Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
4 of a Kind One Knob Noise Gates
All 4 of these are One-Knob 4-cable / 4-port Noise Gates - where you can place all your ’noisy’ pedals in an FX Loop, and allow your other effects to pass through unaffected. I feel Boss pioneered this approach first with its 3-knob NS-2 from 1987 while there may have been someone before then which I don’t have any references for!- while I still rely on my Alchemy Audio Modded NS-2 Noise Suppressor - which has been firmly lodged in my rig / signal chain almost from the start - probably my longest serving pedal overall!
The only one of these 4 featured ones that I’ve actually owned is the Decimator G String - which I did not like as much as my Modded NS-2 - and it’s the only pedal I’ve ever returned to the store. My Modded NS-2 felt a lot more natural and organic - and for whatever reason I just didn’t get on with the Decimator G String. It’s one of the quickest snap-back decisions I’ve made, and it taught me to not always presume that the grass might be greener for a different pedal. You often get told this pedal is better than the other - while repeated exposure frequently doesn’t bear that out - often it’s just a matter of customer usage preferences - or where they don’t quite know how to get the best out of that device, or else prefer a device that does things slightly differently - indeed the intricacies of pedal ownership and deployment!
There are sill legions of people who swear by the ISP Decimator series - and it obviously works well for them - while as I’ve often said - you may have different sensibilities and usage needs - and may in fact deploy the pedal in a very different manner. There are a lot of Dunning-Kruger issues with pedals - which often stem from a lack of knowledge and experience.
That said - it’s often different horses for different courses - and not everyone is going to like exactly the same thing. Each of these 4 Noise Gates has a singular Threshold knob - while the Ibanez model has an additional High/Low switch - which I feel is permitted within this selection. They all have the 4-ports and a single Threshold knob in common!
There are lots of other more comprehensive noise gates out there that do not fit this specific on knob format - this is deliberately the simplest form of Compact Noise Gates - while there are also some similar Mini Enclosure Editions too - which are near enough equally popular and almost as varied!
Here are the 4 featured :
- ISP Decimator X G String Edition - $236
- Ibanez Pentatone Gate - $119
- Lichtlaerm Audio The Key & The Gate - $189
- MXR Noise Clamp - $119
With additional details on each below - note that the most expensive one here is twice the price of the 2 lowest-cost editions.
I personally would be most likely to go with something like the KMA Machines Pylon, or TC Electronic Sentry - both of which I’ve considered several times before. From this selection I would most likely go with the Lichtlaerm one - as I have had a such a consistent high level experience with that brand.
While I’m still largely very satisfied with my Modded NS-2 - and will most likely continue with that until such a time someone gives me an offer I cannot refuse - with indisputable evidence that it performs better for my sensibilities.
ISP Decimator X G String Edition - $236
Controls - Threshold
This the one I had for a couple of weeks - I tried everything I could to get myself to like this as much as my Alchemy Modded NS-2 - but my solidly reliable Boss seemed to be superior in all the situations and contexts I tried out. The Deciator X G String Edition was just a pedal that I didn't gel with. There haven't been many such over the yeas - as I usually find some optimal way to deploy each pedal - but there have been a couple that turned out to be not my thing - and this was one of those. I was persuaded by many to 'upgrade' from my Modded NS-2 to this superior version - but I just never liked this as much as my incumbent - and after the two weeks switched the NS-2 back in - and took this one back to the store. While several still swear by it!
Ibanez Pentatone Gate - $119
Controls - Threshold (+ Intensity : High / Low).
This is one of the latest ones here and benefits from an additional toggle-switch - where you can further define the clamping action into High and Low intensity. A well priced device, and one that has one obvious example over something like the below MXR Noise Clamp.
Lichtlaerm Audio The Key & The Gate - $189
Controls - Threshold.
I've loved every Licthlaerm pedal that I've gotten my hands on, and am a huge admirer of Daniel Ringl and his output - he makes exceptionally crafted highest quality pedals - at a very reasonable price point. All is high gain pedals in particularly and top tier industry leaders - I love all that I own, And from this selection I would probably go with The Key & The Gate.
MXR Noise Clamp - $119
Controls - Trigger
A very similar proposition to the Ibanez - minus that one High/Low toggle - and with the Threshold renamed as 'Trigger' here - but that self same 4-port noise gate pedal, very much at the budget level. You get a tiny bit more with the Ibanez - but that's nothing really to write home about - they're mostly the same sort of thing - but you may still have your own preference owing to get tightness and smoothness of the clamping. I like it fast but smooth and organic - while a lot of metal players in particular like a really hard and snappy cut-off - for maximum palm muted chugs!
START OF NOISE SUPPRESSION THRESHOLD
WARNING : SENSITIVE MATERIALS ENCLOSED >> >> YOU SHOUD PROBABLY SKIP!
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What with the current economic uncertainties - pedal discounts for my works have become increasingly hard to come by - and as a result - this has been an unusually expensive year for me so far - with fewer pedals able to be sourced each month as a result (shipping and customs charges keep going up and up! also).
I used to get major release debriefs at the star of each year from a number of the brands I’m affiliated with - while this year I’ve not had a single debrief - ’0’. I kind of feel that no one cares any more - we still have war in Ukraine and Genocide in Gaza, with Conflict brewing in Kashmir and a still largely unstable Middle-East - with mostly ineffective and ignorant journalism present in most societies (often just peddling out and out lies and political propaganda). And the Effects Industry is similarly currently negatively impacted by various factors - with the Pedal Sector largely flatlining, and where we’re seeing several Store and Business Closures - I’ve seen that a number of builders are now shuttering their operations and returning to their other day jobs. We live in unusual times!
And despite my solid works on behalf of this industry, this journey has proven to be rather unrelenting and unrewarding of late (with a few exceptions) - I’m at a point where I’m not sure this industry or community still deserves my ongoing support - it will certainly be a poorer environment without me! Guitar Pedal X is a very unique, hands-on and richly detailed resource that several seemingly make use of within their daily routine - but everyone kind of seems to mostly take me for granted - where there’s not always been a lot of respect for what I do - I often get called out as just being a ’fanboy’ and nothing more, and where the various podcasts somehow seemingly don’t want me to feature in any of their episodes - which I can only presume to be some kind of prejudice - but hey ho - if you still care about anything that I do - speak out and let it be known - or else I will have to seek out other pastures where I’m better received, respected and supported. I’ve put a brave face on it so far - but my resolve is starting to crumble.
I was considering attending Guitar Summit this year - which has numerous associated costs for me - well over a €1000, probably closer to €1,500 - and I just can’t afford to take that many pedals out of the pipeline - which I’m still solely funding myself - and which is how I mostly coordinate the articles on this site. Taking €1,500 out of my monthly budget vastly reduces the numbers of pedals I can properly feature on the site - and with the current environment - I’m very unlikely to pick up any significant number of new pedals at the show. Every conversation seems harder and harder these days - and I mostly have to chase things up over and again. And those people I’ve been talking to then forget to include me in their release and launch plans - and I get either entirely left out or incredibly disrespectful last minute notice - often on the night before, or even day of the release - where I’ve no time to come up with anything particularly creative! It mostly just strikes me as inconsiderate and disrespectful.
Moreover the various guitar and pedal shows take a lot of time and resources to attend, compile and write-up - (and my show reports are among the very best out there - just check out my recent Birmingham write-up. but those are mostly my least viewed and least liked articles - all that work and high level expense really means that those bigger overseas shows make no practical sense for me - unless I’m sponsored in some way - which seems like it’s never going to happen - most brands aren’t even willing to pay for adverting on GPX (The world’s most popular pedal blog!) - so I’m going to have to switch across to general programmatic advertising - which will promote all kinds of crap on the site - and which I’ve made a concerted effort to ensure never happened all these years. But I’ve kind of been forced into a corner - and advertising is the only way I can make money. I am just one man - I do a of this on my own - the visuals, the writing, the conceptualising - it’s all just me!
But there really seems to be no significant support for my efforts from any quarter really - I have a minimal amount of Patreons to date - which really aren’t contributing anything significant at all - wile I’m of course thankful to all the high-tier supporters - but those are barely a handful. Lots of readers said they would support me on Patreon - but very few turned up for me! And people still regularly consult with me and don’t feel they need to be on Patreon for that privilege. People won’t event pay $1 a month to access the superb AI system that’s pioneered on this site - by far and away the first in this industry.
Despite many valiant efforts on behalf of hundreds of brands - I almost never get mentioned or name-checked in return bar for a few dedicated allies - most though don’t even do reposts. The whole industry still uses my visuals uncredited - while several bad actors have tried to claim those as their own work - and even Guitar magazines have used my visuals and credited sone random plagiarist instead. And while I shine a light in every direction - almost no one seems willing to carry a torch for ne to return the compliment. This world is increasingly becoming a cold and heartless place for me. And most of the time I seemingly feel alone, abandoned and exiled.
I’m increasingly feeling that my efforts are not being appreciated here - despite how much my efforts might aid those brands I support - and where a number of you will alas feel the loss of my passing... all I’ve ever wanted is a little reciprocity and recognition here - but no one is really standing up for me these days! My expectation levels are subterranean as is - while it seems I still have some even lower levels to endure. It’s not quite a case of farewell cruel world yet - while I definitely currently live with a deep crushing existential despair. And yes I can be somewhat sensitive at times - there's a major and tangible disturbance in the force!
I’m really not sure I have the strength of will to carry on much longer - there’s only so long that I can put a brave face on things. I’ve made massive sacrifices over my many yeas of service to this industry - while there are still many who are eerily suspicious of my intentions - surely I’ve proven myself by now! - where it increasingly doesn’t look like there is much collective will remaining to ensure my continuation. I really am on the brink of throwing in the towel here!
NOTE that I do suffer bouts of deep existential crushing depression (DECD) once or twice a year - and I’m in the throws of a deeply crushing one right at this moment, I normally manage to work my way though it in a week or two, while occasionally is cuts deeper and lasts longer. I will let you know how I feel when I emerge again on the other side!
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NOISE SUPPRESSION ENDS
