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When you activate the EQ you can centre it around the fundamental frequency of the snare
drum (the frequency which appears to you as the loudest). With the Q control you can then
set a more or less smaller band of frequencies around that centre frequency. In other words
you select the frequency of the snare drum and then try to cut off the lower and higher end
frequencies. What now happens is that if the kick drum is hit, the filter does cut off most
of its energy so that the level detector measures a much lower value which is under the
threshold and so that the gate stays closed. It sounds much more complex than it is to do
this: make the drummer play, activate the EQ on the snare drum channel of the dBG-8 and
activate the listen button. You will now hear the effect of the EQ on the side chain channel.
Play with the Frequency and Q controls and try to isolate the snare drum and cut off most of
the base drum, hi-hat or other sounds. It might be easier if you solo the snare drum channel
on the mixing console. Once you are satisfied, release the listen function. Keep your atten-
tion to the snare drum sound, if you are missing snare drum hits or parts of the sound, go
over your controls again: first the threshold, than the Q control, than the release time. Use
the listen function to verify if you have correctly set the Frequency.
If you are new to using gates, please take the time to experiment and find out how the con-
trols work and the effect they have. You will quickly discover how easy it is to operate the
Apex dBG-8 and how it can help you getting a better sound.
Good Luck!
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