Anyone know how to build a simle gate?

[tddy934]

I would like to build a very simple noise gate just to clean up after my distortion pedals.
Anyone have a schematic, layout, guide, ect?
Please.

[caspercody]

Check out tonepad.com. There you will find the MXR Noise gate complete project.

[blacKtearZ]

I have been after the same for quite a while now. A simple circuit noise gate that could be built into distortion pedals.
The simplest one i have seen so far is the GE diode pair as used in Boss HM-2 but its not that brilliant at work. You can try it out with your circuits and see how it goes.

[Scruffie]

The DOD230 is a pretty simple Gate Circuit, probably simpler than the MXR.

[caspercody]

I did make the MXR Noise Gate, and when I first plugged it in all I got was a straight guitar sound. I replaced the Jfet with a 2n5457, and worked perfect. So do not use the 2n5952 as mentioned on the layout.

[choklitlove]

I did make the MXR Noise Gate, and when I first plugged it in all I got was a straight guitar sound. I replaced the Jfet with a 2n5457, and worked perfect. So do not use the 2n5952 as mentioned on the layout.

thanks, i'll have to dig out my project i never touched after the first attempt...

[Mark Hammer]

I can tell you right now that you are not going to like it.

If you run your distortion at any sort of high volume, the threshold will have to be set so high on the gate that you will lose the beginnings and ends of notes.

[caspercody]

Mark,
Is that true of all noise gates? Or are you just referring to the MXR?

[Mark Hammer]

Virtually all gates.

The problem is that gates need wide dynamic range in the signal in order to be able to accurately determine, on the basis of level only, what is signal and what is noise.  Distortions have the nasty habit of: a) reducing dynamic range, and b) introducing a lot of hiss at their output.  As a result, instead of trying to spot an elephant on an arctic ice floe, it becomes like trying to hear the phone while you are in the shower.  The contrast is reduced to the point of difficulty.

Even though one's instinct is to stick the gate after the device that is producing all the noise, often it is better to stick the gate before such a pedal so that it can take advantage of the easier detectability and discriminability of noise vs signal.

My own suggestion is usually to use two gates: one at the start of the chain, and one at the end, each set very gently.  The problem with the way most people use gates is that they expect them to clean up too many sins.  To do that, the turn-on threshold has to be set much too high, and that destroys the naturalness of the picking.