Gate Builder
Draw a trancegate, hear it chop a supersaw in real time, then take it into your DAW as notes or automation.
Gate pattern
Click a step to cycle it: full, half, tie, off. Right-click clears it. Each row is one bar of 16ths. Pattern:
Sounds to load your MIDI into
Supersaw Essentials: 25 free trance presets for Vital, the free synth. Leads, plucks, pads and gated stabs, voiced for every tool on this site.
What a trancegate does
A trancegate chops a held chord into a rhythm by switching the volume on and off in time with the track. It's the stuttering, pulsing pad behind countless trance breakdowns, from the late-90s classics to today's anthems. Because it rides the 16th-note grid, it makes a simple chord feel like it's driving the whole track forward.
Full steps play for the whole 16th. Half steps cut off halfway, which gives a tighter, choppier feel. Tie holds the step into the next one, so you can mix long and short hits like the gallop and dotted presets do. Patterns can be one bar (16 steps) or two bars (32 steps) for build-ups and call-and-answer gates.
Using the export in your DAW
The zip holds three ways to use the same pattern:
- Gated chords: the chopped chords as MIDI notes. Drop them on any supersaw (Vital, Serum, Sylenth1, Spire) and you're done.
- Volume automation (CC11): one loop of the gate as expression automation. Put it on a synth that's holding a long chord, or map CC11 to a volume or gain plugin, so you can gate any sound, including audio.
- Trigger notes: one C3 note per hit. Use them to drive a sidechain or gate plugin that listens to MIDI.
Gate shape matters as much as the pattern. Hard gives the clicky, aggressive gate of 2000s anthems, Soft rounds each hit off, and Swell fades each hit in, which works well on breakdown pads with plenty of reverb.
Questions
Should I gate with MIDI notes or with volume automation?
MIDI notes retrigger the synth's envelopes on every hit, which gives a punchier, more rhythmic sound. Volume automation keeps one long note playing underneath, so filter sweeps and LFOs keep moving smoothly through the gate. Try both on the same chord and pick what suits the part.
What's the classic trancegate pattern?
The "Classic 2000s" preset (x.xx.xx.x.xx.xx.) is the pattern most people think of: it leaves the first and every third 16th open and fills the rest, which locks to the kick and rolls into the next beat.
Why do the chords retrigger at each bar?
The chords change every bar, so any held step is split at the bar line to let the new chord in. If you want one chord gated for the whole loop, choose "One chord" under Chords.
Can I use the patterns in released music?
Yes. Rhythms like these aren't owned by anyone, and the MIDI you export is yours to use however you like.