Drawmer DS201 Dual Noise Gate

The Drawmer DS201 is a dual channel gate designed for use in the recording studio. I've personally only used it in the studio, so I can't really say if it would be helpful in a live setting as well. The DS201 is an analog piece of gear, consisting of XLR inputs and outputs for each of the channels, as well as 1/4" key inputs as well. It is rack mountable and will only take up a single space in traditional rack casing.

UTILIZATION

Manipulating the Drawmer DS201 didn't prove to be too hard for me, even though there are some unique parameters available here. I love how much control is available, as you can really do a lot with this versatile gate. Each of the two channels has the same make up, each consisting of parameters for threshold, attack, hold, decay, range, and for both a high and low pass filter. These parameters fall under three main sections for key source, function, and output, each with their own switches to choose different modes. There is also a link/stereo switch between the two channels. I don't think that users will need a manual, but I've never had a look at it myself, so I can't comment on it's make up.

SOUND QUALITY

The Drawmer DS201 is capable of achieving a few different things in terms of what it will do to your sound. I mostly use it for gating drums and noise out, which is what I'm sure most users will be doing with it, and is what I believe it does best. However, you can certainly use it in other situations if you so choose. While gating devices have certainly been used less and less over the years due to current technology, the DS201 has done well by sticking around a lot longer than other units. It overall has a very clean sound and will do exactly what you tell it to do without adding anything on it's own.

OVERALL OPINION

Depending on where you get it from, the Drawmer DS201 has a pretty wide range of prices in terms of buying them both used and new. While a hardware gate is not necessary for a home or even a professional studio owner, as there are plenty of good software gates available for cheap and for free, if you think that you're going to be doing a lot of gating, I'd highly recommend checking out the Drawmer DS201, as it is overall one of the most complete gates currently available.