CompuServe Messages

Hi George! The "absolute" answer is, I suppose, yes, all synthesizers [read audio devices] generate noise. In practice, if the level is below your particular noise floor, it might as well be silence. Some synthesizers are remarkably quiet; I had an old patchable analog synth that never made a peep unless you opened the VCA. Others tend to generate more hiss and hum and squeal; the DX7 (and, therefore, its young cousin the FB01) is famous (er, infamous) for being noisy. The Amiga seems to fall near the noisy end, though some units are apparently quieter than others. As to the noise gate being worthwhile, it depends on what you need/want. If the noise doesn't bother you, if you're just playing for yourself (or in a band, where the noise would be swamped anyway), there's no sense in spending the money. If, on the other hand, you are making demo recordings to cassette or, even worse, doing multi-track recordings, the noise could be a serious problem. If you're handy with electronics, building up a multi-channel noise gate can be fairly straightforward. If you only need one or two channels, it's probably best to just buy one. On a personal level, I prefer downward expanders and especially adaptive filters over noise gates… but go with your gut feelings, George. Rick