ISP Technologies Decimator Noise Reducer

The number of people bad mouthing the NS-2 to justify their purchase of something shiny and digital is amazing. Whatever this pedal may or may not do it certainly doesn't have a decay knob! If you have a dynamic style of play the NS-2 is the one to use as you can control the decay time of the signal. It's like a Dynacomp vs a Super Comp. The Dynacomp has a set attack whereas the Super Comp is adjustable. I use the Super Comp and the NS-2 rather than the Dynacomp and the Smart Gate.

Simple to use just plug it in first thing in the chain after the guitar. Crank guitars humbucker and amps gain, turn knob till feedback stops during play. You'll end up around the -40db setting like eveyone else.

Schecter Blackjack 006 guitar using the Seymore Duncan JB at the bridge.
Full tone and volume ajustment on guitar in this test.
Monster Rock cables (use a good cables people trust me it matters)
Carvin V3 Amp pushing a 4x12 cab with Eminence Legend 125's
Amps gain 10!!!!

I DON'T CARE WHAT ELSE YOU READ!!!!!! Put the Decimator first in the chain. If the guitar pick-ups are gated you won't have feedback when doing fast stop and go high gain playing. You'll find yourself around the -40db setting. It doesn't touch my tone or sustain AT ALL with this set up. As for the hiss at idle here's the perfect solution ready. Play your guitar or go to the clean channel.

After this is set to the above if you split the coil on guitar or go to the neck pick-up you WILL suffer sustain loss. No biggy though feedback is not a problem really here and the Decimator can be turned on and off on the fly you know.

Had it for 6 months now through several gigs and practice with no problems.

Would not want to go without it!!! I play alot with the gain set at 10 and probabaly wouldn't be a bad Idea to get a back up.

You won't need help once you figure out to place it where I said it works best.

The only upgrade here would be from the Boss NS2 you might be using cause thing KILLS it hands down.

If you play high gain sounds it's a "MUST HAVE" in your rig. Remember put it FIRST in the chain nothing should be in front of it except for a maybe a tuner, you WANT to gate your pick-ups here people.

I don't care what happens to it if it where gone I would replace immediatly! If you play high gain it should be the ONLY added piece of equipment you have if you only had one.

It helps my playing in every way by killing the feedback.

If you love to play at HIGH gain levels it's a must have so just get it and I swear you'll never use anything else until technology evolves even furthur.

Simple to use its one knob get real!

About as transparent as it gets period. I consider this NOTHING more than a feedback suppresor and thats it. My buddy bought one after using mine he loved it so much and check out the youtube vids on it.

I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU READ use this first thing in line from your guitar and not through any loops or after other pedals yada yada bla bla bla what ever people say or tell you THEY ARE WRONG. Gate your pick-ups and its a beautiful thing to have and its PERFECT for a high gain rig.

If you do it this way you'll find your setting right around -40db just like everybody else that knows what this thing is actually good for. GATING YOUR PICK-UPS! If you don't like hiss while at idle then stop crying about it and play the guitar.

TANK

I did call them one time to ask how to turn the knob and they were VERY helpful and polite. (support really?)

Top notch gate for your guitar. Until I need another gate I'll stick to these or until something better comes along. For now it the holy grail of gates.

22 yrs. of playing. I'm an 80's metal head I mean like Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and NOT gay hair so called panzy metal ok. I love high gain set ups the most cause in my opinion they are VERY challenging to play and rock so hard.

THIS PEDAL IS A MUST FOR ANY HIGH GAIN RIG! Just gate the guitar (FIRST THING IN LINE)and thats that.

I find this VERY simple to use. I go to the highest gain I can on my Carvin V3 and turn the one knob until feedback quits. It's set to a hair above -40db which is I think where everybody finds the sweet spot. There's one good demo of this on youtube with a MESA amp check it out and ignore these guys expecting anything more than a noise gate and giving this bad reviews.

I gave it an 9.5 for rating here for the fact there is a tad bit of tone colouring. More like an extreme mild gain kill than tone change so once again ignore the retards negative reviews.

This thing reacts FAST!! I love it and its by far the BEST noise gate out there at this price range. Unless your ABSOLUTE anal about tone change you won't even care it's there trust me. Guys like me who use this for what its actually for find it to be crucial for playing HIGH GAIN channel.

Yes there is still plenty of hiss at idle but thats not what you should be using it for. I found another way to kill that hiss its called "playing the guitar"

It will KILL feedback and will "NOT" kill sustain at all set "properly" with good high gain pick-ups. (Seymore Duncan JB here) If you won't to incorperate feedback in a part of a song just turn off and then back on while on the fly. If your after high gain grind this thing is a MUST have in a good rig. Just check out some top playing artists rigs and see how "many" of them use this beast.

So far its been no problem with PLENTY of use for 7mo. now. I leave it pluged in most of the time although I have used batteries with it at a few gigs now. On that not use only GOOD name brand battery and a new one each gig. As the battery weakens the ajustment of the threashhold will need to be reset so if at a gig just put in a new battery and turn off when at break and you won't have any problems with that.

Not needed. It's got ONE knob for God sakes how hard could this be?

Overall its a MUST have in a high gain rig. The effect it has on tone if you will is so minute that the gate trick this bad boy has is well worth EVEYTHING!

simple but does not do what the company promises

Please read this revieuw carefully, I have no intent to spawn negativism on this produkt or company, this pedal might be your holy grail, however it is by FAR NOT what the company tell it is.

After reading the revieuws below I took the risk to buy one before trying it.

Firts of all: there are two ways of noise control: noise reduktion, wich simplified explained permanently that takes certain frequencies away, like dbx or dolby on, tape or like the rocktron hush.

A second way is by noise gatewich rougly work like this; the gate opens and lets sound/noise trough or closes and shuts everything up.

The Decimator is a noise gate, NOT a noisereducer as ISP claimes.

They also advertise this produkt as made by the team of engeneers that developed the rocktron hush.

Coud be, but I can't see what one has to do with the other, they use other principles/technology.

Sound then: here is where I was stunned, better say shocked; this pedal COLOURS your sound very very heavely+

There is an overal gainboost of around 6 decibels and a very pronounced enhancement of the uppermidfrequencies.

The reason most people won't notice this is because the pedal is NON true bypass, and the Colouration is exactly the same in bypass mode. Wich might very well be the reason it uses a NON true bypass anyway?

So unless you attach the pedal in a true bypass loop or record something with the pedal in the circuit versus the pedal removed from you circuit(watch those meters for the db boost), you will not notice, anyone will notice.

This colouration can be very musical because it accentuates the frequenties that make a sound cut trough a mix or a band, the typical rock sound frequenties.

I am dazzled though that a company dealing in soundenhancement will add its own colouration.

I spend a fortune on a switching system that isolates every pedal/rack to avoid colouration but still haven't found a good way of noise reduktion, this produkt is an insult to me.

I read a lot of good revieuws and heard good soundsamples from people using it to taim the preampnoise of a high gain amp.
I can imagine that this pedal works good in that situation.
The gainboost and uppermidpronouncition will add to their sound, and since this musical style does not use a lot of dynamics (that's simply a fact, no offence ment), the gate will close and oppen as desired.

I play with a lot of dynamics though, and there is simply no way to adjust the pedal right.

It will ignore softer passages or have them "tremelood" in and out, it muffles any sound that is not heavely distorted.

I tried it in various positions in the amp-pedal chain and with various gainlevels and find it only works well with lots of distortion before the pedal and a continuous guitarlevel. It just can't handle the slightest dynamics. See peoples respons on using it on the clean channel.
Highgainamps compress a lot wich helps to remain the level.

The exterior is almost indestructable, time will tell about the inside.

My advice is TRY it in your own setup before you BUY it; it is by far NOT what the company tells you it is, but it just might be your homy grail pedal....

Yeh it's easy. One knob.

They do what they are supposed to do, when they are new.

I've owned 2 of these things. I used 1 in front and 1 in the loop of my ENGL Fireball and Peavey 5150, 6505+. Both Deci's have crapped out at critical times. Sometimes it's the output jack, sometimes it's the switch, sometimes it quits working/starts working again if you so much as touch it, sometimes I have to step on it several times to engage or disengage it. I'm finished with these pieces of crap because they are not roadworthy. They do what they're supposed to do when they work, but cheap components and half-***ed craftsmanship doesn't last very long. Sorry ISP. Your pedals suck and they've failed me for the last time.

Don't know. Don't care. They're pedals suck, so I can only assume the support does too.

yup, simple to use...

okay...here is my 2 cents.

I find negative reviews are almost always made by people who are focusing on the peripherals of a units use.


I mean, it's a noise gate.... flag all the "it eats sustain" and carry on.... I mean jesus people, what do you think it's going to do? add sustain?????

Okay, so I have owned them all.. Boss NS2, MXR Smart Gate, Rocktron Hush.. and in my experience, the ISP is a superior product.

what works for me is; a fast and transparent gate to stop my guitar 'leaking' especially in the palm muted stops.. then a nice high quality compressor to take what the gate lets through and maximize it.. I recommend the KEELEY comp, T C ELECTRONICS Nova Dynamic, BBE Sonic Maximizer and I have had AMAZING results (for the money) from the Boss CS3 with the opto coupling modification..very very very much improved from the std CS3... then I use an ARMY of pedals after the compressor, whammy, 2 wahs, 2 XXL's, a dunlop Tremolo, an OG Small Stone Phaser, a voodoo labs chorus and a few other little numbers............ ;) these all feed straight into the amp's front end (5150II or my Triple Rec'...sometimes both)
In the effects loop I then have a Rocktron SuperC hush Sysytem, a BBE Sonic Maximizer, a Boost RVB and Boost DLA (both SansAmp products and both very very nice) and a TC Nova Delay last..



here is the skinny.

Use a Fast Gate, STRAIGHT OUT OF THE GUITAR and a good noise suppressor First.. out of the FX Loop. the gate cleans your playing up (esp for high gain pick ups) and the suppressor will reduce hiss from the OD channel.

all these cats who complain and whinge are just dicks...
TRUST ME
the ISP is the BEST gate around, thoufgh I would still use the MXR smart gate even though they do very slightly boost/expand and colour the tone..... forget the NS2 unless its a bargain or an emergency..they DO eat tone regardless of gating performance. The ISP gate is MUCH MUCH faster than the Ns2 and utterly transparent compared to the MXR.

the Rocktron Hush is an excellent supressor if used with the Gate at ZERO!!!!!! and the THRESHOLD set to whatever it needs to be to supress the OD channel Hiss. DONT expect ONE pedal to both Gate your Guitar AAAAND suppress the Amp's pre amp hiss.

Though the ISP Rackmount Twin Channel and Nova Dynamics (which both feature 2 channels) can be routed to do both, channel A gates the gat PRE amplifier...channel B quietens the Pre Amp, via the FX loop.



is this clear and obvious?


if you use Distortion Pedals...get ready for Noise. IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY! all these dicks who try to run the ISP AFTER their stupid Fuzztones and Metalzones and other such NOISE GENERATING UNITS (duh) are retarded.
If you want metalzone sizzle and whatever for your Pantera riffs, but are not keen on the noiseyness...... LOOK INTO THE LINE6 UBER METAL..... it has a sweet as gate BUILT IN and still has all the satisfying CHUNK of the typical distortion pedal........

100% reliable. set and forget baby.

never required em.

been playing for 17 years. Acoustic stuff from Andy Mckee to the tea party but my number one love is METAL. Pantera, Death, Meshuggah, Cephalic Carnage, Akaname, Morbid Angel and the like.. but I also love King Crimson, GnR, Sage Francis and Anticon Hip Hop..immortal technique, massive attack, circle takes the square, envy..........




If I may....


Gates (pedals); ISP, then the MXR, then whatever else.. NS2 etc
Supressors (rack); Rocktron Super C hush, ISP Decimator rack thingy with the 2 channels....although it IS a pedal, I FULLY rate the NOVA Dynamic for FX loop quietening..



I play a USA strat with vintage hot noiseless pick ups, a Peavey EVH Wolfgang, A 1981 Ibanez RG750, a Jackson KEVIN BOND flying V, a Jackson COW 7 string (with an extra 9 volt - 18 volt EMG707) a 20 year old Epi Les Paul with DiMarzio tone zone (coil tapped) in the bridge and PAF Pro in the neck and an ESP Viper Baritone with a Dimarzio X2N inthe bridge and a Dimebucker in the neck...yes, in the NECK. I have owned and played almost every pick up under the sun and I am not loyal to any brand... they all have their strengths and charms and weaknesses. BUT the 5150II and EVH wolfgang ARE a match made in heaven, albeit with a slightly chalky edge to the tone.. this combo is to die for, Thank You Eddie Van Halen :)
I have a Triple Rec' a 5150II a fender TWIN and a Marshall JVM210 head... I use a celestion cab loaded with 16 OHM celestion G12M (modern lead) speakers.

I do want a EVHIII stack though.....that's next on the "to get" list!!


Yes I would buy again. Yes I fully rate this pedal. Yes it does what it is supposed to do.





sorry for ranting on and on. Just tired of hearing people bleat like goats about how the ISP DOESNT satisfy them. when it truly TRULY is the sweetest noise gate PEDAL around.

Easy as - just turn it up with your guitar and amp at the volumes you need then listen to the noise stop. I use it straight after my amps effect send then to delay (or whatever effect you choose) and back in again. I get no tone suck or degredation at all. And believe me I do notice tone suck using a peavey 6505+ with crappy effects in there. I am very fussy with it. One problem is that after playing really heavy high gain stuff then going to my clean channel the higher decimator settings for high gain can be too much for the clean channel. I have to turn up my clean channels preamp to compensate. worth it though.

BC Rich Metal top Warlock with Dimebucker + Lil 59er pickups
Peavey 6505+ head and cab
ISP Decimator
MXR Carbon Copy Delay
BOSS GT10 (from peavey line out > GT10 for effects>to my other amp)
Marshall AVT150 combo with an extra single cab (for my high end sound)
BOSS RC-2 Loop Station
BOSS LS-2 Line Selector
BOSS MT-2 Metalzone
Planet waves twisted pair cables for the Peavey
Dimarzio cables for the Marshall
I try not to use the BOSS stuff with my valve amp as they suck tone on
my amp, particularly in it's loop. The RC-2 and LS-2 aren't too bad
but the LS-2 does add a slight bit of noise.
The Decimator manages these pretty well. The only problem comes with changing channels to clean as I mentioned above but it has no tone suck at all.

seems solid as and has given no problems. Looks and feels like a quality pedal when you hold it in your hands. Solid in construction.

Defintately seems like a noise gate built for really High gain use to me. For a beast of an amp with heaps of push. I don't know if it's analog or true bypass but it definately sounds like it is. It is very transparent. If people are having trouble with their notes being cut out then I think it's more to do with how they have their amp set (they need to drive the preamp a bit harder), how they have their decimator set (too high threshold) or their effects chains are wrong.
It's the best one I have used so far and with my rig it works well.

One button does it all

This unit is being bandied about as the best noise suppressor on the market..I used it for the 20 minutes it was working in a band rehearsal,I wasnt impressed,as it didnt cut out a large part of the high gain noise from my jvm,and contrary to belief it sucks your tone badly,the gate also cuts in ending sustained notes...then fizzzzz it just packed in

A definate no i,m afraid...It only lasted 20 mins in a rehearsal...if I was paid to use it whilst gigging,i,d have to carry a boss ns2 or an mxr as backup,in case it packed in again....I play high profile gigs,and i just couldnt trust it.....

I paid ??140.00($200.00)for this piece of kit..lasted 20 mins..several contact e-mails sent without reply...eventually got a lame reply from someone called buck claiming to be the designer,and asked me to send it around the globe at MY EXPENSE...for REPAIR....lol...needless to say thats the only contact I got from these" fly by nights"

I play high energy rock music,and expected this to solve an age old problem with high gain amps...i,ve been playing guitar 34yrs,and play prs,gibson,musicman guitars through 2x marshall jvm heads,coupled to 4x marshall 100w 4x12s...i,d feel sorry for the poor thief that stole it..i,ve since replaced it with a boss ns2,which isnt as good as isp,s exaggerated claims...but manages to do its job where it matters,on stage,in front of a crowd...i,ve still got it,it doesnt work,its nice and shiny,and i suppose it,ll make a nice ??140.00 tree decoration at xmas

Only 1 knob! It is powered by my Boss daisy-chaining chord that I use to power all my single Boss pedals.

Very effective, but it worked way better for me BEFORE all effects instead of after. I found the same was true with the Boss NS-2 I had used in the past. The Decimator works great for me in holding off feedback under very high gain conditions, significantly better than the Boss NS-2 or the built in noise reduction in Boss Multi-effect units I've used in the past.
I haven't noticed any impact on my sound because of this pedal, and I've got the picky ears of a professional guitarist who's been playing almost 30 years.

I've only used it for one month now, but it is built like a tank.

Haven't needed any.

Best noise reduction I've ever used - would definitely buy another if it were destroyed or stolen.