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Apollo
Native
sale
dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter
4.8 (417)

dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter

Experience the quirky VCA compression of the vintage hardware.

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  • 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.

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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 417 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 360 Total 4 star reviews: 44 Total 3 star reviews: 8 Total 2 star reviews: 1 Total 1 star reviews: 4
97%would recommend this product
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417 reviews
  • RL
    Robin L.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    2 days 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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  • MT
    Mike T.
    Verified Buyer
    I do not recommend this product
    Rated 1 out of 5 stars
    2 months ago
    Not for me.

    Disappointed. Something else always beats this.

    Was this helpful?
  • CH
    Carlos H.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    2 months ago
    Seems to be a good plugin but...

    I haven't used very much so far, but the presets for bass seem useless in my opinion, because they change the sound too much, the bass guitar gets too weak. However, I will have to experiment more apart from the prestes to say something properly.

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  • AG
    Artur G.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    3 months ago
    Another Flavor

    Definitely delivers this specific dbx 160 vibe.

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  • ZV
    zoran v.
    Verified Buyer
    I recommend this product
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    3 months ago
    dbx 160 is boss

    standard excellent product

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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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