dbx® 160 Compressor / Limiter

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Considered one of the best drum compressors ever, the original dbx® 160 stands tall among its peers, boasting a very clean sound with minimum THD. The fast-acting dbx® 160 compressor was used in almost every major recording in the late ‘70s and throughout the ‘80s, and later models in the 160 series also became industry standards.

Created in collaboration with dbx®, the Waves dbx® 160 compressor / limiter plugin is an authentic-sounding software version of this storied piece of hardware. In addition to its meticulous modeling of the vintage compressor, the Waves dbx® 160 plugin incorporates unique and exclusive features not found in the original hardware, such as Waves’ MS Matrix, mix and noise controls, and a stereo component. The result is a must-have compressor / limiter for use in the studio, live, or both.

“To get closer to the realism of live performance” has been a goal of dbx® since the company’s inception in the 1970s. This goal has come full circle with the Waves dbx® 160 compressor / limiter plugin, which enables you to achieve stunning realism in the studio or to add nuance to an actual live performance.

Created in collaboration with dbx®
Meticulous modeling of the original dbx® 160 compressor
Designed for both studio and live use
MS matrix
Mix & noise controls
Stereo component

dbx is a trademark of Harman International.

Mercury
$1997.99
Pro Show
$4000
SD7 Pro Show
$6000

Feb 16, 2015

Val Garay on the dbx 160 and the L.A. Sound

To celebrate the release of the Waves dbx 160 compressor/limiter plugin, we’ve interviewed producer/engineer Val Garay to bring you his own dbx 160 story.

Mark Ronson Producer, DJ, Recording Artist

Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z, Adele, Bruno Mars

“I actually have original dbx 160 hardware compressors in my studio – but I only have two of those, so once I run out of analog channels I use the Waves dbx 160 in the box to get that sound.”

Howard "Howie" Lindeman Live and Studio Engineer

Roberta Flack, Natalie Cole, Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar

“The original dbx 160 hardware was always within my reach at The Record Plant NYC and the Hit Factory NYC. I've always had it ready for bass guitars and guitars in general, especially for rock recordings. Now with the Waves dbx 160 plugin I've got my guns loaded – it can be unbelievably clean, or it can be as crunchy as you want it to be. It's amazing on guitars, but also beautifully transparent on vocals. It is now my go-to compressor and a permanent member of my mixing toolkit.”

Mike Patton Singer, Songwriter, Multi-Instrumentalist, Film Composer, Producer

Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Fantomas

“dbx 160 is a trusted squashing beast, great both in-chain and for crushing tracks after the fact. I use the it probably not so much for compression, as I assume it was intended – but more as a distortion box! It’s great both in-chain or for crushing tracks after the fact. Love it especially on drums and percussion. I have a hardware version of this but lean on the plugin many times, as it is much more convenient.”

David Wrench Mixing, Recording Engineer, Producer

Frank Ocean, The xx, Caribou, FKA Twigs

“The dbx 160 is my first choice for bass. It holds it in place really well without being intrusive.”

Mike Avenaim Mix Engineer, Producer, Session Drummer, Music Director

Scott Weiland, NOTD, Disney, Bea Miller

“An instant classic sound for my drums. If you want that “punch in your face” compression that’s popular in almost everything now, this is the plug!”

Gary Bradshaw FOH Engineer

Take That, ELO, George Michael, Annie Lennox

“One of my favourite plugins is the dbx 160. I am old enough to remember that they were the standard compressor used in analogue outboard racks. To my ears, the plugin version is an exact copy of the original, plus some extra features like the mix facility. The dbx can be used on most things, but I use it mainly across the drums sub group, with roughly 50/50 mix, which tightens up the drum mix really well.”

Lisa Affenzeller FOH Engineer

TesseracT, Butcher Babies, Kobra & The Lotus

“dbx 160 is one of my main go-to plugins in almost every live situation. I love to use it on bass guitars as it shapes the sound with warmth and depth and lets me position the bass perfectly in the mix, adding great color and character.”

Yamil Martínez FOH, Studio Engineer, Producer

Alex Campos, Ana Gabriel, Ricky Martin, Tommy Torres

“The Waves dbx 160 plugin is even more useful than the original dbx 160 hardware compressor. Its ability to blend in the mix enables you to use (and abuse!) the great coloration of the 160 while recovering the transients and getting complete clarity.”

Koen Heldens Mixing Engineer

XXXTentacion, Kanye West, Trippie Redd, Lil Wayne

“Try adding weight and warmth to kick using a parallel chain of dbx160 compressing the kick heavily, fed into the PuigTec EQP-1A adding a ton of 60Hz and attenuation everything at 3kHz. For snare I’ll do the same but followed by the API 550A adding 4dB at 200 and 1.5kHz, and cutting 2dB at 10kHz.”