Mackie TT24 Quick Start 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.