dbx 166a vs dbx 160a

[fretless]

i own 4 compressors by now:
drawmer mx30
dbx 166a
dbx 266xl
fostex 3070

for compressing bass i tend to use the 166a which quite satisfies me, but just not entirely ... however it´s a lot better than the 266xl (there´s a very audible ticking this machine does when compression is engaged/disengaged at least with bass instruments - not good!)

the mx30 is fine but not that spectacular, it´s more of a transparent compressor which is fine for other signals than bass and for complete mixes - at least for my taste ;-)

the 3070 (got it cheap from ebay) goes a little in dbx´s direction ...

basically i like what dbx comps do to bass so i came to read a lot about the dbx 160a and its predecessors being some kind of studio standard for compressing bass and even vocals and i would like to know how it would compare to my 166a!?

are there some dbx users out there who own both the 166a and the 160a and could give me some hints?! is the step up from the 166a to the 160a worth the investment? how do those two differ soundwise? is one of them more transparent than the other? i suppose you could crank the 160a a bit more without killing the signal, hmm?!? btw i know of the single channel design of the 160a!

the rest of my setup for bass di recording:

basses:
fender marcus miller jazz bass active/passive 4-string
hoyer stardust passive 4-string
yamaha active 5-string
washburn fretless active 5-string

gallien krueger 400rb (not always used)
palmer pan04 di-box
soundtracs m series 32/8/2 console (mic preamps)
m audio delta1010 (win98se/cubase vst 5.1r1)

thx for your comments!

fretless

p.s.: i found out recently that the aphex aural exciter 104 c² does some good if inserted into a bass track - of course you have to be careful here! ;-)

[darrin_h2000]

160a, not even a comparason.