In need of a noise gate/ supressor

[sonnybb]

Hi, I'm new here
I'm going between the Boss NS-2, the MXR M-135 Smart Gate, & the EHX Hum Debugger. Read some reviews of the Smart Gate and I'm leaning more towards it. I don't use a whole lot of gain, but I do have a lot of pedals that contribute to the noise/feedback more than anything, especially my Boss CS-3 as I get the occasional squeal. I'm look at putting it through my effects loop to tame any unwanted amp noise as well.

 

[Eric Christian]

Hi, I'm new here
I'm going between the Boss NS-2, the MXR M-135 Smart Gate, & the EHX Hum Debugger. Read some reviews of the Smart Gate and I'm leaning more towards it. I don't use a whole lot of gain, but I do have a lot of pedals that contribute to the noise/feedback more than anything, especially my Boss CS-3 as I get the occasional squeal. I'm look at putting it through my effects loop to tame any unwanted amp noise as well.

None of the above. Get a ISP Decimator G-String. Also, the CS-3 adds a lot of noise. The Keeley 4 knob compressor is a much better choice.

 

[mniel8195]

the isp decimator g string is awesome and i have had a few of them.

 

[sonnybb]

I'm not on a decimator budget, just need to tame a bit of hiss for peace of mind and the occasional feedback depending on my proximity to my gear. Do you have anything to say about the ones I've listed?

 

[mongey]

on a budget regular ISP decimator .Its cheaper than the mxr options isnt it ?

I recently got one to put in fornt of my amp as my comp was adding noise on high gain. any comp will do this . I got the empress comp whcih is as high quality as you can get for a pedal .

the decimator works perfectly .I'm really impressed with how it will fade away instead of just clamping down on the threshold

kills the hiss and stops most feedback. it can still feedback but you dont have to be as careful , but also have it set pretty gentle . just to the level of hiss

 

[Krucifixtion]

Get an ISP. The EHX Humdebugger isn't really a noise gate in the same sense as ISP, Boss, MXR, etc.

 

[Sephael]

MXR noise clamp is cheap and great.

 

[TeethLikeNathan]

The Rocktron hush works pretty well also IMO, obviously not as good as the ISP but definitely doesn't cut tone like the boss

 

[Greatoliver]

I'm actually a fan of the Boss NS2. While it may cut more tone etc., I don't think it does in a detrimental way, and being able to do the 4cable method with one pedal is really useful. If you have the money, there are better pedals out there (ISP...).

 

[Hyacinth]

I have two smart gates and they work well...so the Smart gate gets my vote if you're on a budget.

 

[Eric Christian]

I'm not on a decimator budget, just need to tame a bit of hiss for peace of mind and the occasional feedback depending on my proximity to my gear. Do you have anything to say about the ones I've listed?

Honestly I've owned the BOSS NS-2 and demoed the other gates you listed and they're all inferior compared to the ISP Decimator G-String. Does your budget include having to listen to the tone sucking of the NS-2? My logic is if I'm willing to drop $100 on a piece of crappy gear thats going to sort of work but clamp down on my tone and decay my leads then certainly I can save up for another month or so and get something thats actually going to work. Dude trust me, its that good. Get a Guitar Center credit card and use a coupon and if you don't like it just return it. Read up and then decide for yourself.

EDIT: Also what mongey said, with the ISP Decimator G-String you can have all the good controllable feedback you want, it cuts out all the squeally stuff that you don't want unlike the NS-2 which just clamps down like a vice on everything yet you can still hear hissing.

http://www.isptechnologies.com/portfolio/decimator-pedal/

http://www.isptechnologies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Decimator-white-paper.pdf

 

[Philligan]

Does your budget include having to listen to the tone sucking of the NS-2?

Opinions FTW. I had an NS-2 and a regular Decimator. It felt like the NS-2 smoothed out my tone a little bit, but I didn't think it was in a bad way. And I like how you have the control over what it does. You can choose how hard and fast the gating is. The ISP just has the all-purpose "noise gate" knob. I really liked my NS-2, and you can find used ones for dirt cheap.

 

[NinjaRaf]

I imagine every one is gonna tell you to get a decimator. In 2009, I bought 5 gates at once...decimator, g-string, smart gate, hush, ns-2. The ns-2, IMO, was the best. Did what it was supposed to do, and in 4CM, it kills ALL noise, literally. Sounds like your rig is off when its actually on.

 

[Philligan]

I imagine every one is gonna tell you to get a decimator. In 2009, I bought 5 gates at once...decimator, g-string, smart gate, hush, ns-2. The ns-2, IMO, was the best. Did what it was supposed to do, and in 4CM, it kills ALL noise, literally. Sounds like your rig is off when its actually on.

Definitely. It seems to work for Adam D

With the Decimator, I found the single knob kind of picky. When I got it where I liked it, it did a great job, and was definitely more transparent than any other gate I've used, but the NS-2 is just so straightforward and predictable.

 

[NinjaRaf]

Definitely. It seems to work for Adam D

With the Decimator, I found the single knob kind of picky. When I got it where I liked it, it did a great job, and was definitely more transparent than any other gate I've used, but the NS-2 is just so straightforward and predictable.

Yeah, I agree with that to a degree. I couldnt get either of the ISP ones to a point where I was happy with what it was doing. The others were cool, but for me, I NEED a gate where I can run it in 4CM...or I need 2 gates lol. Im too OCD about noise to be able to play without that dead silence. Right now, Im not playing in a band or doing any kind of jamming or shows, so no gate is fine at home, but when Im doing that again, Ill definitely be getting another ns-2...without even considering anything else.

And I agree...it works for Adam D, and a lot of other pros, so why wouldnt it work for a bunch of amateurs like us

 

[Eric Christian]

And I agree...it works for Adam D, and a lot of other pros, so why wouldnt it work for a bunch of amateurs like us

Well, for whats its worth a couple weeks ago when the roadies were dragging Whitechapel's gear off the stage somebodies rack drawer had a ISP Decimator G-String next to all the other pedals...

 

[incinerated_guitar]

Well, for whats its worth a couple weeks ago when the roadies were dragging Whitechapel's gear off the stage somebodies rack drawer had a ISP Decimator G-String next to all the other pedals...

But thats whitechapel...not killswitch

 

[WarMachine]

Im with Philligan and NinjaRaf, NS-2 all the way. Maybe i just have the best NS-2 produced but i never noticed any change in tone at all. And i record music religiously so if there were a change in tone im pretty sure i would have caught it. And i have and still use my 5150 for the past 9 years with zero issue with it. Its all in how you want to run it. I like to leave the amp a little open and not so tight in the riffing so i always ran mine thru the effects loop to kill that 5150 static. Oh, and btw, it would STILL let you feedback running it this way Also, if you try the 4CM with it, you can run all the OD/Screamers/Boosts in the world in the front and it still get as quiet as turning the amp off. I cant vouch for the ISP, it definitely gets a ton of praise, but then again when everything i needed in a gate worked with the NS-2, i stopped looking...just a thought

 

[7stringDemon]

The Decimator G-String is awesome as hell. I don't know what I'd do without it.

BUT! if you can't afford it, then I'd get a Boss NS2.

 

[sage]

I've owned the MXR Smart Gate and the NS-2. I have no qualms recommending the NS-2. It's really slick. There is a little bit of tone suckage, but if you tweak your amp, you can get it back up to where you like it. My rig consists of 8 pedals before the amp and without the NS-2, it's a buzzy, hissy disaster. When you're recording, unplug everything you don't need for a particular song and get the best direct tone you can. When playing live, there are compromises and gating hiss is going to cause tone loss, no matter what you use. Remember that the bulk of your audience understands a lot less about guitarophile tone quality than they do about shitty ambient hiss amplified through the PA system.