Setting Up a Noise Gate for Podcast Voice

A noise gate silences the low-level hiss and room tone that sits between your words. Set correctly it makes the recording feel cleaner, but set too aggressively it chops the beginnings and ends of words.

Dial in a gate that stays out of the way.

1. Set the threshold just above the background noise level.
2. Use a fast attack so no word is clipped at the start.
3. Choose a release around two hundred milliseconds for natural decay.
4. Keep a small amount of hold so the gate does not chatter.

A subtle gate is invisible and effective. When you start hearing words cut off, you have gone too far, so back the threshold down.

The gate is a subtle tool, not an eraser. Used lightly it removes the hiss without touching the voice, and the difference between a good gate and a bad one is the difference between clean and choppy. Err on the gentle side.