Gate

Name: Gate
Author: Kilohearts

by Kilohearts · Gate · Noise gate with sidechain and flip

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A free gate from Kilohearts for removing hum and noise, shortening reverb tails and tightening drums.

It has 5 ms lookahead, a hysteresis Tolerance control and an external sidechain, and a Flip switch turns it into a ducker.

Best for: Drums, Vocals, Guitars, Sound Design. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: sidechain input, drums, look-ahead, free, external sidechain, downward expansion, clean, corrective, CPU-light, mixing, repair, single-band, sound design, tight, transparent, vocals.

What it does

Gate is Kilohearts' "Noise floor removal" plugin, built to "cut out low hum and noise" or "cut reverb tails short or exaggerate the dynamics in a beat."

Threshold and Tolerance: Threshold sets where the gate opens; Tolerance adds hysteresis in dB so it doesn't chatter.
Envelope: Attack, Hold and Release shape how the gate opens and closes, and Range sets how far it attenuates.
Look-ahead: an optional 5 ms lookahead lets transients through cleanly.
Sidechain and Flip: an external sidechain can trigger it, and Flip reverses the action so the signal ducks under another.
Snapin use: loads in Phase Plant, Multipass or Snap Heap, where its knobs can be modulated and it can be combined with other Snapins.

It also loads as a Snapin inside Kilohearts' Phase Plant, Multipass and Snap Heap. It is free as part of Kilohearts Essentials.

Source: Kilohearts product page

When to use it

Kilohearts Gate is the pick for a free, simple gate with lookahead, sidechain and a ducking mode that can also run per band in Multipass. It has fewer detection and expander options than FabFilter Pro-G, and like Boz Gatey Watey and Auburn Sounds Renegate, it is a focused gate.

Best for: cleaning up noisy tracks, tightening drums and reverb tails, and sidechain gating or ducking effects.
Genres: any genre.
Look elsewhere if: you need frequency-conscious drum gating or expander curves; Pro-G does more.
Standout: the Flip switch, which turns the gate into a ducker.

What producers say

Reviews of this Snapin on its own are rare; opinion on the Kilohearts Essentials set it belongs to is positive, with the main criticism that the plugins are minimal on their own.

KVR users rate the Kilohearts Essentials set 5/5 from two reviews: one (2022) called it a "Good, useful collection of professional, but compact plugins," and another (2025) praised "Superb lightweight plugins rivaling many commercial and on-hype products!"
MusicRadar (2023) said of the Essentials set, "This is a serious plugin bundle that's not to be missed," with effects that are "transparent and functional when they need to be."
Gripe: a 2026 review of Essentials found that "many of the Essentials plugins feel minimal" on their own, and that they are "designed for precision rather than coloration."

Where to buy

Kilohearts: Free

Tutorials and reviews

Plugin Highlight: KHs Gate

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