• Great value, Good performance, Terrible User Manual

  
  As reviewed by Geoff Lloyd on 5/10/2011

  First note that my application is for a noise gate for drums. I'm trying turn off the drum mikes when they are not needed, and hence have less noise and better separation on the drum channels. I use two XR4400s; I have gates on bass drum, snare and three toms. So three channels on the second XR4400 I don't use at all. The five active channels are connected to inserts on a Mackie Onyx 1640. I have been able to do that, and it works very well. the manual is a bit jumbled, but still, I couldn't have done without it. there was one 'Application' that I found useful, but It would be so much better if they went into more detail - like exactly how to do what I was trying to do, knob-by-knob. The Threshold control is very sensitive, I found it difficult to find the right spot for each drum, it could be that with more experience I will get better at this. (This is the first time I've ever used a noise gate in any application.) I have a problem with my current settings with the floor tom opening the bass drum gate; I hope that with better tuning of the drums and finer tweaking of the side channels filter I should be able to eliminate that. The Side Channel Filter does seem to work well. It would have been so much easier to understand how to use it if the manual included a block diagram, of this and the other functions. I do hear gates turning on with annoying clicks sometimes, Again, I'm hoping I can eliminate that with more adjustments. I didn't experience any noise associated with gates turning off. If you're an experienced user who wants a lot of channels, just get it, it's so cheap you're bound to find some use for it. Pros: Neat front panel layout Controls seems to be high quality mechanically Outrageously cheap. Cons: Poor manual Sensitive controls

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• Suprisingly Good...

  
  As reviewed by Sr. Toast on 7/3/2010

  This piece of gear is awesome for the price...I mainly use it as a gate and add a little bit of compression to my guitar amp and it has a decently quick gate. If you need something like this in your rig and your on the cheap...this is a good investment when used properly.

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