The GUP Tech TDS Sun Noise Gate is a noise gate pedal and a special purple edition of the company's Sun noise gate. GUP Tech describes it as having the "same noise killing power as our Sun but with special color", made just for Shawn, and announced it on 5 August 20211. Like the regular Sun, it is built to tame hiss and hum in a pedalboard or amp rig, and it can be wired in front of the amp or in the effects loop.
Controls and jacks
The TDS Sun keeps the Sun's minimal control layout: a single knob, which on the Sun is the threshold control. GUP Tech notes the pedal "may have only one know, but is not an easy one to get by", meaning the setting takes some dialing in2. Inside the enclosure there is also a Low/High threshold switch, which the maker describes as being there "in case you miss some noise silencing power", giving a higher threshold for harder gating1.
The pedal's four jacks are its most distinctive feature. GUP Tech explains the wiring options on the Sun, which the TDS Sun shares12:
| Jack | Function |
|---|---|
| Right side | Detection input |
| Top right | Actual gate input |
| Left side | Detection output, goes to noisy FX and/or amp input |
| Top left | Goes to time-based FX and amp FX return |
This layout lets the pedal be wired in a 2, 3 or 4-wire method, so the gate's detection path can be separated from the audio path. That matters in practice: with the detection output feeding the amp input and the gate output feeding time-based effects and the FX return, the gate can react to the guitar signal before it gets noisy while silencing the loop as well21.
Placement: front of amp or effects loop
GUP Tech says the TDS Sun can be used either way: "Wire it directly in front of the amp, or in the FX Loop, using the key input, for even more hum annihilation"1. The key input is the detection input described above, and using it in the loop is the maker's suggested route for dealing with hum from the amp itself.
The TDS Sun is a limited edition and is listed as sold out on GUP Tech's product page1. The regular Sun noise gate has been offered in White, Dark Gray, Black Yellow, Black Green, Black Blue and Black Orange2, and other editions such as the SUN Scott Bynoe Edition and the SUN Douche Neon have also appeared.
The Sun family and the GUUL
The Sun is GUP Tech's noise gate pedal. The maker lists it at a sale price of £104.00 GBP, and the listing currently shows it as sold out1. It runs on 9VDC center negative power and draws 38mA1.
For players comparing gates, the Sun's four-jack wiring approach sets it apart from simpler single-in, single-out gates such as the MXR Smart Gate or TC Electronic Sentry, and puts it in the same territory as loop-capable designs like the Fortin Amps Fortin Zuul and the ISP Technologies ISP Decimator II G-String. See the full range on the noise gate pedals page.
Sources (2)
- TDS SUN Noise Gate, GUP Tech (guptech.ca), 2021-08-05
- SUN Noise Gate Guitar Pedal, GUP Tech (guptech.ca)
