Low Wave Studios Cymbal Killer Win & OSX AU VST3 [FREE]

Low Wave Studios Cymbal Killer is a free two-band drum gate built to reduce cymbal spill in close-miked drum recordings. It suits home producers and drum mixers who want tighter drum tracks without cutting off the body of each hit too abruptly.

The gate separates lower and higher frequencies, giving you independent envelope settings for each band. This lets you preserve low-frequency sustain while using a shorter envelope on the upper band to control unwanted cymbal bleed. Rather than forcing the whole signal to follow one gating shape, you can balance drum weight against a more tightly controlled attack.

A sidechain input and shared high-pass, low-pass and parametric detector filters help the gate respond to the drum sound you want to isolate. Lookahead helps preserve the initial transient, though it adds latency. Separate visualizers show the envelope for each band, making adjustments easier to follow. A mix slider blends the unprocessed and gated signals when you need a less pronounced result.