dbx® 160 Compressor / Limiter
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Experience the quirky VCA compression of the vintage hardware.
The dbx 160 Compressor/Limiter plug-in is a fully licensed, faithful emulation of the legendary studio hardware, capturing the quirky sonics of its colorful VCA compression along with added controls for modern workflows.
Included Versions
UAD Native
Runs on your Mac or PC without UA hardware.Apollo Realtime & UAD‑2
Runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD‑2 hardware.UAD Native plug-ins run on both macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer and Windows 10 and 11. Go to our UA Support page for system requirements.
- Add a unique voice and flavor to your compressor toolkit with the first solid-state VCA compressor ever made
- Harness fat compression textures on bass guitar, drum buses, synths, and more
- Give acoustic guitars and snare drums in-your-face “thwack”
- Create with Dry/Wet mix control for quick parallel compression and Sidechain Filter for reduced low-frequency pumping
TAKE A LISTEN
Add Versatile VCA Compression to your Tracks
Whether you’re using it on synths, bass guitar, or a drum bus, the dbx 160 plug-in emulates the original hardware’s grabby, low-end glue and old-school character, full of the same unique nonlinearities that make it a must-have for any engineer’s compressor toolkit.
Simple to Use, Timeless Character
With the same simple control set and at-a-glance metering of the original, the dbx 160 plug-in makes it easy to crush a parallel drum bus, or inject subtle fatness. It can also add aggressiveness and impact to everything from guitar power chords to a hip-hop vocal.
Leveled Up for Modern Workflows
Along with graphic enhancements and improved VU metering, the dbx 160 plug‑in’s Dry/Wet Mix control lets you easily punch up a drum bus with parallel compression, while the added Sidechain Filter lets you keep the low end tight, enhancing the compressor's impact.
5-Minute UAD Tip
In this video, learn how to add parallel compression to drums, even out a bass performance, and bring presence to acoustic guitars with the dbx 160 Compressor/Limiter.
Customer Reviews
R. Gun
April 19, 2020
special one
Very colorful and a lot of spank. It destroys any bass, makes it flat, but thats the deal. Not a a compressor for every signal but best on snare. The lost star comes from a long time...
Read MoreP. O'Shea
April 16, 2020
Like the original
Sounds great, like my old hardware ones (especially for snare)
Read MoreW. Haupt
April 11, 2020
Absolutely lovely
Kick, snare, bass, acoustic, right into your face, easy to handle, coloured. An absolute must have.
Read Mores. donat
March 9, 2020
very musical and punchy compressor
very musical and punchy compressor very useful in parallel love it on kick drum and bass maybe my favorite comp
Read MoreT. Station
March 6, 2020
Easy to use
Results that you want come very quick, handles quick peaks very well
Read Mored. lukinov
March 5, 2020
THAT SOUND
My favorite tool to get explosive drums with some vintage vibe.
Read More -
Key Features
Add a unique voice and flavor to your compressor toolkit with the first solid-state VCA compressor ever made
Harness fat compression textures on bass guitar, drum buses, synths, and more
Give acoustic guitars and snare drums in-your-face “thwack”
Create with Dry/Wet mix control for quick parallel compression and Sidechain Filter for reduced low-frequency pumping
Use with any audio interface, no UA hardware required
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Customer Reviews
dbx® 160 Compressor / Limiter
R. Gun
special one
Very colorful and a lot of spank.
It destroys any bass, makes it flat, but thats the deal.
Not a a compressor for every signal but best on snare.
The lost star comes from a long time missing update of the GUI (it looks grainy) and at least some modern features as a parallel mix,.
Very DSP friendly. thats absolute top.P. O'Shea
Like the original
Sounds great, like my old hardware ones (especially for snare)
W. Haupt
Absolutely lovely
Kick, snare, bass, acoustic, right into your face, easy to handle, coloured. An absolute must have.
s. donat
very musical and punchy compressor
very musical and punchy compressor very useful in parallel love it on kick drum and bass maybe my favorite comp
T. Station
Easy to use
Results that you want come very quick, handles quick peaks very well
d. lukinov
THAT SOUND
My favorite tool to get explosive drums with some vintage vibe.
I. Roselló
Fast and easy!
In your face bass drums and exploding snares in less than 5 minutes.
I. Roselló
Fast and easy!
In your face bass drums and exploding snares in less than 5 minutes.
D. Lee
Gives You That Snap
Go to for Kick, Bass, and Snare !!! Ooo
A. Bertók
Punchy and Forward
The dbx 160 sounds very punchy and forward. Uad version is high quality and smoother than the other versions.
A. Lombardi
Dbx 160 essential
Perfect! awesome fast transients.
V. van Tiel
The dance kick compressor!!
Wow! Kick control. Thats all I have to say about it. I had a long preset list on my kick. But now with this compressor on it I need much less processing. Finaly the low frequenties totally under control. It's amazing!!
Ł. Seliga
My favourite drum glue
I already used it at my friend's studio and I already knew it's a best sounding DBX-160 emulation out there so it was the first plugin I bought when I've finally got my Apollo. Makes it really easy to make big, pumping drums, perfect for paralell compression
l. morrish-thomas
Easy to use, sounds just like the real thing
Gives me the sound I want on drums with no fussing about
C. Wilson
Great
Awesome
B. Gfeller
like the real 160
we have both in the studio, the original DBX160 and this UA plugin, its no difference
E. Faulcon
Dope
Try it on the snare
P. Gharapetian
an old one but you can't beat a perfect emulation
sounds just like the real deal. hard to improve on perfection.
T. Glosser
You Have To Hear This
Theres nothing like it.
W. Bransford
Every bit as simple as it is awesome
I'm still relatively new to UAD and am learning the history and applications of all of these plugins; some can be a little intimidating at times with their myriad of knobs and functions. After just a few minutes with the demo of the dbx160 I knew it was a must have. For progressive trance and other hard-hitting electronic music, simply dropping this on almost any sound and giving it a couple tweaks provides an extra oomph with ease that no other plugin I have can achieve. Hooray!