dbx 160 UAD (dbx 160 VU compressor)

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PFC9

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Im'struggling with the understanding of this compressor.

No matter about threshold and ratio, I always end up with a HUGE superfast transient before my kick or snare.
After gain matching with make-up gain to get same perceived loudness, my peak is like 4-5 dB higher.

How do u manage this? Should I simply go for it, since smack/punch it gives to sound and "fix" it with clipper/saturation/limiting to avoid eating up all my drums bus headroom?
 
I don't know anything about that compressor - but I'm curious. Are you using the hardware version or the plugin?
 
I'm reading that the attack time for that compressor is program dependent - and not adjustable? If it's not fast enough to grab those transients - it may not be the right compressor for your drum track. I'm no expert on this subject - but you may need something faster. For instance - I know the 1176 type compressor has extremely fast attack time.
 
PFC9 said:
Im'struggling with the understanding of this compressor.

No matter about threshold and ratio, I always end up with a HUGE superfast transient before my kick or snare.
After gain matching with make-up gain to get same perceived loudness, my peak is like 4-5 dB higher.

How do u manage this? Should I simply go for it, since smack/punch it gives to sound and "fix" it with clipper/saturation/limiting to avoid eating up all my drums bus headroom?
Click to expand...
It could be the way you are using the compressor considering the DBX is known for giving drums punch and snap — take a screenshot of your Drum Tracks and how you are using the Plugin - Another great method is to Bus it to a track - and use Parallel Compression - otherwise it might be as @PorterhouseMusic says - you need a faster compressor - of which the 1176 UA Plugin is a good choice - the DBX Plugin that works well is the DBX 560A hardware piece - my current fave for drums is the FabFilter Pro-C 2 - I like it much better than any of the hardware or software pieces out there - and in second place (and at a much more friendly price) is the Waves CLA Drums.

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PorterhouseMusic said:
I'm reading that the attack time for that compressor is program dependent - and not adjustable? If it's not fast enough to grab those transients - it may not be the right compressor for your drum track. I'm no expert on this subject - but you may need something faster. For instance - I know the 1176 type compressor has extremely fast attack time.
Click to expand...
I've both (UADx), pretty different "colors". I'm not complaining about dbx, but I guess its attack time is not fast enough to grab very initial spike of a snare transient: this gives a huge "smack" to sound, but your drum bus peaks go from -10 dbFS to -5 (triggering bus compressor, and mix bus limiter), so I was wondering if this is a common "side effect" and how you manage it (dbx -> faster compressor/limiter/clipper/saturator) to go back at "manageable" peak values.
 
might work better if you use it in a parallel setup,
and go with what the dbx does, but mix it into your raw track.
 
Yeah, my "solutions" are parallel compression and clipping very top of peaks with saturation/soft clipping. I can manage loudness and keeping smack without eating all the headroom.
 
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