dbx 162

Being sold for Lisa Stansfield and was used in her Gracielands studio

dbx 162 is the stereo version of the famous 160. Takes me back, in 1976 I bought a pair of 160's for my first session to record 'The Voice' Paul Young, who lived in Luton, he was a 17 year old bass player vocalist called Kat Kool, the band was The Cool Cats. He played a small scale bass so I loaned him my Precision Bass for the photographs.

I was also a bass player at the time but he was a better singer than I was a bass player. However his magnificent voice going through a dbx 160 was pure magic. The 160 or the 162 do not have adjustable attack & release controls the attack/release times are adjusted automatically by the compressor. Which is great unless you want to get the compressor pumping away like a Trident compressor, the Trident should never be used on vocals, but it gives Guitars a punchy sound, whereas the dbx provides excellent compression, similar to an 1176 

There are just 3 controls that work over the 2 channels, Threshold, Compression Ratio & Output The meters can be switched to show  Inputs levels, Output Levels and Gain Change.

If you want a great compressor which is very easy to set up try the 160 or 162.

This unit is around 50 years old and is showing a little rack rash but it is in full working condition and has been tested by engineer Roy Harrison. One of the knob tops is missing. The back is a little marked but not unreasonably so however the previous owner has had XLR's fitted to replace the standard strip which is a little better

PRICE £ 999 inc vat ( uk only ) Export price is £832  plus shipping

Watch the You Tube video, why do they always use drums when demonstrating a compressor on You Tube, I would prefer seeing vocals being used, there is a wider dynamic range on vocals than on drums. If you listen to Barbara Streisand, the voice seems to range from quiet and soft to full belter but in actual fact the vocal level does not change, provided the compressor is set up right

E&oe