HX Effect Noise Gate

[SadistikPriest]

Does the built in noise gate of the HX Effects unit tame noise from a high a gain amp or only the unit's built in distortion/gain tones? 

[silverhead]

The Noise Gate affects the signal as it reaches the Noise Gate FX block at its position in the signal chain, regardless of what amp or other FX have produced the signal up to that point in the chain. For instance, if you are using 4CM and place the Noise Gate after the FX Loop then the signal will include the preamp section of the external amp. If you place it before the FX Loop then it will not affect the amp because the signal has not yet reached the amp.

 

Conversely, if you place one of the internal HX FX distortion blocks before the Noise Gate block it will be affected by the Noise Gate. If you place the distortion block after the Noise Gate then its signal does not pass through the Noise Gate and hence won’t be affected.

[HonestOpinion]

On 6/26/2022 at 8:15 AM, silverhead said:

The Noise Gate affects the signal as it reaches the Noise Gate FX block at its position in the signal chain, regardless of what amp or other FX have produced the signal up to that point in the chain. For instance, if you are using 4CM and place the Noise Gate after the FX Loop then the signal will include the preamp section of the external amp. If you place it before the FX Loop then it will not affect the amp because the signal has not yet reached the amp.

 

Conversely, if you place one of the internal HX FX distortion blocks before the Noise Gate block it will be affected by the Noise Gate. If you place the distortion block after the Noise Gate then its signal does not pass through the Noise Gate and hence won’t be affected.

 

@SadistikPriest One note to add to @silverhead's comment above is that any block that adds gain or distortion may be sufficient to take what may be a barely noticeable degree of noise, from for example a noisy pickup, and amplify it to the point where it becomes problematic. This means that, although not necessarily intuitive, you can often lower your noise floor to negligible levels by using the Input block's gate immediately after the noise's source (in this example your guitar), rather than running a noise gate after the amp or overdrive block. You have essentially nipped the problem in the bud by sending a cleaner signal down through the entire signal path.

 

Btw, different snapshots often require different threshold levels on the gate for optimal sound. I usually assign the 'Threshold' parameter in my noise gate to snapshots such that the gate on a more overdriven sound with an inherently higher noise floor like a distorted lead, will clamp down sooner than a clean snapshot that probably doesn't require much gating, if any. I try to find the threshold level that will clamp the noise without killing my sustain.