GATE-12
Key Features
- Drawable multi-segment volume envelope for trance gates, rhythmic chops, sidechain-style pumping, and custom level movement.
- 12 MIDI-triggerable patterns make it practical to switch curve variations from notes during arrangement or live performance.
- Audio trigger mode can restart the envelope from transients or a sidechain signal for reactive gating beyond fixed tempo sync.
- Paint mode supports editable user shapes, making repeated curve creation faster than placing every point manually.
- Multi-point editing tools allow selected envelope points to be dragged, scaled, skewed, rotated, copied, and randomized quickly.
- Pre and post waveform displays help align gates, fades, and pumping curves against the source audio.
- Current GitHub builds cover Windows, macOS, and Linux with VST3, LV2, and macOS AU formats.
Description
GATE-12 is a cross-platform volume shaper and trance-gate effect for drawing rhythmic level curves directly over the incoming waveform. It rebuilds Tilr's earlier GATE-1 concept in JUCE, adding modern plugin formats, presets, audio triggering, MIDI triggering, and a faster curve editor.
The core workflow is built around a multi-segment envelope with 12 MIDI-triggerable patterns, point types such as hold, curve, s-curve, and stairs, plus tempo sync or free-rate operation. Paint mode lets you stamp custom user shapes into the editor, while multi-point selection tools make it quicker to scale, skew, rotate, and refine complex gating patterns.
Its strongest use is animated level movement: trance gates, sidechain-style pumping, rhythmic bass chops, pattern switching, and live-performance envelope changes. External coverage also highlights the audio trigger mode, which can restart envelopes from transients or a sidechain input instead of forcing everything to follow a fixed DAW grid.
The plugin remains permanently available from the public GitHub repository under the GPL-3.0 license, with current v1.3.3 release assets for Windows, macOS, and Linux. BPB reported smooth Windows testing and light CPU use, while noting that early macOS behavior could be inconsistent on Apple Silicon systems.
Video Preview
Frequently Asked Questions
How is GATE-12 different from a normal noise gate?
A normal noise gate usually opens and closes based on input level. GATE-12 is a drawn volume-envelope processor, so it is better for rhythmic gating, pumping, stutters, fades, and repeatable level patterns.
Can GATE-12 react to audio instead of only syncing to tempo?
Yes. The official README lists audio trigger mode, and BPB highlights it as one of the major additions over the older GATE-1 workflow. It can use incoming transients, including sidechain input, to restart or trigger the envelope.
What does Paint mode do?
Paint mode lets you use editable custom shapes as brushes inside the envelope editor. That makes it faster to create repeated curves and rhythmic figures before refining them with point editing.
Why are the downloads hosted by SSA instead of kept external?
The official release assets are public GitHub ZIP files with no account, email, or checkout requirement. They were mirrored to the ssa-downloads R2 bucket and verified by fetching the exact uploaded keys.
Should macOS users expect perfect compatibility?
The official release includes macOS builds, but BPB reported trouble running early AU and VST3 builds on an M1 MacBook Air in Studio One. Users on Apple Silicon should test the current v1.3.3 build in their own DAW.
