Noise Gate Pedal article
Noise Gate Pedal for Beginners: A Complete Guide
A noise gate pedal is quick to set up once you understand threshold, attack and release, and where the pedal belongs in the chain. Here is everything a first-time user needs to know.
Getting a noise gate pedal working correctly is a five-minute job once you understand the three controls and where the pedal sits in the chain. Most problems with noise gates come from incorrect placement or threshold settings, not faulty equipment.
Where to Put It in the Chain
The most common approach is to place the gate after your guitar and before any gain stages — that is, first in the pedal chain. This positions it to track the cleanest version of your signal, which usually produces the most accurate gating. The gate sees the guitar directly and opens and closes in response to your actual playing.
If you are using a unit with a send/return loop (such as the Boss NS-2), route your gain pedals through the loop: guitar into the gate’s input, gate’s send into your overdrive and distortion pedals, those pedals’ output into the gate’s return, gate’s output to the amplifier. This way the gate tracks your clean guitar signal while gating the noisy output of your dirt pedals — tighter and more accurate than inline-only placement.
Setting the Threshold
The threshold is the most important control. Set it as low as possible while still silencing the noise during pauses in your playing. Here is how to calibrate it:
- Set the threshold to its minimum position.
- Stop playing and listen to the noise floor with your gain pedals active.
- Slowly raise the threshold until the noise disappears during the pause.
- Play a note and let it sustain. If the note cuts off unnaturally, the threshold is too high. Lower it slightly.
- Test with your actual playing style — fast rhythm, palm-muted riffs, sustaining lead notes — and adjust until the gate opens correctly for all of them.
Setting Attack and Release
Not all units include attack control; many only have release (sometimes labelled Decay). Attack controls how quickly the gate opens when you play a note. Too slow an attack creates a swelling effect rather than an immediate note onset. In most cases, set attack as fast as possible.
Release controls how quickly the gate closes after your signal drops below threshold. Too fast a release cuts off the natural decay of notes. Too slow a release allows noise to bleed through for too long after you stop playing. Start with a medium release setting and adjust based on how the sustaining notes feel — aim for a natural fade that doesn’t sound artificially truncated.
Testing With Your Full Rig
Test the noise gate pedal settings with your full signal chain active, at performance volume, with all the other pedals you normally use switched on. A threshold setting that works at low volume may behave differently at stage volume, and a setting calibrated with a single overdrive may need adjustment when a second gain stage is in the chain.
Common Setup Errors
The most frequent mistake is setting the threshold too high. This causes notes to be cut short, produces a choppy, unnatural tone and can make palm-muted riffs drop in and out inconsistently. When in doubt, set it lower rather than higher. Some noise during hard palm mutes is preferable to notes being cut before they finish.
Placing the gate after a long chain of buffered pedals, rather than at the start or in a loop, can result in tracking that follows the processed signal rather than the guitar itself, which often produces less accurate gating. If your gate seems slow to react or cuts incorrectly, check its placement in the chain.
For a full guide to how the pedal works and the types available, see our noise gate pedal overview. For buying recommendations, read the buyer’s guide.
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