Just got a DBX 160-VU. Now what...?

[sirdss]

This is some basic questions about:

How to use this compressor?

What is the sound to use from the compressor?

Also it's not for sale!

I was lucky enough to get a old DBX 160-VU from a friend...I'm wondering just how to use it for kicks, snares, basses, vocals...etc.

I have been running it with my TR-909's kick to get all sorts of sounds but I'm not sure what a good sound from this should sound like...it's it supposed to be good if the Compression is high with a low Threshhold to make a click with no sustain then EQed on the board to bring out the lows?

Any suggestions would be great.

[rocksure]

They are quite aggressive and good for bringing things forward in a mix. Not what I would call a "fat" sound (if compared to something like an 1176). I would experiment with settings if I was you.

[dude24man]

A little gain reduction goes along way with those. be careful tracking with it.

[tubehead]

Originally Posted by sirdss

This is some basic questions about:

How to use this compressor?

What is the sound to use from the compressor?

Also it's not for sale!

I was lucky enough to get a old DBX 160-VU from a friend...I'm wondering just how to use it for kicks, snares, basses, vocals...etc.

I have been running it with my TR-909's kick to get all sorts of sounds but I'm not sure what a good sound from this should sound like...it's it supposed to be good if the Compression is high with a low Threshhold to make a click with no sustain then EQed on the board to bring out the lows?

Any suggestions would be great.

Sweet spot for me was always setting them so the led's were bouncing back and forth.

[Drumsound]

They sound great on bass.

[Faderjockey]

And in some situations if the needle moves that can be to much compression.

I need to find time to recap mine.

[Ollie]

I use 160's often. Vocals: put it infront of an opto. Have it kick after zero vu to keep dynamic singers under control. I use a 4:1 ratio for this.

Just tap it for tracking on kick or snare if you feel you need compression.

Pretty nice comp for clean electric guitar. Can work well for bass like just like I use it for vocals.

I think it has a nice warm character.

Sent from my MB860 using Gearslutz.com App

[Jonathan@FPA]

Originally Posted by dude24man

A little gain reduction goes along way with those. be careful tracking with it.

Yes the meter is really a suggestion, not indicative of how much compression you are actually getting...use your ears. Pretty good on Kick and Snare and as Tony mentioned Bass gtr.. Not so much for vocals...IMO, the 165 is a little better for that. Recap it and have the ps looked at.

best-

[sirdss]

Thank you for all the information. The 160 has been recapped and upgraded by Jim Williams and he did a great job.

I'll try the suggestion mentioned.

I do primarily electronic music and really looking for something that will get the kick to stand out on the dancefloor...samples from an SP-1200, 909s 707s and 606s.

[Rob The Viking]

A friend of mine gave me a 161 with the unbalanced I/O. I had the RCA's converted to 1/4" and I use it on drum breaks after a 1073, it sounds really nice. but very touchy, and easy to over use.

[kikumotoallstars]

Originally Posted by tubehead

Sweet spot for me was always setting them so the led's were bouncing back and forth.

+1. This is what I do too. It does depend on what style of EDM you are doing. It's all about subtle tapey sound as opposed to the slamming 1176 or distressor thing.

I track analog drum machines like you, Roland 707, 808, 909 etc etc and I think it's awesome.

[Samc]

Originally Posted by sirdss

Any suggestions would be great.

My suggestion is that you learn the basics of what compressors do and how to use them...

[jmikeperkins]

I have 2 of them. One modded by Jim Williams and one which is totally stock. Both sound great. The Jim Williams modded one is a little warmer and more "hi-fi" sounding while the stock one a little more "crunchy" and slightly harder sounding. It's cool to have one of each so I can pick which flavor I want to use.

Generally speaking, you always want the threshold led's to "bounce" so it's kicking in and out. You can crush the heck out of just about anything, so be careful not to use too much compression with the 160. The make up gain amp in the 160VU is especially nice sounding and some people just run signals through it for flavor. Great compressor for electric guitar, kick drum, snare drum, bass, and sometimes vocals (especially harder rock vocals when you need more compression at mix down). The 160VU is NOT transparent (unless you compare it to something like the original dbx 163) and will pump and leave artifacts, but it has a great overall tone and is very useful. Next to the 1176, it's probably the most famous and desired of all the classic FET compressors. Still a good value at less than $1,000 each. The unbalanced 161 can be made into a 160 if you send it to Jim Williams who can add the output transformer and other things needed. The VCA is the same in both units and circuit board in the 161 has blank places already built in for the extra components to make it a 160. Aftermarket stereo rackmount kits are available on ebay.

[Faderjockey]

I'd like to get that Mod.. Thought about it.

I don't reach for the 160 a ton.. But the more hifi part sounds like it would be cool..

[sirdss]

Thank you so much everyone...

But samc...cmon man...I'm trying to learn the quirks of this particular compressor and I guess to qualify to you...yes I do know what the features and controls do on compressors...my collection of hardware comps. also include a SSL G-384 as well as the DBX 165a and 162. The 160 is a little wild and since I'm not using it with acoustic drums I was just trying to get some advise from people with experience.

[abechap024]

Ya! This was the first ever VCA compressor.

Very nice subtle tone, easy to over use. Like everyone is saying...

I tracked a snare through it once, in a rush, rush, rush session.
Welll stupidly it sounded awesome, but the resulting track was to squished to do any gating or any sample replacement type fun...
Spent many hours cutting and slicing to learn that mistake...


Sounds great on electric guitar. sQuash a "tick tick tick" electronic high hat see if that doesn't make you smile.

I'll echo what everyone else is saying, great for kick, snare, guitars, vox. But it can be colored if smacked too hard!

[andreaeffe]

Originally Posted by sirdss

What is the sound to use from the compressor?

/.../

Originally Posted by sirdss

I'm not sure what a good sound from this should sound like...it's it supposed to be good if the Compression is high with a low Threshhold to make a click with no sustain then EQed on the board to bring out the lows?

OP - Sorry, without meaning ANY disrespect or wanting to be smartassed, but there is NO way in the world to answer the questions U have written there.

Btw, they are really weirdly put/written.

"What is the sound to use"?
Come on - the one coming out of the XLR marked "output!

"What a good sound from this should sound like"?
Well, either the same as the input, pristine, but with more controlled dynamics in a manner & timing to sit well in that specific track, that specific song, that specific mix; or with a purposedly and creatively "mangled" attack or sustain.
But we (nobody here or anywhere) can't know what is good in your specific tune and situation - only U do.

And there is NO template as to where, how high or low to set the compression or threshold, it all depends on what signal U're feeding it - the frequency content, the level - if it's a synth bass slamming hot the same settings will be dramatically different than if U were to feed it a barely audible triangle "ping" or a softly whispered vocal.
I guess U know or can imagine that, right?

"Make a click with no sustain then eq on the board to bring out the low"?
Sorry, make a click of WHAT?? The smacking lips of someone beginning to sing, or the attack of a cowbell, or the pick on a guitar, or the attack of a kick drum, or a snare drum, or the recording of a screw falling to the floor?
How can we possibly know??

User Sam C gave U the best answer & good advice, in my humble opinion.
Don't be upset, at him or anyone.
Regardless of the gear U later listed as already having/owning/using, I'd say nobody actually knowing & understanding compression would ask the things U've asked the way U've asked them - knowledge, know-how and experience can't be bought, nor does buying gear guarantee them for free.

Also, again based on your questions, I seriously, seriously doubt U'd be able or qualified to say Jim Williams did a great job in the recapping & upgrading - how on Earth would U know, and how on Earth could we imagine what the unit sounds like & how it reacts now, after the upgrades?


Again, no hard feelings - and, in the unlikely case it's just the odd wording & grammar that made some of us think & assume U didn't know things that U're actually very good at, then...just pardon the misunderstanding.


Peace,


A
F

[abechap024]

<quote>OP - I'm not sure what a good sound from this should sound like...it's it supposed to be good if the Compression is high with a low Threshold to make a click with no sustain then EQed on the board to bring out the lows?</quote>

Ya, I know what your talking about. When you really push the DBX 160vu all you can really hear is a "click" of the beater of the kick and the rest gets very compressed.

I would say from personal experience, if you compress it so much that you feel the body, or lows of the kick are lost, you probably are compressing it too much, Sometimes a little is all that is really needed, sometimes being more subtle with each instrument can have a DRAMATIC effect with the song as a whole.

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by sirdss

Thank you for all the information. The 160 has been recapped and upgraded by Jim Williams and he did a great job.

I'm quite sure Jim did an excellent job cleaning up the audio in that... however, it will render the majority of the comments here moot as I'm sure very few have heard the after effects of Jim's work on that unit.

I do primarily electronic music and really looking for something that will get the kick to stand out on the dancefloor...samples from an SP-1200, 909s 707s and 606s.

FWIW - I've mostly found the 160-vu to mainly be of use in straightening out dynamics from less than stellar "real" drummers ["real" is quotes as a "real" drummer usually doesn't need their dynamics straightened out while many less than good drummers do indeed need their dynamics straightened out with a box such as the 160-vu]... so while your work is coming from machines / samples... the 160-vu might help... or it might not.

You should play with it [duh... I'm sure you're saying "thanx Captain Obvious" right about now] and determine if its going to do something cool for you. The thing is... if it were stock I could say with a bit of authority that it won't help you add size to a kick [at least not like an MC-77 or a "pre G" release 1176LN might]... but its not stock... so it could very well add some size for all I know.

Best of luck with it!!

Peace

[abechap024]

I have a special affection for the 160vu.

It can sure well be useful for electronic music especially. I find it can add some interest to an otherwise boring percussion.

make a buss of all your mono drum elements....preferably with a hihatt of cym in there somewhere and compress to taste, bring up behind the original tracks. It can very much make the snr and kick sit on top of a track in a very pleasing manner using this technique.

Another great thing that many people don't appreciate about this unit is there are no electrolytic capacitors directly in the signal path! There is one 4.7uf Bi-Polar electrolytic capacitor directly in the signal path but it sounds fine.

[sirdss]

Hey sorry if I was being a little sensitive...everyone has has pretty good advise for me...of course I've got to use it and experiment to feel out the compressor...I'm sure one 160 is gonna react and sound different from another just as TB-303s are different...then add the Jim Williams upgrade and you'll really mix it up.

Just wanna add:

I had the unit before Jim modded it and it was a vast improvement in frequency range...still vibey but much more open. Previous to the mod it was more raspy sounding and the VCA was a bit sluggish...I know about VCAs from having a big (7vco, 8VCA ) modular synth system and it felt a little wrong in the 160.

The other thing is I'm writing on a iPod Touch and that darn way of typing gets screwy at times. Writing friends it doesn't seem to matter much but I now know if I need a serious answer I have to make sure Gearslutz readers are gonna have to understand what I mean to say.

Fletcher...we met in the early 2000s when I was building mics at Royer Labs...thanks for the help. Do you not back the Jim Williams upgrade?

Best

David Scott Stone

[Fletcher]

Hey David - hope all is well in your world!!

I never said I didn't "back" the Jim Williams mod - I'm VERY sure he's done some quite excellent things to it. What I said was I've never heard it and have no idea what it sounds like... but at the end of the day I'm somewhat sure it will sound "better" [whatever that means] than the stock unit.

Peace

[jmikeperkins]

I have 2 dbx 160VU units. One is stock and the other has the Jim Williams mod. I have them racked up side by side so I am in a good position to judge the differences in sound between them. The main difference is the Jim Williams modded 160VU is warmer, fatter, and smoother sounding than the stock 160 VU unit. The make up gain amp on the Jim Williams unit also sounds better than the stock unit and you can actually run harsh sources through the modded unit, with the compression off, and it will warm up the sound.

The stock 160 VU, in comparison, sounds "crunchier" and "harder" sounding than the Jim Williams modded one. I actually prefer the stock unit when compressing electric guitar tracks becuase the crunch is helpful there. Sometimes the extra crunch of the stock unit might help a bass track or an aggressive rock vocal, but most of the time on bass and vocals, the Jim Williams modded unit sounds better. The modded unit is usually always better on drums. Jim Williams does great work and if you want your 160 to be fatter and warmer, he can make that happen.

[sirdss]

Right on! Yeah I do like what the mod did to the 160...I'm actually planning to have Jim work on the 162 and 165a I have as well...the 160 is still savage and tough...it's definitely not a mod that will mellow things out.

Just today I ran a CV controlled Moog Taurus 2 into the 160 and it was perhaps that best electronic bass sound I've ever heard. So dense and present...so darned focused! When I turned VCO 2 to sync mode it went into another dimention. It's really gonna stand out in the mix...I will try the suggestion to run some more steril sounding electronic drums through it...off, but try to exploit the 160's gain stage.

I'm now running a Roland MC-202 bass sequence through it right now with fantastic results...it's the best compressor Iv used to bring out every little nuance from the synth. I can't wait to try out my modular system with it.

The 160VU is actually performing much better than I was expecting while doing EDM. Its a must have!

[airloom]

Originally Posted by dude24man

A little gain reduction goes along way with those. be careful tracking with it.

Yep