ISP Technologies Decimator Noise Reducer

It's only got 1 knob...so it's too easy to use if you do it right. Apparently some people have been using this thing wrong (I don;t know how that's possible) hence bad reviews. It's super easy...you plug it in at the end of your pedal chain or in the effects loop of the amp with knob all the way down. Without playing and everything turned on, you simply turn the knob up until the hiss or hum goes away. It's that simple.

This thing is fantastic! It cuts out the noise and lets the vast majority of the signal through. Right now I have 2 of these things and they work great in my chain.

My setup is :
Seymore Duncan Blackouts -> Dunlop Zakk Wylde Wah -> Boss CS-3 -> MXR-10 Band Equalizer -> Ibanez TS-9 -> EH Micro POG -> Decimator-> Peavey 6505 Combo -> MXR Carbon Copy -> BBE Sonic Stomp -> Decimator

The 6505 is a noisy beast as is...throwing the effects I have, especially the compressor, make it even noisier. I have the first one to get rid of the signal chain noise and the second to get rid of the hiss of the amp and both do a great job. This DOES NOT DEGRADE MY SOUND AT ALL, even with 2 in place. There is some slight clipping of the signal if the sounds gets really low, but the signal is nearly inaudible at that point. Basically it will cut off when the signal reaches the volume of the hum/hiss.

This thing is built like a Boss pedal, and those are sturdy as hell. I doubt this thing will break any time soon.

I haven't had to deal with them at all.

I'm into playing high gain metal and this beast is great at cutting out the noise of my extremely noisy pedal chain and amp. This thing is by far and large an insane improvement over the Boss NS and much, much easier to use. It does nothing to my tone other than cut off the signal when I stop playing. I will definitely be keeping this thing as a part of my rig from now on, at least until they come out with something better which probably won't happen anytime soon.

Too easy to use - it needs a decay control in addition to the lone control for threshold. I guess you could stomp on it to engage/disengage the noise gate as your note is decaying, but that would be a bit ridiculous.

Used with a wah and a couple distortion pedals ahead of the Decimator. Unfortunately, the only thing decimated was my playing dynamics. The attack is preserved well and the threshold adjustment works just fine.

The real problems show up during the decay. Ideally, the noise gate will let a note ring naturally until the note is almost silent, even if that means some noise passes through, and then it will close. The Decimator starts to close far too early and cuts off the decay in a very unnatural manner. It actually struggles to "decide" if it should close and creates something like a weak tremolo effect during the decay. This happened pretty early in the decay when the guitar signal was still strong. This was simply unacceptable, and it cannot be adjusted because there is only a threshold control - no decay control.

Seems very well built, but it is not going to be around in my rig long enough to be tested for reliability.

never dealt with ISP customer support

This pedal will only be useful for styles which have absolutely no need to preserve the decay or play with any dynamics. I bought the Boss NS-2 and was surprised with the Decimator as a gift. The NS-2 worked perfectly and will be staying in my rig while the Decimator will be exchanged for something useful. Obviously, there would be no way to know this without trying both - unless you read this post.

All that is required is a brain and decent ears. One knob.

Astonishingly good. Waaaay better than the Boss. For the fellow a few reviews below... yes, it is a noise gate. All devices that suppress noise are noise gates. Think about it!

I run a somewhat compressed signal into an attenuated high gain amplifier; this may be part of the reason why the Decimator works so well for me. I can imagine that people playing cleaner tones with greater volume variance may find the Decimator less useful. for me, this device does fantastically usable, simple and effective. The buffer is very transparent and makes it especially useful at the end of my effects chain before the signal goes to my amp.

Built like a shiny chrome brick. No basis for concerns or a rating yet.

No basis for a rating yet.

I am very impressed with this device. It's completely quashes all hiss and feedback before I begin playing, yet allows me to sustain a note or intentional feedback indefinitely. Perfect for my hard/punk rock band. I was skeptical but now I believe!

Very easy to use. Plug in and twist the single knob until the noise is gone.

I bought this to replace my Boss NS2 because the AC power input developed a short and I didn't have time to fix it. I've been using the boss pedal for years and it was not too bad but it wasn't ever able to get rid of the noise that i got through my pickups from air interferance(even tried sheilding the entire guitar with copper tape in the cavities and it didn't help). So I figured I'd upgrade to something a little more expensive this time.

I tried the decimator in the front end and in the loop. I have to say that the front end is perfect for me. Having it in the loop requires twisting the knob a lot further to get rid of the noise and I'm not to comfortable with that. Besides which it's only the pickup noise I'm bothered by. My amp is realatively quiet with the overdrive channel on.

One thing that is great about this pedal is that it really does catch all the tiny spaces between palm muted notes. The reaction is much faster than the Boss pedal and as long as you don't have the threshold set too high, it won't interfere with sustain.

My current set up is: Schecter 7 string guitars(C-7 and 007 Elite both with Duncan JB bridge) >> Fender rack tuner >> ISP Decimator >> B52 AT 100 Tube Head >> BBE Sonic Stomp(in the loop) >> back to B52 Head >> B52 4X12 loaded with Eminence speakers(2 manowars and 2 red white and blues in an X pattern)

Seems very solid.

I play progressive metal and have been playing for 14 years. Not that i have used tons of other noise suppressors but I am very happy with this one because it does exactly what it is supposed to. I'm not sure what kinds of problems some of the other reviewers on here have had with it but I have never seen a rig in my life that didn't have some amount of noise when using high gain. A good quality amp should make too much noise to begin with. The decimator will definately take care off all the pickup noise. If you still get feedback, you're either standing too close to the amp or you have too much gain going into the front end.

this is easy just turn the threshold knob ,this means that you can set the thres. level when you want the gate to act.simple ey!

This is a not noise reduction pedal as ISP claims,but simple a noise gate,so when I was buying this pedal I was thinking <cool> this is a noise reduction pedal,so I spend a $120 for a poor!!! noise gate.The company probably don't know what noise reduction means,well nobody is perfect,so before you buy make sure that this is what you want.To get this thing work you have to put the pedal first in chain not last!!

Very easy, just one knob. Just be careful not too turn it too high up.

I used this on my Peavey 6505+ with a Mesa Boogie Rectifier Std Cab. I play high gain metal.

I had the Decimator set to 11 o clock.

This noise gate is the best I??ve ever tried! It??s just amazing how it makes my amp completely silent between staccato notes. And you can still play sustained notes without having them cut at the end!

Most important of all, the ISP Decimator does NOT colour your sound! Compared to the popular Boss NS2, the Decimator outclass the NS2! This is how a real noise gate should be.

Though be careful not to turn the knob up too high. 11 o clock works fine for me. Above 12 o clock will only cut the sound.

Seems very reliable and built like a tank.

Haven??t dealt with them.

I??d recommend this noise gate to anyone shopping for a noise gate pedal. Especially if you are picky not to loose any sound. It??s a bit more expensive than some of it??s competitors, but it is well worth it!

Turn knob clockwise until noise's gone. Can be powered with either a 9 volt battery or a 9 volt regulated adapter, negative center pin. It isn't true bypass.

10-Very easy to use.

I use Fender Custom Shop instruments, Fulltone effects and cable, Monster Rock cable, a Toadworks Redux Asynchronous Delay, a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 power supply, and a Traynor amplifier retubed with Eurotubes.

I place this pedal right after my guitar, and/or first in my effects chain.

Sometimes I don't use effects and plug it in on top of my amplifier. When I use a humbucking sound I unplug it.

The ISP Decimator works great. It does affect my tone: no 60 cycle hum/line noise = better sounding guitar, effects, amplifier, better overall sound.

10-Pristine sound quality.

Solid as a rock. I've had this pedal for about a year, no problems.

10-Very dependable.

Never had to speak to them.

No Opinion.

Great pedal. Try one!

10-Fantastic Value!

One knob, which would seem easy enough, but you probably won't find a setting to work with each effect you have.

I guess the point is to find the minimum threshold where the buzz/hum is gone. The problem is that at idle, there's no hum, but then as soon as you even begin to play a note, there's fizzle. The hum/buzz isn't back, but it's just a weird fizzing sound. Set it higher to eliminate the fizz and then your sustain is effected.
Also, when you find a setting that works well when running your distortion, it may not work well when using your overdrive.
It also kills all modulation effects. I tried placing it before, after and in between and it totally wipes out all phase, chorus and flange.

Boss housing. Solid and strong, but I only had it for a week before I returned it, so I can't say.

Un-usable. Period. I don't have experience with other noise gates/suppressors, so I can't say if it's the nature of the beast. If you set it for your highest gain effect, and then if you want to play clean, you not only have to turn off your distortion, but also the decimator, or it will choke off your sound. But when you do that, the amp hum is there and is more noticeable now, since it wasn't there before. So if you start out with the amp hum, switch off the distortion to play clean, it's not so noticeable. My advice: try to eliminate your hum with good cables and clean power sources. Also, you will never be completely silent. It's just the way it is. Do the best you can and live with it. Don't waste a week with this thing like I did.

Just one control. There's nothing easier...

I use it to silence my Laney VH100R which is know to be very noisy. It realy works. In addiction with a noise gate is perfect. But you can use only the Decimator.

It's made of steel. If a nuclear holocaust happens it will survive...

I think I'll never need suport...

I play heavy, rock, pop and instrumental rock. I play for more than 14 years. Now I use a Jackson Kelly, an Ibanez RG320FM (both w/ Seymour Duncan pickups), VH100R + TT412A, G-Major, RP-12, Crybaby and CS-3.

I've tried a Behringer NR100 before... waste of money... ISP Decimator does what it promisses.

If it were stolen or lost, I would buy it again.

One control, input and output Boss pedal styled battery compartment and power supply input

This is the best noise gate I have ever used. No tone loss with this pedal. Good gate effect. Sounds and works effectively in front of amp or in amps fx loop.

This pedal is heavy and if you dropped it, you would probably break what ever you dropped it on, not the pedal.
I have gigged it and toured it and its been very reliable no problems.

Never needed them so no opinion.

Great pedal, effective fx. Much better than the Boss NS2. Its a shame it does not have a effects loop like the NS2 though and for that reason I am only going to give it a 9.