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Apollo
Native
dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter
4.8 (421)

dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter

Experience the quirky VCA compression of the vintage hardware.

Get this plus 70 UAD Native plug-ins and LUNA in UAD Spark Studio
  • 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

Runs natively on your macOS or Windows computer, or accelerated on Apollo audio interfaces or UAD Accelerators. View full system requirements.

Hear It In Action

Plug-In:

Hear It In Action

Hear It In Action

Plug-In:

Hear It In Action

Plug-In:

Experience the Quirky Character of the Vintage Hardware

The dbx 160 Compressor/Limiter plug-in is a fully licensed, faithful emulation of the legendary studio hardware, capturing the in-your-face sonics of its colorful VCA compression along with added controls for modern workflows.

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.

Get Timeless Character, Easily

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.

Level Up with 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.

Reviews

4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
Based on 421 reviews
97%would recommend this product
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421 reviews
  • G
    GARRISON
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    1 hour ago
    5 Stars

    Works as expected! UAD for the win again

    Was this helpful?
  • SB
    Steve B.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    1 week ago
    Comp.

    Love the glue.

    Was this helpful?
  • EM
    Enoc M.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    1 week ago
    A Very powerful yet simple must have tool.

    I love it. It's what I had been missing in my arsenal. Lovin the clean punch

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  • RM
    Rafał M.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    1 month ago
    Kick compresor

    Great

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  • RL
    Robin L.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    2 months ago
    As close as it gets

    I used a DBX 160 from the early 1980's up until I retired in 1999. A great compressor with several uses. I liek it on backup vocals. The UAD plug is as close as it gets to using the hardware version.

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Frequently Asked Questions

No. These plug-ins run natively on your computer. No UA hardware is required.
Yes, 14-day plug-in demos are available. Find eligible plug‑ins
We provide three activations per license. We support activation on your computer or on an iLok USB key.
For every UAD plug-in that supports native and Apollo/UAD-2 versions, you get a license for both upon purchase, or the option to get it through an upgrade.
Native plug-ins are supported on macOS and Windows systems. See our Native UAD System Requirements article for full system requirements. An iLok account is required for managing your native plug-in licenses. We support iLok USB keys for portability, but one is not required.
Check our Knowledge Base for additional questions

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