Is This the World’s Naughtiest Compressor?

A Compressor With Attitude

Famous for its aggressive VCA circuit and ultra‑fast attack, the dbx® 160 Compressor/Limiter is perfect for adding instant grab, grit, and dynamics control. Because it automatically lets initial transients pop through before clamping down hard, it pins sources in place while preserving initial impact.

Inject the Attitude of the dbx® 160 Compressor

Parallel Drum Bus: Crush your drums without losing transient punch. Rather than setting up a separate aux send, use the dbx® 160’s Mix knob directly on your bus to blend the heavily compressed room tone and heavy transient smacks under your dry signal for instant weight and aggression.

Electric & Bass Guitars: Keep low‑end lines locked into a tight spot in the mix. Because the VCA circuit preserves pick and finger attack transients before clamping down, pull back the Compression ratio or raise the Threshold to avoid over‑squashing (10–20 dB) while maintaining a rock‑solid level.

Acoustic Guitars in Dense Mixes: Help acoustic guitars cut through heavy drums and electric guitars without sounding squashed. Dial down the ratio from the factory default so the initial “thwack” of the strum comes through, locking the rest of the performance in a fixed space so it never gets buried.