Sonnox has released Oxford Drum Gate 2, the latest version of its flagship drum gate plug-in.
Oxford Drum Gate 2 builds on the powerful feature set, sound quality, and intuitive workflow that first set Drum Gate apart, with the addition of time, polarity and phase alignment, improved shell-type classification models, a new adaptive resonant decay algorithm, external sidechain key input, a leveller clipper, per-hit clipper and an overhauled UI.
Positioned as the complete toolkit for tidying up acoustic drums, Oxford Drum Gate 2 transforms from “it’s a better gate for drums” to a comprehensive solution that does everything needed to clean up multi-tracked drum recordings.
Improved Classification Model
Drum Gate 2 features significant advancements in drum hit detection, to provide accurate detection of Kick, Snare, Tom and Hi Hats across a wide range of playing styles and recording scenarios.
Time, Polarity and Phase Alignment
When recording acoustic drum kits with multiple microphones, such as top and bottom snare mics, or close mics combined with overheads or room mics, phase coherence issues are inevitable. While general-purpose alignment tools can help, they often introduce flamming artifacts by applying excessive time shifts in pursuit of phase coherence.
Drum Gate 2’s new Align tab solves this with an intelligent algorithm that enhances tone, punch and clarity whilst minimising timing artifacts. The system automatically groups tracks by name, provides visual feedback and offers stereo linking for overheads and room mics. Integrated directly into Drum Gate 2, it eliminates the need for third party alignment tools and streamlines the multitrack drum mixing workflow.
New Decay Algorithm
Oxford Drum Gate 2 introduces an Adaptive Resonant Decay algorithm that leverages Claro-derived resonance detection to separate the resonant decay of each drum hit from the surrounding spill, all while leaving transients intact.
With independent control over Gain Reduction, Decay, High-Frequency Damping and High and Low cutoffs for the resonant region, Sonnox says users achieve more natural sounding results with greater flexibility than ever before. For users who enjoyed Oxford Drum Gate 1’s behaviour, Standard mode remains available, offering a choice between the adaptive processing and the familiar Oxford Drum Gate sound.
External Sidechain
External sidechain input expands Drum Gate 2’s versatility by supporting both audio and MIDI triggering. This is invaluable when working with recordings that have already been beat-detected, recorded with drum triggers, or when gating needs to be synchronised across multiple mic channels.
Three input modes provide complete flexibility: Internal (DG2’s own detection), External (audio sidechain from another track or audio key spikes), and MIDI (triggered by Note On messages with selectable channel and note). A dedicated “All Transients” mode passes all transients above the threshold, without using the classification models.
Leveller Clipper
The unique new Hit Clip feature intelligently helps drums cut through dense mixes while maintaining consistent punch and clarity across all hits. Unlike static clippers that over-process loud hits and under-process soft hits, Drum Gate 2’s Hit Clip dynamically calculates the ceiling for each hit based on its post-leveller peak level. This ensures uniform transient treatment across dynamically varied performances without flattening expressive playing dynamics.
Separate controls for Soft Hits and Loud Hits clipping amounts allow precise tailoring of the transient shaping. Sonnox says the algorithm delivers pristine quality, while automatic make-up gain maintains the perceived level.
New Features:
- Time, polarity, and phase alignment with the new Align tab.
- Adaptive Resonant Decay algorithm with HF Damping parameter.
- External sidechain input (audio and MIDI).
- Hit Clip with per-hit dynamic ceiling calculation.
- Claro-derived resonance detection for natural decay.
- New Hi-Hat, All Transients and No Gating detection modes.
Improved:
- More accurate drum type classification (Kick, Snare, Toms).
- Enhanced transient detection with reduced false triggers.
- Overhauled user interface adds a modern look, clearer communication and a faster workflow.
Pricing & Availability
Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate 2 is available now for an introductory retail price of GBP £83.33 ex VAT / USD $119.99 for macOS and Windows in VST3, AU and AAX plugin formats.
This offer will last until midnight BST 31st March 2026. After this it will revert to its full retail price of GBP £124.99 ex VAT / USD $179.99.
Existing Oxford Drum Gate owners can upgrade for GBP £41.66 ex VAT / USD $60.
Customers who purchased Oxford Drum Gate on or after 1st September 2025 will receive Oxford Drum Gate 2 as a free, complimentary upgrade.
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