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Compressor

dbx 160

Waves

The dbx 160 is a digital model of a classic feed-forward hard-knee VCA-based compressor that delivers the smooth gain reduction and soft-knee compression character of the original 1976 hardware. Built on dbx's decilinear VCA and RMS level-detection circuits, it enables infinite compression without excessive distortion while tracking the signal's envelope. Waves has enhanced the plugin with input gain control, parallel compression via mix control, sidechain high-pass filtering, MS matrix processing for stereo signals, and adjustable hardware-modeled noise.

Key Features

01Feed-forward hard-knee VCA-based compression
02Input gain control (-20 dB to 20 dB)
03Compression ratio 1:1 to inf:1
04Sidechain High Pass (SC-HP) filter at ~90 Hz
05Mix control for parallel compression (0–100%)
06Hardware-modeled noise control
07Three stereo modes: Stereo, Duo, and MS matrix
08VU metering with headroom calibration (0–24 dB)

Things to Try

  • 01Enable SC-HP filter on bass guitars to reduce compression on low-frequency energy while maintaining control on midrange tones
  • 02Use Mix control to blend compressed and uncompressed signal for transparent parallel compression
  • 03Switch to MS mode to separately compress Mid (left controls) and Sides (right controls) in stereo tracks

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dbx 160 by Waves | Plugin Library