dbx 560A 500 Series Compressor/Limiter Reviews

I have seen some of the other reviews noting that this thing is not maybe the highest tier compressor out their. But after using it on a couple tracks I can solidly say this lil VCA compressor hits like the best of them. I haven't opened it up myself but I suspect a decently spicy sized output transformer to be in there. its so good sounding, with their program dependent attack/release, it is even faster to get set up and ready to mix.

This compressor was surprisingly amazing!! I thought for the price it would not be good but it is a great piece of gear!!

These are great compressors, don't be fooled by the price tag, they are well built, easy to use and sounds great, too.

Features:
- Overeasy
- I/O meters
- GR meters
- bypass
- ratio
- treshold

This is a must-have all around compressor to have in your 500 series. It has a way of compressing without it "sounding compressed" if that makes any sense - as in, it's very smooth and very transparent. VERY easy to dial in just the right settings and you usually hit the sweet spot within just a few minutes of tweaking. Simple operation, clear and forward sounding, great compressor. I'm going to buy a second!

Very useful to record acoustic guitars, piano, vocals and for livestreaming in general! Gets the job done! it compresses in a very musical way. I'm surprised on how well it reacts to piano dynamics.

Up until recently I had a dbx 160 A from the late 1980's/early 90's. Despite its relatively modest price, the 160 A was a staple in world-class studios and in top live venues. It's character was more in the envelope of the compression rather than its impact on the tone, which to my ears was always a little on the dark side, therefore making it a go-to compressor for kick, bass and other sources that were either a little too bright or needed some subtle low-mids.

I sold the 160 A because we needed 19" rack space and had some space in our lunch box. Decided to go for this. I was fairly confident that it would be at least useable. Far better than I expected and found it more transparent in the low-mids than the original 160A. In fact, I am reaching more and more for this compressor than some more exotic (and expensive) items in my racks. I go back to the days of open reel analog tape and while I love the benefits of the modern DAW, I prefer hardware compression & EQ for both sonic and workflow reasons. SO, if you have been ITB and curious about going hybrid with hardware, I would recommend this piece (or a pair) as your first hardware compressor without hesitation.

UAD's 160VU sells normally for $... The 560A has greater transparency & sounds better at extreme settings. OK, yes, you can't have limitless instances with hardware, but if you are thinking about the UAD 160 VU, go for this baby.

Finally, the build quality is excellent and does not feel cheap or flimsy in any way. Absolutely a keeper. Looks great in my lunchbox.

You can use this compressor on everything with great results, even mixes. It is so easy to dial in what you need and the switchable hard and soft knee is what makes it usable on everything. Great buy can't beat the price for what you get. I bought two of them for stereo sources and dual mic'ing.

BobV

Actually the dbx560A is my first piece of outboard gear. I used to work totally itb. I produce a lot Rock/Funk/Electronic stuff, and my mix always sound a bit boomy and muddy, due to the fact that I just couldn’t find a compressor plugin which can get the clarity and punch out of my kick&bass. That’s what made me thinking about getting outboard gears. At first I was hanging around on eBay trying to get a used 160A. Then one day I came across the amazing buy-one-get-one-half-price deal on sweetwater, I immediately ordered a pair since it’s about the same price for one 160a!

Now I had them for about a month, and my 560a pair totally impressed me! I used it on kick, snare, bass guitar and drum bus, It just rocks on everything I put it on. Now my mix is finally sparkling and groovy! I know that the 160/560 may not be one of the arounder, but they do their job extremely well. Squeezing out the punchy note attacks is so much easier than using plugins. Anyway, I’m so happy I got them and I can’t work on groovy stuff without them now.

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One the best compressor on 500 .... not a clone , just perfect !! Hoy dÃ

A Novice or a pro can use these.I own a pair vintage 160VU and these hold there own

This was my first module and i am very happy with it. It is transparent, it does a perfect work and it is very cheap. If you are looking for a compressor that colors your signal, this is not for you. I am using it with bass, synth, drums, guitar, sax and vocals, and it works perfect for all of them. Very easy to use and it has a lot of leds to guide you! .... i love that also!

Sold a pair of Lindell 7x500's for these and I'm very happy with the switch. Much more punch and control from these. Used them in the typical places first (kick, snare, bass) and it sounded great. Then I tried them on my mixbuss! I wouldn't use it on every track, but it works, and it's a really cool flavor to have! I got the 199 for a pair deal and it's a freakin steal. You won't ever regret having a dbx 560 around!

Picked up a paid and they're perfect for kick and snare. 3-4 dbs of compression at 4/1 on the way in and I have finished kick and snare tracks that don't need any further processing or plugins--a first for me in about 10 years. Sounds very cool on "stun" mode on overheads too. Gives cymbals a unique swing to them--similar to an SSL Bus Comp, but a little different. Overall, very smooth high frequencies, fairly transparent, but a ton more character than a plugin.

The price for 2 is a no brainer, great on kick and sometimes snare.

I have a few outboard compressors- use them a lot and am a sucker for vintage gear. But these little dbx just made me smile like a little kid opening up a new box of Legos. I strongly recommend you using them on sources that they 'shouldn't' be used on. If you don't overdo it, something new or at least inspiring might happen!

Tracking compressor? yes ! clean, unique sounding, good on vocals, kick drum, bass, etc
Like it better than the distressor for some uses, thank you sweetwater!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , one to the best buys ever,
also these things look nice!

These are great compressors. It's just like the rackmount version. Between the overeasy setting and the normal you can compress just about anything well! This is a go to transparent compressor for me.

Such a good compressor and for the price your an idiot for not buying one! I'm getting ready to Oder a 2nd one so I can have a stereo pair

Much, much better than any plug-in.... this is the real stuff with all the sound!!!

It's supposed to be a 500-format 160a, and it is. Sounds the same, behaves the same. Only tiny quibble is with the metering LED's -- they're a lot brighter than the ones in the rackmount models and a little annoying. Gave it 5 stars anyway.

The 560A performs identical to the 160A in my rack. Perfect 500 Series compressor. While recording with compression is generally considered taboo, I always use a VCA compressor to just control the peak levels. The DBX160 has always been my choice for this application since the early 80s. Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Drums, they can all be candidates for a slight peak leveling. I just touch the GR slightly with OverEasy turned on and 2:1 to 4:1 compression. Very clean, which is what you want for input leveling. The meters are accurate which helps maintain proper gain staging. I purchased 2 from Wayne who never steers me wrong.
If you are looking for color, this is not the compressor for you. If you need level control it is perfect.

I tried it on everything, and it hands downs is batter compressor than my SSL E-Dyn for almost 1/3 the price.

For the price, this is a very good compressor.
This has for all intents and purposes 0 self noise at full gain. Quiet electronics.
Wide threshold, and very wide compression ratio.

Very musical and great natural sound. Dialing the compression in takes no time at all and allows you to create more music rather than worrying about being precise with attack and release times. Fantastic value, you cannot go wrong with the low price!

DBX has made a great 500 series compressor for very little money! The price is low as it should be since the VCA circuit has been around forever so there is nothing new here but a nice and simple design that is tried and true! ! I have a pair of 160X with Jensen transformers and my pair of 560A's sound every bit as good!! The 560A has a wonderful aggressive punch for drums and an overeasy setting for bass and vocals. A wonderful product! I use the meters as a visual metronome as well. Love it!

Great price and compresses like a 160. So what else can you expect?

Simply blown away by the great sound! Transparent and smooth, simple to operate and the over easy button is a great extra option for sound control. Couldn't be happier! And what a steal for the combo price here at Sweetwater, a no brainer considering the high price tag Series 500 modules usually go for.

Have used this on percussion, guitar, bass, cello, vocals and synthesizers with the same great results. Does not add color, and the level control is unobtrusive (unless you want it to be!). Just wish you could link two for stereo like the rack mount version. Considering buying a couple more....and at 200USD, why not?

Great 500 series compressors for the money! I bought a pair and it's a no brainer at $199. There metering is great and they have that simple and accurate VCA design. The only complaint I would make is the op amps could be better.

I bought a pair & I must say DBX did a great job with these. Exactly like the rackmount 160a's. Very transparent compressor and are a great addition to my 500 rack. Great for any source & also great to chain/pair with other compressors (ie. Lim>Comp Vocals). At the price point I could really see myself filling a lunchbox with these.

I was a little skeptical on this one, but for the price seemed like at least something to give a try on. Well, it definitely exceeded my expectations that's for sure. I'm a big fan of the 160 on the snare come mix time, the 160a, the 160VU, both have similar compression, there are difference's yes, but being creative around the compressor can allow you to achieve which ever model you favor. The thing about the DBX 160 is how versatile it is because of it's large ratio swing. Whether you're wanting a full bodied natural snare with some snap, or if you're just wanting the snap, you can get that form this compressor, that's what the 160 does, so does the now 560. It's not going to add any type of color, the circuit wasn't designed to do that anyways. What it will do is allow you clean transparent compression with the ability to really make the transients come alive. I personally only use this circuit for snare's, always have, and it's hard to beat there. I like using 1.8:1 - 2.5:1 with about -6db of gain reduction. You get a very nice and open sound with that famous snap the 160 circuit is known for. You can also run higher ratios with less compression to get a nice even sound as well. Just a very versatile compressor, and I honestly cannot hear any difference in the 560a or 160a, it's nearly dead on. At the price it's a steal, you can get plugin version's of the 160VU, but it's just not the same. I'm sure this compressor will continue to get great reviews from those that understand what this circuit does and who do not expect it to do things it wasn't designed to do like add warmth or add anything at all for that matter. Good job DBX, keeping the spirit of what you do well without trying to add anything, and making it convenient.

I can't really add anything that all the other reviewers haven't mentioned. It's a great little compressor. Not quite transparent, but real close. It's quiet, does exactly what a comp is supposed to do, easy to use, solidly built, and worth - in my opinion - a lot more than what I paid for it.

a great addition to my Lunch Box. A classic & timeless tool for creating studio standard quality sounds

Classic comp at a very low price..!!!!

Does exactly what it says on the tin! Got this during the $200 Sweetwater sale. Worth every penny at this price. Sounds great, especially on Bass. I've had really good results on Vocals as well. Very easy to operate - either it works or it doesn't!

The metering is fantastic. When all the lights are dancing it usually sounds good. ;)

Deducting a star because it doesn't have the sidechain access like the rack version and doesn't have the ability to link two units for stereo like the rack. In this day and age, especially with 500 racks like the Radial powerhouse that allows a separate input, there's no excuses for 500 series modules missing both the ability to access the sidechain or link.

At $200, get this. At the regular price, I'd go for the rack as the rack has additional features for almost the same price.

Works well, not a lot of character but sometimes that's what you want!

I bought a pair of the 560A's because the price was just too good to pass up. They work very well on guitar and bass tracks and that's where I use them. Good bang/buck ratio!