Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor Settings Guide
The most widely used noise gate in guitar — a send/return effects loop that places the gate last in the signal chain while routing high-gain pedals through the loop for accurate noise detection. Essential for single-coil high-gain rigs, large pedalboards, and any amp setup that generates significant noise between phrases.
Used by: James Hetfield, Tom Morello
The best Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor settings start with: Threshold at 3/10, Decay at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For High-Gain Metal: Threshold 4/10, Decay 4/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold | 3/10 | All Open → Heavy Gate |
| Decay | 5/10 | Fast → Slow |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Metal rhythm guitar generates significant noise between power chord stabs and riff pauses — the NS-2 silences the amp and pedal noise during these pauses. Set Threshold at 4 (low enough to open during quiet palm-muted passages, high enough to close between phrases) and moderate Decay to close cleanly without cutting off natural pick noise and punch. Route the high-gain pedals through the NS-2's send/return loop for the most accurate gating.
Single-coil guitars pick up 60-cycle hum from lights, transformers, and stage equipment — particularly noticeable in clean quiet passages. Lower Threshold (2) is sufficient because single-coil hum is quieter than high-gain distortion noise; longer Decay (6) allows clean chord rings and arpeggios to decay naturally without the gate cutting off before the notes have faded.
In the studio, gate Threshold should be conservative — the NS-2 should silence noise between takes and passages without the gate closure being audible in the recorded track. Slow Decay ensures reverb tails and sustained notes are preserved in the recording. Monitor the gate behaviour on solo tracks before committing to a recorded performance.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
Metallica's tight, chopped rhythm style requires a fast, decisive gate — pauses between palm-muted riff sections must be completely silent to maintain the percussive, controlled character of the downpicking approach. Threshold at 5 closes aggressively between phrases; fast Decay (3) ensures no noise bleed between notes. Hetfield runs the NS-2 with his Marshall or Mesa rig and routes the high-gain section through the loop.
Morello uses noise gates as part of his technique toolkit — the gate's hard close on the signal is used deliberately for rhythmic gating effects alongside his killswitch and wah techniques. A gate set with moderate Threshold and Decay creates the rhythmically chopped, mechanical cut of notes that appears in many Rage Against the Machine riffs.
Also in Our Rig Database
Guitarists who feature this gear in their documented rig — explore their full setup.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The NS-2's most important feature is its send/return loop — route your high-gain pedals (distortion, fuzz) through the loop so the NS-2 can monitor the noisy signal directly and gate it without the gate influencing where the effect sits in your signal chain.
- Set Threshold by ear: play a sustained held note and gradually increase Threshold until the noise silences between notes. Then back off 10% so the gate doesn't close during quiet picking nuance.
- Decay timing: for tight, percussive metal rhythm set Decay short (2–3). For blues, clean arpeggios, or any style where natural note decay is part of the expression, use Decay 6–8.
- The NS-2 does not affect tone when playing — it is only active below the Threshold level. This is the fundamental difference between a noise gate and a compressor, which affects the signal at all times.
- High-gain into reverb into gate is a common mistake — the reverb's long tail extends the signal well above the gate threshold, delaying gate closure indefinitely. Place reverb and delay after the NS-2 to allow gates to close cleanly while preserving the natural reverb decay in the output.
FAQ
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor: Threshold at 3/10, Decay at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For High-Gain Metal: Threshold 4/10, Decay 4/10. Metal rhythm guitar generates significant noise between power chord stabs and riff pauses — the NS-2 silences the amp and pedal noise during these pauses. Set Threshold at 4 (low enough to open during quiet palm-muted passages, high enough to close between phrases) and moderate Decay to close cleanly without cutting off natural pick noise and punch. Route the high-gain pedals through the NS-2's send/return loop for the most accurate gating.
For Single-Coil Clean: Threshold 2/10, Decay 6/10. Single-coil guitars pick up 60-cycle hum from lights, transformers, and stage equipment — particularly noticeable in clean quiet passages. Lower Threshold (2) is sufficient because single-coil hum is quieter than high-gain distortion noise; longer Decay (6) allows clean chord rings and arpeggios to decay naturally without the gate cutting off before the notes have faded.
Threshold: The noise floor level below which the gate closes. Set too low and noise passes through during pauses; set too high and the gate clips sustained notes and natural decay. The most important setting — dial in by playing a held note and listening for where the gate closes too early. (All Open to Heavy Gate). Decay: How quickly the gate closes after the signal drops below the threshold. Fast Decay closes cleanly after short notes; slow Decay allows sustained notes and reverb tails to ring out before the gate shuts. (Fast to Slow)
The NS-2's most important feature is its send/return loop — route your high-gain pedals (distortion, fuzz) through the loop so the NS-2 can monitor the noisy signal directly and gate it without the gate influencing where the effect sits in your signal chain. Set Threshold by ear: play a sustained held note and gradually increase Threshold until the noise silences between notes. Then back off 10% so the gate doesn't close during quiet picking nuance. Decay timing: for tight, percussive metal rhythm set Decay short (2–3). For blues, clean arpeggios, or any style where natural note decay is part of the expression, use Decay 6–8. The NS-2 does not affect tone when playing — it is only active below the Threshold level. This is the fundamental difference between a noise gate and a compressor, which affects the signal at all times. High-gain into reverb into gate is a common mistake — the reverb's long tail extends the signal well above the gate threshold, delaying gate closure indefinitely. Place reverb and delay after the NS-2 to allow gates to close cleanly while preserving the natural reverb decay in the output.
James Hetfield settings: Threshold 5/10, Decay 3/10. Metallica's tight, chopped rhythm style requires a fast, decisive gate — pauses between palm-muted riff sections must be completely silent to maintain the percussive, controlled character of the downpicking approach. Threshold at 5 closes aggressively between phrases; fast Decay (3) ensures no noise bleed between notes. Hetfield runs the NS-2 with his Marshall or Mesa rig and routes the high-gain section through the loop.
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