dbx 166 (not xl)

C

charger

New member
A two-channel compressor/limiter/gate, looks to be 1980's in origin. Anyone have any thoughts/opinions? I'm thinking about picking one up for snare and kick use. I know it has no attack/release controls, but I've heard from various sources that it sounds good on kick and snare anyway. Of course, searching on prosoundweb also turned up some unexplained giggles, but those guys hate everything...

They're cheap. Do they suck? Are the new ones better (166xl)? Would I be better off going for two 160s?

Anything else I should consider in the $75-100 range?

Thanks for your time.
 
I have one and I kind of like it, it sure has plenty of that signature DBX sound, and sometimes it`s quite good on snare. It`s also a "warming decice" , can suck out a lot of high end if you push it too far. I don`t like it too much on kick, it kind of thins out the lows. It`s much better than the XL.....

But I`d rather have a 160.....
 
Just been reading a book called "Behind the Glass" which is interviews with lots of famous engineers/producers. Many of them seem to swear by the 160. (Actually a good few of them also rate the Behringer Composer also).
 
Ive been using the 166 for several years...more like 15 I guess. Right now its on the inserts for my drum buss. Pretty decent, some people like them some people don't. I was told by Joe Chicarelli that some engineers even prefer the 166 for vocals. Its all about flavors right. For kick and snare compression is pretty good like I said, and for $75 to $100, thats really good considering the original price.

SoMm
 
You get a nice general purpose auto compressor, but don't get much variation in style. The fast release saves it's ass? :)
The peak stop by it's self is good on snare leveling. (I'm the odd one, never liked snare comp much.)
The gate's fast enough and doesn't click but it'd be more fun with a varyable release.
The price is nice.

I paid ALOT more. :p
:D
 
the limiter on the 166 has a very nice sound to it when pushed. Sounds great on bass guitar. I've also had some pretty sweet results using it on vox. Not a bad compressor for the money. Way better than the xl.
 
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