Revision as of 17:00, 8 December 2013

Manual

Each preset has a noise gate at the input (Layout menu). It uses CPU cycles, so switch it off (turn Threshold to Off) if you have no need for it in a preset.
It's also advisable to set the right Instr In setting. Cliff: "To get the best noise performance it is important that the Instr In trim is set correctly in the I/O->Input menu. Set this as high as possible without clipping the input." Source
The separate Gate/Expander blocks are useful for additional noise control.
A different approach to keeping the noise low: try a VOL block with the volume parameter tied to the Envelope controller. As long as you don't hit the strings, the (input) signal is off.

The Input Noise Gate on the II works different than on the Standard/Ultra. Adjusting Threshold won't do anything if Ratio isn't adjusted as well.
Cliff (firmware 10): "I DID change the default attack time. For a guitar gate you typically want the attack time as short as possible and I don't think people realize this so I changed the default value." Source
Firmware 11:
- Noise gate settings can be saved as global blocks.
- Added Level parameter to Noise Gate. This allows sending a lower or higher level into the effects grid which can be used to compensate for guitars with varying output.
You can use SCSEL (SideChain Select) to select the signal the gate is working with. If the gate is the first block in the routing there's no need to use SCSEL. But if the gate is placed after other blocks in the routing, it can be useful to use SCSEL to set an optimal source signal, such as Input 1. This is similar to the way the ISP Decimator operates. Source1 Source2

Cliff: "I don't use the gate at all. On the Ultra I would use the gate on high gain patches but I find I don't need it now. I did some measurements and the II is at least 10 dB better SNR." Source

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ==Multiple gate possibilities==
 * Each preset has a noise gate at the input (Layout menu). It uses CPU cycles, so switch it off (turn Threshold to Off) if you have no need for it in a preset.
+* It's also advisable to set the right Instr In setting. Cliff: "To get the best noise performance it is important that the Instr In trim is set correctly in the I/O->Input menu. Set this as high as possible without clipping the input." [http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-bugs/78649-noise.html#post956435 Source]
 * The separate Gate/Expander blocks are useful for additional noise control.
 * A different approach to keeping the noise low: try a VOL block with the volume parameter tied to the Envelope controller. As long as you don't hit the strings, the (input) signal is off.