Difference between PC4K Expander or Gate to kill headphone bleed?

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mauryw
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2012/06/01 07:18:06 (permalink)

Difference between PC4K Expander or Gate to kill headphone bleed?

I have headphone bleed in the spaces of a vocal track.  I thought I needed to put a gate on the track to eliminate the bleed so I put the PC4K Exp/Gate onto the PC.  The module defaults to Expander Mode (the Gate button is NOT highlighted) and the bleed goes away.  I tried the Gate mode and did not like it as much as the Expander mode.  How does an expander work, what do you use it for other than to eliminate bleed, and why does it work better than a gate?

Larry Williams

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    benjaminfrog
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    Re:Difference between PC4K Expander or Gate to kill headphone bleed? 2012/06/01 07:24:50 (permalink)
    It's pretty much like the difference between a compressor and a limiter - only in reverse. Basically, it's like this...

    Expansion: Anything below the threshold is attenuated by a ratio.

    Gate: Anything below the threshold is attenuated infinitely.

    Hope this helps.
    #2
    EtherealEntity
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    Re:Difference between PC4K Expander or Gate to kill headphone bleed? 2012/06/01 09:37:20 (permalink)
    ^ That's helpful :) Still - I've found most gates I've used to have an attenuation setting that is adjustable.
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    Karyn
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    Re:Difference between PC4K Expander or Gate to kill headphone bleed? 2012/06/01 10:16:37 (permalink)
    The idea of a gate is to turn a signal on or off. Most will let you set the rate at which that happens (attack/release time) and some will let you set a minimum level that the signal is attenuated down to, like a dim function.

    As soon as you add variable ratios to the gain reduction it is called an expander and the intended function is to increase the dynamics of the signal rather than mute it when it's not meant to be there.

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    konradh
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    Re:Difference between PC4K Expander or Gate to kill headphone bleed? 2012/06/01 10:31:07 (permalink)
    Maury, What type of bleed?  I ask because a little music track bleeding can often be manageable although annoying, but I have had great vocal takes ruined by a loud click track during an a capella section.  (Singer is singing a section solo but with a click to stay somewhat in sync until the music comes back.) 
    #5
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