The Silencer is a compact analog noise gate pedal from Electro-Harmonix, released in 2015. A noise gate mutes or reduces your signal when it drops below a set level, so hum, hiss and pedal noise stay quiet between notes instead of filling the gaps. What sets the Silencer apart from a simple inline gate is its built-in effects loop: as well as gating a single pedal in your chain, it can sit around a whole group of pedals and silence the noise they generate together1.
Electro-Harmonix describes it as "a sophisticated noise gate that can tame a single pedal or an entire effects loop"1. It was introduced at the Summer NAMM show in Nashville in July 2015, alongside the 22500 Dual Stereo Looper, and reached shops that August23.
A noise gate that can also gate an effects loop
Most budget noise gates do one job: they sit inline in your chain and cut the signal when you stop playing. The Silencer can do that too, but its four jacks give it a second mode. MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown noted at launch that it "offers the ability to silence a single pedal or entire effects loop through the use of its built-in send and return jacks"2.
The loop approach matters for players with noisy gain pedals. A gate placed after a high-gain distortion or fuzz pedal only hears the summed noise of everything before it, and setting the threshold high enough to kill the hiss can also choke your sustained notes. By putting the noisy pedals inside the Silencer's own loop, the gate can act on them as a group while your core guitar signal reaches the output cleanly. The same send/return idea appears in other loop-capable gates such as the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, the MXR Noise Clamp and the ISP Technologies ISP Decimator II G-String.
One detail worth knowing before you buy: the Silencer is not true bypass. Electro-Harmonix says the "buffered bypass allows the effects loop to remain in your signal path when the gate is bypassed"1. In other words, pedals connected through the send and return keep running even when you switch the gate off, which is the point, but a buffer, not a hard wire, sits in your signal when the pedal is disengaged.
The controls
The Silencer keeps it to three knobs and one footswitch. The footswitch selects whether the gate is engaged or in bypass mode1.
| Control | What it does | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold | Sets how much level is required to open the gate and let your signal pass through | Continuous knob1 |
| Reduction | Sets how far the gated signal is turned down when the gate closes | -70dB to +4dB1 |
| Release | Sets how long the gate stays open after the signal drops below the Threshold | 8ms to 4 seconds1 |
The three controls answer the three practical questions every gate asks. Threshold decides when the gate opens: turn it up for loud, high-output setups, down for quieter playing. Reduction decides what happens when it closes: at the full -70dB setting the signal is effectively silenced, while lower settings just duck the noise, which can feel more natural. Release decides how it closes: a short release clamps noise fast but can cut decays abruptly, while the 4-second maximum lets sustained notes and reverb tails ring out before the gate shuts1.
Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson, reviewing compact noise gates in 2025, listed the Silencer's control set as "Release, Threshold, Reduction" and its price as $814.
Using the effects loop
Setting the Silencer up as a loop gate is a two-cable job, in this order:
- Connect the Silencer's SEND jack to the beginning of your effects loop, that is, the input of the first pedal you want gated1.
- Connect the end of that loop, the output of the last pedal in the group, back to the Silencer's RETURN jack1.
- Your guitar goes into the Silencer's Input, and the Output feeds the rest of your rig1.
Used this way, the gate measures your dry signal at the input and applies its reduction to everything passing through the loop, so the noisy pedals are controlled without the gate having to guess between your playing and their hiss. If you skip the send and return and simply run Input to Output, the Silencer behaves as a straightforward inline gate for whatever chain it sits in1.
Where it came from and what it costs
Electro-Harmonix launched the Silencer at the 2015 Summer NAMM show in Nashville, where the company demonstrated it at its booth alongside the 22500 Dual Stereo Looper and the Bad Stone phaser56. Premier Guitar's Jason Shadrick filmed demos of the three pedals at the show5, and Guitar World's crew reported on the demonstration of "their new Silencer noise gate pedal"6.
At launch, the announced US price was $76.80 MSRP according to Guitar World3, while Premier Guitar's press release gave $77 retail7; MusicRadar quoted the same $76.80 figure with a UK price of £49, and reported availability from August 20152. On Electro-Harmonix's current product page the list price stands at $80.70 USD1.
The Silencer sits in a crowded field of compact gates. If you are comparing, the loop-capable alternatives include the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor and Boss NS-1X Noise Suppressor, the TC Electronic Sentry, the ISP Technologies Decimator G String Pedal and the ZVex Loop Gate, while simpler inline gates such as the Mooer Noise Killer and Donner Noise Killer cover the basic job for less. Electro-Harmonix also makes the Hum Debugger, which targets hum specifically rather than general noise.
Videos
EHX
JJ Tanis
HomeBrewedHero
Questions
Does the Electro-Harmonix Silencer take a battery?
Yes. The pedal ships with a 9V battery included, so it runs straight out of the box without a power supply. A built-in jack also accepts a standard adapter such as the optional EHX 9.6DC unit, which is sold separately, so you can run it either way on a pedalboard.
Is the Silencer true bypass?
No. The Silencer uses buffered bypass, and the maker explains that this is deliberate: the buffered bypass allows the effects loop to remain in your signal path when the gate itself is bypassed. That means pedals connected through the Silencer's send and return keep passing signal even with the gate switched off.
How do I use the effects loop on the Silencer?
Connect the Silencer's SEND jack to the beginning of your effects loop, then connect the end of that loop back to the Silencer's RETURN jack. The gate then controls the noise of everything inside that loop, not just one pedal. Used inline instead, it simply gates your straight signal chain.
Is the Electro-Harmonix Silencer mono or stereo?
It is mono. The maker lists the Silencer's audio as mono, with a single 1/4 inch input and a single 1/4 inch output, plus the send and return jacks for the effects loop. There is no stereo path through the pedal.
How much current does the Silencer draw?
The maker lists a current draw of 22mA. That is low enough that it places little demand on a typical pedalboard power supply, and it can also run on the included 9V battery.
How much does the Silencer cost?
Electro-Harmonix lists the Silencer at $80.70 USD on its product page. At launch in 2015 the announced prices were lower, with press reports giving figures of $77 retail and $76.80 MSRP, and £49 in the UK at the time.
Sources (7)
- Silencer, Electro-Harmonix (ehx.com)
- SUMMER NAMM 2015: Electro-Harmonix unveils 22500 Dual Stereo Looper and Silencer Noise Gate/Effects Loop pedals, MusicRadar, 2015-07-13
- Summer NAMM 2015: Electro-Harmonix Introduces The Silencer Noise Gate/Effects Loop Pedal, Guitar World, 2015-07-10
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-05-26
- Electro-Harmonix 22500 Looper & More: SNAMM '15 Demos, Premier Guitar, 2015-07-17
- Summer NAMM 2015 Video: Electro-Harmonix Silencer Noise Gate, Guitar World, 2015-07-21
- EHX Launches Silencer Gate & 22500 Stereo Looper, Premier Guitar, 2015-07-12
