ISP Technologies Decimator G String Pedal

The ISP Technologies Decimator G String is a noise reduction pedal aimed at players whose rigs hiss and hum, especially those running high-gain pedals or a hot preamp. It comes from the original Rocktron engineering team that designed the Hush noise reduction, and it uses ISP's Time Vector Processing, which Premier Guitar describes as responding "instantly and accurately to all varieties of note durations"¹. What sets the G String apart from a plain inline noise gate is its loop connection: it tracks the signal straight from the guitar while its processing channel cleans up the noisy part of the chain further downstream.

The threshold knob and footswitch

Operation is deliberately simple. The pedal consists of one threshold knob and an active/bypass switch¹. You turn the threshold up until the noise or hum present when you are not playing disappears, and you use the footswitch to take the whole circuit out of the signal path when you do not want any processing at all. There are no attack, release or decay controls to balance; the Time Vector Processing circuit handles how the reduction follows your notes, which Premier Guitar found tracked everything from quick staccato playing to held sustains¹.

Link jacks and loop placement

The G String's reason for existing is placement flexibility. Premier Guitar notes it can be inserted into a series effects loop or at the end of your chain of badly behaved, noisy pedals⁴. ISP describes the current versions' design as letting you connect the processing channel into your effects loop after your high-gain pedals or preamp, while the pedal still tracks the signal directly from your guitar²³. That split is the point: a gate placed after your distortion sees a compressed, noisy signal and can clamp down on your sustain, whereas the G String reads the clean guitar output and applies the right amount of reduction downstream.

The current-generation pedals carry this out with a dedicated jack set: a 1/4 inch instrument input and a 1/4 inch loop return on the way in, and a 1/4 inch main out plus a 1/4 inch loop send on the way out²³.

Where it came from and how it differs from the alternatives

ISP Technologies was founded by the original Rocktron engineering team that designed the Hush noise reduction, the technology behind rack units like the Rocktron HUSH Super C and Rocktron HUSH Ultra¹. The Decimator line carries that lineage into pedal form, and the Decimator's smooth chrome chassis carries the same look¹.

The line has evolved over more than a decade:

• Decimator G String (original): one threshold knob, active/bypass switch, chrome chassis, $249 MSRP¹
• Decimator G String II (June 2013): added LINK IN/OUT for linking two pedals, with improved expander tracking⁵⁶
• Decimator X G String (announced May 2024): the adaptive version, built on ISP's newer Decimator X technology⁷
• Decimator G String X (current): 9V DC power supply (sold separately), instrument and loop return inputs, main out and loop send outputs, 2 x 1/8 inch link in/out³

Against the compact competition, the comparison depends on what you need. The ISP Technologies DECI-MATE G Micro Decimator packs the company's noise reduction, with patent pending tracking improvements, into a small micro pedal running on a tip negative, sleeve positive supply⁸, but it is an inline unit without the G String's loop connection. Loop-based gates from other makers, such as the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor and Electro-Harmonix The Silencer, take a similar send/return approach to separating tracking from processing.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar's review of the original pedal was direct about both the function and the sound¹:

Premier Guitar's reviewer¹

The same review called it "a welcomed addition to any noisy guitar rig"¹, while noting with some humor that the smooth chrome chassis appeals to players who like their pedals to be seen as well as heard¹.

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