Does DL1608 use "zero-crossing" algorthm for gate?

[rhythmrider]

Planning to buy a DL1608

Does anyone know if the DL1608 uses a "zero-crossing" algorthm for the DSP gate?
I have noticed that the DSP gates in a lot of gear surprisingly does not.
(which really sucks for kick drum gating)

Thanks!

[dpdan]

I can tell you that the gate on the DL series mixers work great for kick,... better than very expensive gates that I have owned by BSS and Drawmer.
No clipping off the attack of the sound. This is of course because the processing can "look ahead" and catch the attack much more accurately than an analog gate,
only because there is a minisule amount of latency in digital audio processing.

 

[walterw]

No clipping off the attack of the sound. This is of course because the processing can "look ahead" and catch the attack much more accurately than an analog gate,
only because there is a minisule amount of latency in digital audio processing.

really? how can the gate not be subject to the same slight latency as the rest of the board, isn't it digital too, and all getting processed together?

[dpdan]

Walter, yes, it is all digital, however, the latency of the actual audio that is at the outputs is ever-so-slightly late compared to what's going on under the hood inside the mixer.
There is a digital converter that converts analog input to a digital signal and this is when the processor can begin to process the digital signal for our gate settings.
So, when we hear the kick,,,, it is gated, but not missing any zeros and ones. Proof is listening to any analog gate verses a gate in a digital console or computer DAW software, the "look ahead" ability is what is advantageous to things like a gate.

[RoadRanger]

Actually "look ahead" introduces a delay in the audio of several milliseconds, using the undelayed signal as the trigger. OTOH a DAW often uses such but not a live sound mixer's "every channel" gates and comps as a DAW's latency during mixdown isn't important whereas a delay added to every channel in a live sound mixer wouldn't be acceptable.

[rhythmrider]

Latency in live can sometime be an issue.

I am less concerned with "losing" a tiny bit of the "attack" of the kick before the gate opens than having the gate not open on a "zero crossing" A lot of cheap digital gates do not do this and the "noise" that is caused by this is often covered up by the fast, bright attack of a snare. But on a kick you get a (very annoying) tick with every gate opening.

[nottooloud]

Walter, yes, it is all digital, however, the latency of the actual audio that is at the outputs is ever-so-slightly late compared to what's going on under the hood inside the mixer.
There is a digital converter that converts analog input to a digital signal and this is when the processor can begin to process the digital signal for our gate settings.
So, when we hear the kick,,,, it is gated, but not missing any zeros and ones. Proof is listening to any analog gate verses a gate in a digital console or computer DAW software, the "look ahead" ability is what is advantageous to things like a gate.

And you know that Mackie has implemented this how, exactly? DAWs have considerably more latency than a dedicated mixer running a real time OS.

@rhythmrider: Engage the gate on a known waveform, record the output, take a look at it, and report back to the rest of us. I'd be interested to know what you find out.

[rhythmrider]

@nottooloud, I don't have a Mackie yet. I was asking this question because it is important to me before buying! 

Most $500 and up gates do this, but a lot of the cheaper ones, (read Behringer) do not.
The only inexpensive gate that I have found that opens on zero crossing is the now discontinued PreSonus GTX44 hybrid digital/analog gate from 2001
I have two of these gates and they do everything I want for drums.