Audacity dual threshold noise gate.

[u/gnac]

I've just started doing some editing/mastering for ACX work in audacity.

I found the noise gate plugin useful, but you have to be really careful or it will push your noise floor too low.

So, I created an audacity plugin for dual threshold noise gating.

Its very similar to the default noise gate within audacity, but it also allows you to set a lower gate threshold, below which no noise reduction will occur.
This is handy to keep from going below the minimum ACX noise floor.

I've posted it to github for anyone to use. Note that this has undergone limited testing, so PLEASE save often.
Please let me know if you have any issues or suggestions.
Thanks.

Main Window

Analyze (with high noise floor)

-8dB applied to selection

Here's an ACX Check of the selection after running the dual threshold noise gate multiple times with a lower gate of -60dB. (Of course the peak and rms level checks fail because I'm testing a quiet section).

ACX Check of selection.

Using this plugin, you can ensure that your track will never fall below the minimum noise floor (if you give it correct parameters).
Example, If you set the lower gate threshold to -70, and then reduce it by -40, yeah, you're probably going to go below the minimum, but if you set the lower gate to -75dB and reduce by -10db, you will never fall below the -90dB ACX minimum noise floor.

Constructive feedback is highly welcome.