Drum Gate 2's Alignment feature uses a Time Anchor and a Phase Reference to determine how drum tracks are aligned.

By default:

• Kick (Bass Drum) is used as the Time Anchor 

• 

  Overheads are used as the Phase Reference

This default configuration is recommended for most multi‑mic drum recordings, and for best results at least one Overhead track should be included. But what if you recorded with a more minimal, less conventional mic setup? Read on! 

As of Drum Gate 2 v1.02, the Time Anchor and Phase Reference are no longer fixed to these groups. Any drum group can now be assigned as the Time Anchor and/or Phase Reference, allowing alignment to be tailored to alternative mic setups or creative workflows.

Logic Pro – Alignment Stops Before Audio Is Read by the Plug‑in

The Alignment feature relies on the host DAW providing correct track properties and active playhead context to each Oxford Drum Gate 2 instance. 

In Logic Pro, audio blocks are not always passed to plug‑ins until non‑silent audio is detected on a track. This can interrupt or prevent the Alignment analysis stage, particularly when working with:

• Tom tracks where bleed has already been stripped during edit or mix preparation
• Cymbal spot microphones with sparse or intermittent audio regions

Workarounds:

If Alignment stops before analysis completes, the following workflows can help:

• Perform alignment before stripping audio regions or removing bleed
• Loop a section (e.g. ~20 seconds) that contains non‑silent audio on every track being aligned, then run Alignment

Notes on Recent Improvements

Recent Drum Gate 2 updates include clearer visual cues and on‑screen guidance before, during, and after the Alignment analysis. These improvements make it easier to identify when audio is not being received by the plug‑in, and should reduce the likelihood of this issue occurring in future workflows.

Changes to Track Grouping, Time Anchor, or Phase Reference

If you change track grouping, remove an included track from the session or assign a different Time Anchor or Phase Reference after an Alignment analysis has been completed, the audible results from the previous analysis will remain active.

However, the plug‑in will display a notification in the GUI indicating that the current configuration no longer matches the last analysis. To apply the updated grouping or reference settings, Alignment must be re‑analysed. This ensures that all alignment calculations reflect the most recent session configuration.