Auto Drum Gate

A gate / expander for individual drum mics. It removes bleed from the rest of the kit and the cymbals so each channel carries only the drum it is aimed at. VST3 / AU / Standalone on Windows and Mac. Zero latency (0 samples) by default.

What's new in 1.0.1

• LEARN works on every drum and stops by itself: once you have hit enough and stop for about 4 seconds, it calculates without another press.
• Threshold set from the real hits: soft hits are no longer cut, and an odd loud bleed does not push it up.
• Tells you when the bleed is too close to the hits: the threshold goes midway and it suggests moving the mic.
• Fixed the gate sometimes staying shut after a quiet passage.

Install

• One-click installer (recommended): Windows: run AutoDrumGate-…-Windows-Setup.exe. Mac: open AutoDrumGate-…-macOS-Installer.pkg (right-click → Open the first time). It puts the plug-in in the right folders and replaces an older version.
• Or install by hand from the zip files:
• Windows (VST3): unzip and copy Auto Drum Gate.vst3 to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
• Mac (VST3): copy Auto Drum Gate.vst3 to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
• Mac (AU): copy Auto Drum Gate.component to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/
• Mac (first time after installing): open Terminal, paste the command below and enter your Mac password when asked, so macOS allows the downloaded plug-in. Then reopen your DAW.
• Rescan plug-ins in your DAW (or Signal Rack). It is listed under Dynamics, maker T Sound Man.

Quick start in 5 steps

1. Put it first on the drum mic channel, before EQ and compression.
2. Press the drum button that matches the mic (KICK IN, SNARE TOP, TOM 1 ...). The Natural Live preset for that drum loads.
3. The orange "Threshold not calibrated - press LEARN" is expected: presets never set the threshold, because every show has different levels.
4. Press LEARN and follow the steps below, or turn THRESHOLD until the dashed cyan line sits above the bleed but below the drum hits.
5. Listen and set HOLD / RELEASE so tails end naturally. If tails sound chopped, lower RANGE first.

Display and meters

• Top bar — the 32 presets, < >, BYPASS (20 ms fade, no click) and the power button.
• 12 drum buttons — KICK IN, KICK OUT, SNARE TOP, SNARE BOTTOM, HI-HAT, TOM 1–3, FLOOR TOM, RIDE, CRASH, OVERHEAD.
• SIGNAL HISTORY — about 3.6 s. Grey = input, orange = output, solid cyan = gate gain, dashed cyan = the threshold actually in use.
• IN / GR / OUT meters — input level, dB of gain reduction and output level. OPEN / CLOSED shows the gate state.

Controls

• LEARN — sets the threshold from real audio.
• HPF / LPF — the band the detector listens to. They do not change the output sound; they make the gate open only for the target drum.
• LISTEN — hear what the detector hears while tuning HPF/LPF. Turn it off before the show.
• DETECTOR SLOPE 12 / 24 dB — detector filter steepness.
• KEY SOURCE INT / EXT KEY — detect from this channel or from the sidechain.
• GATE / EXPANDER / BYPASS — GATE for kick and toms, EXPANDER (gentler) for snare and cymbals.
• THRESHOLD −80 to 0 dB, RANGE 0–60 dB (maximum reduction), RATIO 1.1:1 to 20:1.
• HYSTERESIS 0–12 dB — stops chattering when a tail hovers at the threshold.
• SENSITIVITY −6 to +6 dB — fine threshold offset.
• ATTACK / HOLD / RELEASE — open, hold and close times. Hold / Release can sync to the host tempo (SYNC).
• AUTO RELEASE — follows each hit's real decay within the limits set for that drum.
• GHOST PROTECT — ghost notes up to 10 dB under the threshold open the gate half-way (on for snare presets).
• AUTO THRESHOLD — follows the average hit level, ±12 dB max (off by default).
• LOOKAHEAD Off / 0.5 / 1 / 2 ms — lets the gate open before the transient, at the cost of latency that is reported to the host. Off is recommended live.
• TRIAL / LICENSED badge (footer) — trial days left; click to enter a licence key.

LEARN

Set the preamp gain first and do not change it during LEARN. Choose the right drum button first.

1. Press LEARN. The button shows "1/2 BLEED ONLY": let the band play or hit other drums, not the target drum, for 4 seconds.
2. The button shows "2/2 HITS: n / 20": hit the target drum 12–20 times, soft, medium and hard, leaving the sound time to decay between hits.
3. LEARN finishes by itself, no second press needed: at 20 hits, or after at least 8 hits followed by about 4 seconds without one, or at 30 seconds. (You can still press LEARN to finish early.)

The result reads, for example, "Learned: open −31.2 / close −36.2 dB (N −51.0, S −7.2, 14 hits)". N is the bleed level and S the level of this drum's soft hits. The threshold goes above the bleed but at least 6 dB under the soft hits, so they are never cut.

• If the hits are only 5–9 dB above the bleed you get a warning and the threshold is set midway: it works, but move the mic closer.
• If LEARN heard almost no bleed (a quiet room), the threshold comes from the hits alone; LEARN again while the band plays.

"Insufficient separation" (hits less than 5 dB above the bleed; the threshold is left unchanged) means the bleed is as loud as the soft hits: move the mic closer, adjust HPF/LPF, use 24 dB/oct, or use Expander mode with a low Range. "Only n hits detected": hit harder or leave more space between hits.

Presets

• Natural Live (12) — the live default, natural sound.
• Tight (6: kick, toms) — shorter hold/release and more range for a tighter sound.
• Soft / Brushes (12) — quiet songs, jazz, brushes; gentle expansion.
• Keyed (2) — Kick Out keyed from Kick In, Snare Bottom keyed from Snare Top (route that channel to the plug-in's sidechain; otherwise "EXT KEY: NO SIDECHAIN CONNECTED" is shown).

Licence and trial

Fully working 14-day trial. When it ends without a licence the gate passes audio straight through (like BYPASS), so a show never goes silent. Buy a licence at tsoundman.com, click the TRIAL badge in the footer, paste the key (starts with FK2-) and press Activate.

If activation fails

• The licence window has Paste code from clipboard (pastes the key you copied) and Load key file... (reads the key from a .txt file). Both work even in hosts that block Ctrl+V / Cmd+V or right-click Paste inside plug-ins.
• Spaces and hidden characters that LINE or e-mail add to a copied key are removed automatically. Result messages always stay on top, so they never hide behind the host window.
• No licence code — the key box was empty. Copy the key again and click Paste code from clipboard, or save the key in a text file and use Load key file...
• Could not connect to the licence server — check the internet connection, then update to the latest version from the product page or My library. New versions activate through tsoundman.com, which every network can reach.
• Invalid licence code — the key must start with FK2- and belong to this product (a key for one product does not work in another). If it still fails, send a screenshot on LINE and we will check it or issue a new key.