Sonible has developed not only a new AI-powered plugin but an advanced methodology for gating. Unlike conventional gates, which are purely triggered by input level, smart:gate‘s artificial intelligence makes it content-aware.

Now for the first time, gating can be as simple as selecting a target source from a drop-down menu. Whether you’re targeting vocals, electric guitar, piano or a suite of other options, the result is a gate that delivers reliably even if a target source varies in level, or if a competing instrument is louder than the signal you want to keep.

“Conventional gates have been eyed skeptically in the past – I sure did so. We figured, that the solution to eliminating the uncertainty that comes with gates was to shift the processing’s focus onto the target signal instead of the overall signal. It’s a new approach that might need a little time to wrap one’s head around, but the results speak for themselves.” – Peter Sciri, sonible co-founder and CTO

Simple setup, powerful control

smart:gate’s visualizer traces the level of the detected target signal, not the entire input signal, making parametrization straightforward and faster. With sonible’s ‘Instant Replay’, when you change a parameter, the visualized signal changes the whole signal history, predicting the impact on the entire signal.

With Level Bias, the gating behavior can follow the detected signal more or less closely – great for refining the response on transient material like drums, or keeping non-transient material like vocals more natural. You can also use smart:gate without its content-aware AI features, for operation as a conventional gate.

Gating response can be customized further with the ‘Impact control’, which scales back the amount of gain reduction applied when the gate is closed. smart:gate also offers a Ducking mode to reduce the target signal instead of passing it through. A three-band suppression network helps to weight gating across the frequency spectrum.
 
Available for Windows and Mac (VST/VST3, AU and AAX), smart:gate is on sale for the introductory price of 89 EUR until August 21st, 2023 (regular 129 EUR).

The offer is available at the Sonible store and from distributor Plugin Boutique.