You are likely to have heard this effect before, most famously used on the distinctive drum fill from ‘In the Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins. The effect makes the drums sound very big but also very tight, making it possible to create a stadium sound without all the reflection ‘clutter’ that would be heard in the real world.

The effect is achieved by sending the snare or toms to a dense reverb using an auxiliary or bus. This should be mixed in with the original drum so that it sounds very big and reverberant.

Add a gate to the channel that the reverb is fed to, so that it is after the reverb in the chain. Set the gate so that it is only open when the drums are played. Adjust the attack and hold settings so that the rich reverb is allowed to pass through the gate smoothly, then set the decay time very short so that it dies away quickly.

This will result in a drum sound which has a big reverb that is cut unnaturally short. It’s a great effect but use it sparingly as it’s a very distinctive technique.

Have a think about and research songs that use a Gated Reverb in them (for instance, Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush, Midnight City by M83 and More Than This by Roxy Music). Discuss with your peers.

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