total there are around 100 drum presets and a couple of cool features such as ‘Rimshot’ mode. This allows you to replace drum accents with rimshot hits for added attack.

Overall, the SSD5 by Steven Slate Drums is a decent drum VST with a lot going for it. It’s easy to use and quite light on computer resources too.

5. GetGood Drums Modern & Massive Pack

For rock and metal fans we have a nice little drum VST without any additional fluff. GetGood Drums produce VSTs for the modern market and this particular pack is aimed at a bigger, punchier drum sound.

There is a nice selection of drum kits, all of which have been recorded at Middle Farm Studios in the UK. These kits certainly pack a punch, so if that’s what you’re after then this VST may be for you. It’s certainly one of the best-sounding acoustic drum VSTs around.

In total this pack contains 9 snares, 6 kick drums and 2 sets of cymbal packs. This may not sound like a lot but it’s plenty to get some nice rock or metal demo tracks off the ground. If you need more options, GetGood Drums also do other ranges of kit styles which are of an equally high-quality.

6. Tony Coleman Drums

Tony Coleman is one of the most famous names in blues drumming. He has played with legends such as B.B. King, Albert King, Etta James and Buddy Guy, among others.

With this collection from Sonivox we get access to an entire library of the great man’s sound and feel. This VST is aimed at lovers of blues, pop and rock. All sounds have been captured at Ardent Studios using only the best professional drum microphones.

This entire collection is only 20 GB in size, so it’s not one of the more bulky drum VSTs out there. In that 20 GB you’ll find beats, fills and individual sample hits as played by Tony himself. This is certainly one for lovers of a great R’n’B groove.

7. DJinnDrum

The DJinnDrum VST is a nice little free drum VST plugin which has apparently been used by megastars such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Peter Gabriel. Listening to the beginning of ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ by Micheal Jackson will give you an idea of what this drum machine is capable of.

It’s very easy to use with 12 drum pads to play with. There are also slidable faders for the volume of each voice and knob controls to alter the sounds further.

For the money we can’t argue with the DJinnDrum VST. It’s free to download so be sure to check it out. It lacks gigabytes of sample libraries but is quaint and fun to use. Definitely one to have in your collection of VST plugins.

8. DrumTROOP

If you’re looking for a VST with a few more drum sound options, then the DrumTROOP might fit the bill. This VST is packed with 20 free drum kits. These kits are largely digital-sounding drum kits and perfect for lots of genres from hip-hop to dubstep to EDM and pop.

The layout is clean and easy with lots of controls to alter the sample sounds. A very cool electronic drum VST.

DrumTROOPS is a cool little VST and is sure to help out budding music producers. Some users have complained about this VST being a little unstable on certain DAWs.

In order to avoid any unwanted crashing we advise that once you have created your beat on DrumTROOPS, then you should bounce it down to an audio file. Next import that audio file into your mix, disable the VST and you should find no further conflicts.

Conclusion

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this round-up of the best drum VSTs out there. Finding a good drum plugin can take time if you don’t know what you’re after or where to look. We’ve looked at acoustic drum VSTs as well as some electronic drum VSTs. Some of the more expensive options cater to both electronic and acoustic.

Whatever your preference, be sure to look at the spec and take note of the kits used in recording. There’s no point purchasing hundreds of gigabytes of pristine acoustic samples if you’re mainly going to be working in EDM. There are plenty more cheaper options out there, and as we’ve shown, some of them are free.

The spec of your setup matters greatly in how any particular drum VST will perform. A fast computer is essential in most cases, especially with the bigger drum VST plugins.

RAM is also important and it’s worth pointing out that you can upgrade the RAM in your computer or laptop in most cases. Some computers, such as certain iterations of the Mac Mini, do not allow you to upgrade the RAM, although the average PC will have no such issues. Having a fast system and plenty of RAM is always a good idea when making music on your computer. Processing will be quicker and you should notice a drop in any latency issues too.

Having a fast processor means that the VST and the DAW can work easily together and this means there will be less chance of your system crashing and you losing unsaved work.

Have fun on your quest for the best drum VST plugins!

With a wide range of noise gate/expander plugins in the market, each possessing its own unique features, many people face a hard time in selecting the most suitable gate/expander for their particular needs.

What Does Noise Gate Do?

A noise gate is a type of effect you can add to your channel strip. The gate will affect the sound by completely eliminating the sound below or above a certain threshold, depends on your parameter settings.

Here are the main parameters you would use to effect the noise gate and operate it to your liking.

The Threshold is the control for which level the gate will affect your signal.

Attack, is the time taken for the gate to open.

The Release refers to how long the gate will take to fade out.

Hold is how long the gate will be open for and hold its state.

Range will set how much the signal is reduced when the gate is closed.

Difference Between A Gate And An Expander?

Gate & Expander are very similar but they have a subtle difference.

Gate – Cuts out unwanted signal completely

Expander – Compresses unwanted signal to make it less prominent

Noise gate short history:

1969 – Gating technique developed, and adopted by The Beatles.

1980 – Gating technique implemented in real-time electronics in a few audiophile, high fidelity record players.

1990 – Used vigorously in music production and sound engineering.

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Where Do You Place A Noise Gate?

You might be debating where to use your noise gate?

Well, typically the rule of thumb is you wouldn’t want to use a noise gate during recording as you won’t be able to obtain any of the audio data lost at later a date.

So to avoid this we recommend applying this effect after you have recorded your audio. It is also a good idea to have in mind what you want to affect with the gate. For example, you may have a drum break which has a really tight kick and snare but you’re not a fan of the hi-hats. Now you know what you want to achieve so you can tweak the gate to your desired needs.

There are many applications for a noise gate, some offering sidechain features, and others allowing you to invert the signal. This effect can be used in a million different ways.

Why Should I Use The Noise Gate/ Expander Plugin?

If you are involved in music production these tools can be your savior for precisely removing unwanted elements of the sounds. You may also find yourself using it in many creative ways, such as a sidechain trigger.

10 Best Noise Gate/Expander VST, AU, AAX Plugins 2020

10. Unfiltered Audio G8 Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

G8 Dynamic Gate is a multipurpose gate that all producers and audio engineers should adopt.

You can also combine it with a MIDI trigger or audio channel to trigger it with G8.

With the new edition of ‘dark’ skin for G8, it blends in perfectly with your DAW and offers enough options to keep your gating needs at bay.

Key Features:

• Cycle mode which keeps repeating the gate envelope endlessly as long as the gate is open. The speed of this repetition is determined by the envelope and the delay controls
• One-shot mode that triggers one full cycle of the envelope as soon as the incoming signal surpasses the threshold
• Reject Outputs feature is probably the best feature for this plugin. Instead of throwing rejected G8’s (or gated out), it sends the signal to an auxiliary output which in turns routes it to another channel in the DAW for the user to edit its panning, leveling and just process it differently which can be extremely useful as it prevents signal loss
• Flip button which can be used to swap gated and rejected signals

Compatibility:

Unfiltered Audio G8 works on Windows 7 or higher for PC and OSX 10.9 or higher for Mac. It only supports 64 bits version and comes in VST/VST3/AU/AAX versions. See G8 Dynamic Gate on Plugin-Alliance.

9. Sonalksis SV 719 Gate Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Sonalksis SV 719 Gate isn’t so well known but it’s a powerful gate/expander plugin that definitely should be on this list.

There are three modes in this plugin, which are: ‘Duck’, ‘Gate’, and ‘Expand’ each offering a different algorithmic process. Additionally, the SV 719 includes a filter capable of low, mid, and high band filtering.

With a built-in output gain, the levels are easily movable. Moreover, the intuitive A/B switch will allow the user to quickly switch between to gating/expanding or ducking ideas.

Giving this all in a compact and beautiful GUI Sonalksis has really created an all-rounded gate/expander plugin that makes a difference to your channels.

Key Features:

• Modeled after an actual analog processor which can make drums have that gated effect and many more
• Expansion mode allows the track to have noise reduction for difficult noise like background interferences and slight noises
• The ducking mode can reduce the impact of the effect in the presence of vocals or when the mix gets busy. This helps reduce cloudiness or muddiness that tends to happen a lot when using noise gates. This is done with the help of an external side-chain that the plugin is equipped with

Compatibility:

This plugin requires Windows 7 or higher for PC and OSX 10.9 or higher for Mac. This plugin only comes in VST/AU versions which makes it not compatible with Pro Tools. It has support for both 32 and 64-bit devices. Get Sonalksis SV 719 Gate on their official website.

8. kiloHearts Gate Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

kiloHearts Gate is a simple to use but extremely effective gate when used in practice.

This Gate offers a quick way to cut out a low hum or noise within the signal. Sidechain, look ahead, and the ever-helpful flip feature gives Kilohertz Gate effective simplicity.

Simple selection of controls such as an attack, hold, release, and threshold. But Kilohertz Gate doesn’t offer anything more than what it says on the tin, you can use it in series with the other kilohertz plugin collections but as a stand-alone gate, this is a top contender.

Key Features:

• Look ahead feature which has a 5ms headstart to the plugin, allowing it to anticipate transients and attack them accordingly
• A tolerance knob which is used to set a point where the gate will close if the signals drop below that
• Sidechain which allows the user to set a ducking effect which de-emphasizes the noise gate when the track gets busy to avoid muddiness and cloudiness of the mix
• kiloHearts Gate’s interface is a resizable one which makes it convenient to use with multiple DAWs and multiple screen sizes

Compatibility:

kiloHearts Gate works on Windows 7 or higher for PC and OS X 10.6 or higher for Mac. It comes in VST/VST3/AU/AAX versions and supports both 32 and 64 bit systems. Check details on Pluginboutique.

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7. Wire Grind Advanced Noise Gate Review

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Wire Grind Advanced Noise Gate claims to be one of the world’s most advanced noise gate device, they might be right as we shall take a look.

Having all the features commonly found within normal gates, Advanced Noise Gate has some additional features such as advanced gating controls, equalization controls, anti-click technology, and precisely tuned envelopes there is a lot under the hood.

With a multiband output, you can independently send different frequency signals to the output. They also come with sidechaining features plus two attack envelopes with ducking, and both peak and RMS detection.

Key Features:

• As the name states, this plugin offers the most advanced gate controls over any other noise gate plugin. This gives users a lot more control of the noise signals and how the gate treats them
• Wire Grind Advanced Noise Gate has an anti-clicking which functions surprisingly great, removing a good amount of clicking noises from the signal
• Release envelope used in this plugin is developed to function like the real decay of an actual instrument. Users are offered 2 attack envelopes. One is based on an analog synthesizer, and the other utilizes a volume swell that is gentle and gradual which makes listening to it more pleasing to the ear especially for long attack times
• Highly versatile and controllable equalization section which provides the user with equalization over 3 bands with a strong separation between bands

Compatibility:

At the moment, the Wire Grind Advanced Noise Gate only works with Windows and supports all versions of Windows but works best on Windows 8 and higher. It comes in VST/VST3 versions only. Get more info about this plugin on their website.

6. Slate Digital Gates Plug-in Bundle Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Slate Digitals ‘Gates Bundle’ gives you two of their most favorable gating plugins ‘Classic’ and ‘Drum’.

‘Gate: Classic’ comes with additional parameters such as ratio, range, attack, and release. Classic also has two modes for switching your gate to a ‘vocal’ mode.

‘Gate: Drum’ is a variation of the two which is more catered towards drum channels and processing. Taking a look at the drum gate, we can see a ‘Transient’ detection that allows the user to tweak the transients to their liking.

Both gates come with filters that can be applied to the signal. Slate Digital keep things very simple here, with no added extra windows and a straight forward design and execution these two are a deadly combination of gating plugins.

Key Features:

• Offers 2 modules for gate noise, one for general purpose and one designed specifically to be used on drums
• For the general-purpose module:users can choose between two modes which are Classic and Vocals. Classic is based on amplitude detection and high/low pass filters. The Vocal mode is used to maintain the vocals and not damage them with processing
• For the drum module: this module uses transients-detection. On top of that, it offers debleed and gate sections to handle the drums. Additionally, users get a variety of envelope-shaping options that enable them to process drums to preserve punch and feel

Compatibility:

Slate Digital Gates Plug-in Bundle requires Windows 7 or higher for PC and OSX 10.12 or higher for Mac. It comes in VST/VST3/AU/AAX formats and only supports 64-bit devices. See the details about this bundle here.

5. Infected Mushroom Gatekeeper By Polyverse Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Polyverse Gatekeeper is a volume modulation plugin that has eight independent envelopes that can achieve very quick transitions combined with a smoothing algorithm.

This allows for a clean, fast, dynamic, and punchy gating in your channel processing with no compromises to sound. Built-in ‘Boost’ and ‘Clip’ features offer extra punch.

Using the tempo sync that is built into Gatekeeper will allow you to sync it with your DAW’s BPM. Moreover, Gatekeeper has a very eye-catching GUI that is complex and very effective but still remaining easy to use.

Key Features:

• Gatekeeper has 8 independent modulating envelopes which enable you to produce some very interesting and effective results
• Each envelope has an amp, time and pan controls
• Pencil tool which allows the user to design the envelope modulation. This tool has 30 presets as well as 5 presets that the user can edit alone
• Sidechaining is possible using Gatekeeper to duck sounds while others are playing to prevent muddiness
• Comes pre-equipped with hundreds of presets

Compatibility:

Polyverse Gatekeeper requires Windows 7 or higher to run on PC and OSX 10.9 or higher for Mac. It comes in VST/AU/AAX formats and has support for both 32 and 64-bit devices. Check Pluginboutique for price & details.

4. Waves C1 Compressor/Gate Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

C1 Compressor by Waves combines two modules which are Compressor/Expander & Gate/Expander.

The signal is sent to the Filter/EQ modules for further editing. With the C1, you can decide where you plan to have your gate open and close, unlike other plugins where you are limited to a one-level open/close value.

The levels for the compressor and gate are independent of each other but they can be linked to reflect the same parameters.

All modules can be used independently or in conjunction with one another.

Key Features:

• C1 has three incredibly powerful processing modules all within the plugin
• This plugin is popular for its spectacular sidechaining. Sidechaining comes with filters and equalizers to not only reduce muddiness but also to shape the tone for both the original and the sidechained signals
• Users can use the split-band dynamics to edit selected sounds independently as this feature isolates the primary frequency ranges of the sound
• Look ahead feature which is used to anticipate the transients and treat them in time
• No worries for sound quality compensation because this plugin supports 24 bit /192 kHz resolution

Compatibility:

Waves C1 only works on Windows 10 for PC and macOS 10.12.6 or higher for Mac. It only supports 64-bit devices and comes in VST/AAX/AU formats. Visit Waves’s website to get one.

3. Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey Review

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Gatey Watey is a frequency dependant gate. This fun and creative gate react based on incoming frequencies, combined with the standard gate parameters.

The frequency receivers can be flipped into a low, mid, and high mode. This gives the gate the power to take out sounds based on their frequencies.

The simple but impressive GUI gives the user a powerful gate that is easy to use without compromising looks.

This no learning curve gate plugin and it’s an awesome addition to any producer/audio engineers arsenal.

Key Features:

• Gating is frequency selective which is very useful to only noise gate certain frequencies and allow others to play normally like vocals, guitars, etc. This feature makes it a step ahead of any other plugin in the market
• Look ahead feature to anticipate harsh transients and attack them in time
• Gatey Watey has a really simple interface that does not overwhelm users with a ton of controls which is favorable for users who want to apply a straightforward noise gate

Compatibility:

Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey runs on Windows and higher for PC and OS X 10.7 or higher for Mac. It comes in VST/VST3/AU/AAX/RTAS formats which makes it available for pretty much every DAW. Feel free to check the Pluginboutique for price & other details.

2. Oxford Drum Gate Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Oxford Drum gate is one of the most highly advanced, intelligent, and innovative dynamic processors in the market, and that shows in its ability to distinguish and separate wanted and unwanted signals.

The plugin is made up of 3 tabs. Each tab consisting of options relating to a separate characteristic of drum processing.

The first tab is the main tab and is in charge of the “detection” part of the operation.

The second tab is the decay tab which gives the user ability to manipulate the signal more precisely.

The last tab allows the user to do the traditional input gating and dynamically control the remaining transients after fine-tuning the gate settings.

Key features:

• Graphical display for the first tab and it shows the transients of the input signal
• Oxford Drum gate allows the user to choose from three modes namely Kick, Snare, or Tom mic. This gives the plugin idea of what it’s going to be dealing with and process it accordingly as well as offer the user a starting point for easier and faster processing
• The second tab has a graphical representation showing the precise location of the energy of the source which allows the user to attack it much more precisely than any other plugin
• This plugin has a leveler section which allows for dynamic control while eliminating the need for compression options

Compatibility:

Oxford Drum Gate works well on Windows 7 or higher for PC and OS X 10.7 or higher for Mac. It comes in VST/VST3/AU/AAX format and supports both 32 and 64-bit devices. Get your copy of Oxford Drum Gate here.

1. FabFilter Pro G Review

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

FabFilters Pro-G comes packed with features such as six different algorithms, mono, stereo, or mid/side processing, adjustable parameters, low CPU usage, and many more we will take a look at.

Pro-G has a beautiful GUI that keeps things simple but also extremely effective in practice. Combining this with the visual window of your signal process and the noise gates effect to that signal, you can confidently pinpoint your gate’s settings.

Another great feature of this gate/expander is that you can get very quick results. For example, you may be working on a channel that needs a noise gate or an expander but you are not sure which one will work best? With the many presets within Pro-G, you can quickly find a preset that fits your sound best and then tweak it to your liking.

Key Features:

• User can scroll through the graph to adjust the meter reading based on the level of the incoming signal
• The graph itself is comprehensive and interactive. It turns light blue when the gate is open and dark blue when it’s closed
• Mid/side mode which allows the user to control the transients. For example, users can make the transients wider by expanding the sides
• Look ahead feature to predict the transients and close the gate on time
• Fabfilter Pro G has 5 styles that the user can choose from; Classic which has a fast and harsh response and functions as a traditional universal gate, Clean opens the gate earlier and has a slower release time which makes the sounds less punchy, Vocal mode which is used to preserve the breath and the presence of the vocals, Guitar mode does not remove natural decay and finger strumming noises from guitar audio, and Upward mode is responsible for expanding the dynamics over the threshold limit

Compatibility:

Fabfilter Pro-G works well with both Windows and Mac devices. It supports both 32 and 64 bits for Windows but only 64 bits for Mac. It comes in VST/VST3/AAX/AU formats. Check Pro-G on Pluginboutique.

Bonus – 6 Best Free Noise Gate VST Plugins

1. AlexHilton A1TriggerGate (FREE)

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A1 Trigger Gate is a free plugin that is simply amazing. It allows you to simply trigger the audio with a gated sound. You can then manipulate this with some built-in settings.

A built-in window shows you the gate’s envelope settings, plus another window that shows the waveform. The mix features making it easier than ever to blend the two signals together.

Echo/Delay modules become useful when wanting to create awesome sounding tails or short snaps to the signal.

Low pass filter makes it easy to chop out any unwanted lower frequencies getting into the mix. A preset window allows you to save your favorite custom patches.

Key Features:

• This plugin one of the few plugins discussed in this article that has an in-built pattern sequencer. This pattern sequencer offers the user a choice between StepLink, LongStep, NoStep, and ShortStep pattern modes for different timing. Every beat is made up of four steps (1/16 notes) or three steps (1/8T in triplet mode).
• Despite being a free plugin, it stills provides users with integrated FX like delay, distortion, bandpass filter, etc.
• “Global FX OFF” button which turns off all the applied FX while processing the signal
• “Random” button which gives uninspired producers a starting point by applying a random sequence

Compatibility:

This plugin works fine with all versions of both Windows and Mac OS. It comes in VST/AU/AAX formats and supports both 32 and 64-bit devices. Get it for FREE here.

2. Dead Duck DD Gate (FREE)

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Dead Duck DD Gate is another great free plugin to add to your collection.

Using the standard setup for a noise gate, Dead Duck hasn’t over complicated this plugin but instead kept it so simple that your nan could get awesome gating effects in seconds!

An in-depth and gorgeous metering level gives precision to the levels your inputting and outputting.

Key Features:

• Compressor section which has an option of makeup gain to bring back the sound level of the track after noise gating
• Dead Duck DD 4 bands EQ for users to edit and manually remove unwanted noise from any frequency range
• This plugin also has a limiter with a hard-clipping option which is useful to set a stronger threshold for the noise signals
• Both the limiter and the compressor in this plugin has a meter reading which shows the gain reduction for both elements

Compatibility:

Dead Duck DD Gate works only on Windows and only comes in the VST version which means that it may not work in all DAWs. It supports both 32 and 64-bit devices. Get your FREE copy here.

3. LittleStudios LSGate (FREE)

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LS-Gate is a gate designed to add rhythmic patterns to your signals. It can also be used as a Tremolo effect on your tracks.

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It has 32-steps to edit to the desired level of rhythmic effect. You can even go as far as editing the open gate length per step.

The ability to join steps together can unlock the potential to merge in any way necessary. A/B mode allows for two variations of the parameter, also there are attack and decay settings for each step.

This is another great free plugin to try.

Key Features:

• LS Gate has a whopping 32 steps. Steps are split between pages A and B. The user can adjust the number of steps per cycle
• The length of the step is adjustable
• User can adjust the length of the open gate
• Steps can be merged to form longer notes
• Each step has an attack and decay controls

Compatibility:

Just like the DD Gate, LSGate by LittleStudios only work on Windows OS and comes in VST format only which limits its usage to a few DAWs. It supports 32/64 bit devices. Download your copy here.

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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)

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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)

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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.

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It must also be mentioned that the interface of this gate is very eye-pleasing with its analog circuitry feel.

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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

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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!

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.