Mackie TT24 Owner's Manual - 6.7.2 Gate/expander

41

Owner’s Manual

Owner’

s Manual

6.7.2 Gate/Expander 

Figure 6-16 GATE (top) and EXP Touchscreens

The Gate/expander has five controls and an on/off 

switch. There is a mode button to switch between the 

gate and downward expander. 

The 

IN/OUT meters show the levels coming in/out of 

the gate/expander. The inverted 

REDUCTION meter 

displays the gain reduction. 

The graph summarizes the gate/expander’s parameter 

settings. 

Threshold 

The 

THRESH control adjusts the level below which 

attenuation begins. It is adjustable in the range -60 to -1 

dBFS in increments of 0.1 dBFS. The default threshold 

value is -1 dBFS. 

Range/Ratio 

In Gate mode, the 

RANGE control sets the amount of 

attenuation that occurs when the signal drops below the 

Threshold. The 

RANGE is variable from -100 dB to -1 dB 

in increments of 0.1 dB. The default is -100 dB. 

In Expander mode, this setting is called 

RATIO and 

sets the expansion gain reduction ratio from 1:1 to 1:∞. 

The default is 1:∞. 

Hold 

The 

HOLD control adjusts the time the Gate/Expand-

er stays open after the signal drops below the threshold 

before gain reduction begins. 

HOLD is adjustable in the 

range 0–5 s; the default is 0 s. 

Attack 

The 

ATK control adjusts the time for the gate to open 

and pass the signal through once the signal exceeds the 

threshold after reduction has occurred. 

ATK is adjust-

able in the range 1–30 ms. 

ATK is scaled such that the 

faster settings can have finer adjustments. The default 

ATK is 1 ms. 

Release 

The 

REL control adjusts the time for the gate to close 

and begin gain reduction after the signal drops below 

the threshold and the hold time has passed. 

REL is ad-

justable from 50 ms to 3 s and is scaled such that faster 

settings can have finer the adjustments. The default 

REL time is 250 ms. 

Expander/Gate Mode 

The 

EXPANDER/GATE switch toggles from Gate 

to Expander. It is accessible only from the GATE/EXP 

Touchscreen, not from DYNAMICS. In Expander mode, 

the, 

HOLD, ATK and REL controls operate the same 

as in Gate mode but the 

RANGE control is displayed 

as 

RATIO. This can produce smoother sounding gain 

reduction in many situations. 

In Expander Mode, 

RANGE is replaced by RATIO 

that sets the rate of gain reduction as the signal drops 

below the Threshold. Ratio is variable between 1:20 

(maximum gain reduction) to 1:1 (no gain reduction). 

As 

RATIO approaches to 1:1, the resolution between 

values increases.