Noisegate and ethics

[Dr.Mavashi]

Do you guys think that using noisegate is kind of cheating? I know it was designed to spuress side effects of high gain/over drive and stuff, but back in the day I remember that I realized there was a way with it when it made you sound cleaner. Now, I have a real insecurity thinking about it today, like lipsinging of sorts ....... what do you think?

 

[A Skater]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

Personally, I tend to learn everything when in clean. When it sounds amazing clean, then onto the distortion without a noisegate. If I'm going to learn something distorted, I practice until it sounds perfect. In short, I don't use the noise gate as a way of cheating. Use it to prevent feedback, but don't use it to cover up sloppy playing.

 

[Artie]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

I tend to think that the audience just wants to hear music. They don't care how you get there. Case in point . . . DJ Tiesto is huge. He spins CD's. The crowd treats him like a band.

(Don't get me wrong. I like him.)

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

You could extend that rationale to the point where you start saying electric guitars are cheating because they make you louder and make it easier to alter your tone. Or even that acoustic guitars, or any instrument for that matter, is cheating, since they provide an advantage over people who can only sing and clap their hands to make music.

Stop thinking about it and play the damn thing!

 

[SpiderVenom]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

You could extend that rationale to the point where you start saying electric guitars are cheating because they make you louder and make it easier to alter your tone. Or even that acoustic guitars, or any instrument for that matter, is cheating, since they provide an advantage over people who can only sing and clap their hands to make music.

Stop thinking about it and play the damn thing!

+1,000,000

There's only one rule for any sort of music. If it sounds good, it is good. How you get there is entirely irrelevant. People might be more appreciative of a certain means to an end, but at the end of the day, it's just noise. Do whatever you want to make it good noise.

 

[vinterland]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

I have no idea how you came up with ethics and a noisegate as being in parallel. It's technology. That's like saying the guys using DAW's are cheating as opposed to the guys using 24 track studer's and old tube gear.

 

[SpiderVenom]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

I have no idea how you came up with ethics and a noisegate as being in parallel. It's technology. That's like saying the guys using DAW's are cheating as opposed to the guys using 24 track studer's and old tube gear.

In addition to this - I must be dumb. I've never managed to make a noise gate cover sloppy playing. Interference and other noise in between playing, yes. Actual bad playing... uh, no. Guess I must not know something.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

In addition to this - I must be dumb. I've never managed to make a noise gate cover sloppy playing. Interference and other noise in between playing, yes. Actual bad playing... uh, no. Guess I must not know something.

Perhaps "sloppy playing" in this case is the inability to effictively mute the strings between notes/chords. I don't get it either.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

Anything that improves your performance and decreases you audiences discomfort is possitive.

 

[HamerPlyr]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

Perhaps "sloppy playing" in this case is the inability to effictively mute the strings between notes/chords.

From my interpretation of it, that's exactly what he means.

I understand exactly where you're coming from on this. I have the same tendencies in wanting to achieve something via my own ability and proper technique rather than having to resort to a gadget or gadgets to help me get there.

It's kinda like winning a game by cheating. I don't feel like I won anything if I think that I had to cheat to get there.

Yes, you can take this to extremes.

I think that it's more about personal preferences and staying true to your own standards of acceptability. For example, I love to hear guys who are really good at tasteful use of a whammy bar, but it feels like I would be cheating if I did it. It's great for them, but not great in my own playing. Make sense?

 

[HamerPlyr]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

I'm not a big fan of them personally, but I don't see how it would be cheating. It just cuts back on the noise, it doesn't make you sound better or play faster.

From my perspective, if I'm trying to reduce or eliminate noise that I could theoretically eliminate myself through better technique, I can see how some would regard it as being kinda cheating.

 

[LesStrat]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

It depends. If you have a lengthy signal chain with alot of gain, a noisegate is essential.

If you use it to eliminate hums and hisses due to gain, it's essential.

But I don't believe it EVER becomes an ethical issue.

 

[SpiderVenom]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

I don't see how you could eliminate noise with a gate that you could otherwise eliminate with better playing. No matter how carefully you stop the strings, you can't eliminate some interference and signal chain noise.

I suppose you could set the threshold high enough to eliminate some level of bad muting, but even then...

 

[SpiderVenom]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

Good point. At the very most I will run a true bypass wah and and a Boss Blues Driver. My signal chain isn't very big, so I guess I forget that others have to deal with that. It still isn't cheating to me though.

Indeed. A good gate can almost be a necessity with a really high gain amp and plethora of pedals. When you've got enormous gain, there's always some trace level of noise that will be amplified, even in the best of setups.

 

[HamerPlyr]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

Indeed. A good gate can almost be a necessity with a really high gain amp and plethora of pedals. When you've got enormous gain, there's always some trace level of noise that will be amplified, even in the best of setups.

Agreed, but that wasn't my interpretation of the meaning of the original question.

 

[Diego]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

If it works for you, then do it. Brian May plays with very light strings (8s I think?), but who cares? Wimpy strings, but it works for him. Do the same for you.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

I think noise gates are essential for any high gain player that doesn't want to deal with feedback and excessive string noise and amp hum, or other hum due to whatever reason.

I would hardly call it cheating if you deploy a noise gate in order to eliminate these things. Show me a player that can drastically reduce hum, string noise, other buzz, and especially feedback as effectively as that little box known as a noise gate, and I will surrender my opinion to you. It's not playing or technique that stops feedback, as feedback itself is a product of volume and where you're standing in my experience.

How can me being a better player stop that? All I have to do is move myself to a different spot, or just turn where I'm facing. But should I have to deal with that in the middle of a performance? Absolutely not. In that way, a noise gate is a life saver because then you don't have to think about that at all. I can mute the strings easily, sure, but then there's other buzz, and if there's nothing I can do to stop it, what better use than a noise gate?

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

That's like saying I don't play Duncans because it's not fair for the other players.

 

[SpiderVenom]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

Agreed, but that wasn't my interpretation of the meaning of the original question.

I understand what your interpretation was, but it doesn't really make sense to me - a noise gate is only of practical use to cover stuff technique just can't.

Maybe I'm missing something - will someone please explain the steps I should follow to cover bad technique with a noise gate? :eek13:

 

[HamerPlyr]

Re: Noisegate and ethics

Maybe I'm missing something - will someone please explain the steps I should follow to cover bad technique with a noise gate? :eek13:

The threshold is set to the point where the slight vibration of open or almost open strings is suppressed. It would be used to compensate for poor muting technique in one or both hands. It is horrible because it supresses a lot of stuff that you do want to hear and severely limits your use of dynamics. I played along side a guy who tried to use a gate for this and it was just horrid. It's horrible, but it can be done.