Expurgate
by DMG Audio · Gate · Sub-band gate
Not rated yet
Expurgate is an advanced gate from DMG Audio with automatic noise detection, circuit-modelled gate styles and sub-band operation.
It has lookahead, external sidechain, a three-band sidechain EQ and M/S modes, and costs about $132 (£99.99).
Best for: Drums, Vocals, Guitars, Drum Bus. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: sidechain input, look-ahead, drums, built-in analyzer, downward expansion, low latency, circuit-modelled, external sidechain, linear-phase, mid/side, MIDI-controllable, multi-band, zero-latency, bus processing, classic, CPU-light, drum bus, minimum-phase, mixing, oversampling, resizable UI, simple, smooth, spacious, stereo-linked, surgical, upward compression, visual feedback, vocals.
What it does
Expurgate is DMG Audio's advanced gate and expander. DMG sums it up as a noise-detecting, circuit-modelled, "lookahead, linear-phase sub-band gate" that can also run with zero latency.
- Gate models: circuit models of classic hardware gates alongside digital responses; MusicRadar counted six models, with the default DMG model giving smooth gating straight away.
- Noise detector: automatic detection of the noise floor to help close the gate, with a reverse mode for more surgical use.
- Sub-band gating: a highly configurable Split EQ with linear-phase crossovers, so the gate acts on one frequency range only.
- Core controls: threshold, ratio, soft knee, gain-reduction depth and hysteresis against chattering, with variable stereo linking or per-channel control.
- Modes: gating, expansion, ducking and upward compression, in L/R or M/S.
- Latency and quality: from zero-latency minimum phase at very low CPU to oversampled high-resolution processing, with variable lookahead (up to 100 ms per MusicRadar) to keep transients.
- Sidechain and triggering: external sidechain, sample-accurate MIDI triggering as a gate or ducker, a three-band sidechain EQ with spectrum analyzer, and listen options that include the removed signal.
- Display: a real-time scrolling graph of input level and gain reduction, a resizable interface and a full mixer section.
KVR lists version 1.15.
Source: DMG Audio product page
When to use it
Expurgate is the gate for engineers who want very fine control over what is removed and how it sounds. Compared with FabFilter Pro-G, it adds sub-band gating with linear-phase crossovers and a choice of modelled gate characters. It is more general than Oxford Drum Gate 2 and DeBleed:Drums, which focus on drum spill, and far deeper than Gatey Watey, which is quicker to set but has much less to tweak. smart:gate sets itself up for you, while Expurgate expects you to dial it in, though its basic Model, Threshold and Ratio controls get you going fast.
- Best for: detailed gating of drums and noisy recordings, band-limited gating, MIDI-triggered gating and ducking.
- Genres: any; it is a mix and post-production tool.
- Look elsewhere if: you want a simple, fast gate with few controls; DMG's own TrackGate or Gatey Watey are quicker.
- Tip: MusicRadar suggests using Split EQ like a de-esser for any range, for example to gate only the low end of a kick loop and keep its warmth.
What producers say
Reviewers rate it among the best gates available; the main gripe is that many controls are tucked away.
- MusicRadar / Computer Music called it "one of very few gate plugins" deserving essential status, praising its gating, models, analyzer and Split EQ.
- Music Connection Barry Rudolph said he uses it daily, and liked the Knee and Hysteresis controls, lookahead and the fully automatable parameters.
- Tip: Music Connection suggests starting in Simple mode, then switching to Advanced for the analyzer and sidechain EQ, and monitoring the difference signal.
- Criticisms: MusicRadar noted that "many useful controls" are hidden in the Setup menu.
Where to buy
- DMG Audio: $132.46 (£99.99 converted to USD (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026))
Tutorials and reviews
- Hands on with DMG Audio Expurgate Plugin
- Expurgate Overview
- DMG Audio Expurgate VST/AU plugin in action
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