Just got a DBX 128.
Going to be running my organ (Crumar T1) and synth (Kurz K2000) through it.
I play a lot of low pipe organ sounds through a 2 x 15 EV bass amp.
Trying to tighten the sounds up a bit, give em some more punch, cut through our mix a little better.
Any advice for live shows and/or recording?

~blake

if you can balance the thing, it'll sound better. clean the inputs and outputs....otherwise, it's a limited comp but it has that 160vu vibe/tone...i love mine.

thanks. I'll take it to a shop and get it balanced. it is in great condition so i'm not sure how much the inputs outputs need cleaned but i'll check. I was told it was a hell of a compressor by the guy who sold it to me... for $100 it seemed worth a shot vs. $250 for the 160a which was my original choice. I still may get one.

the compressor part is exactly the same as in the dbx 118...
and there's a schematic in the other thread...

actually no, that's not quite acurate. there's differences within all those designs, although they're quite similar in nature...they're all based on the 160vu, but they differ quite a bit from model to model.

ive had them all, and the 118 and 128 are by far my favourites. still, they sound different from each other..the 128 is much much more agressive.

Correction: only the VCA in the dbx 117/118/119/128 is supposedly the same as the dbx 160 - and that's where the similarities between the consumer grade and the professional studio grade products end.

I find it hysterical sellers on Ebay are pocketing a nice little premium leading Joe Sixpack bidder to believe the consumer grade dbx 117/118/119/128 is "like" the studio grade dbx 160. There's a reason why the dbx 117/118/119/128 are worth less than $50 and the dbx 160 is worth 15-20x that.

Trust me: if studio owners believed the dbx 117/118/119/128 were the same compressor as the mono version dbx 160, they would've scooped up the 117/118/119/128 years ago - and they'd be as rare as the dbx 160.

Actually the 117/118/128 use the same VCA -as each other- but none of those use a VCA anything like a 160vu..

The only dbx compressor which uses a VCA like the 160vu is the 165...

According to Tom Cram at dbx in another post on this site:

"...They [117/118/119] share the same VCA, but the input/output circuitry is not the same [as the 160VU]. Similar, but not the same. Remember the 160 VU is balanced in/out, and the 117/118/119 are unbalanced, theres a big difference right there. They are still dead ringers for 160VU sonically..."

Now my own 2 cents is the 160VU is now priced for collectors; interestingly it's the one of a handful pieces of gear that has skyrocketed 4-5 times in price in the last 10 years while nearly everything else studio-wise is the same or less expensive. Rediculous for an old 70s mono unit - and even if I were a multi-millionaire, I'd refuse to pay out of principle. Instead I'd go with the 160XT as it has the opaque compression found in the 160VU AND the transparent compression found in the 160X (one is with the 1/4" jack I/Os, the other with the XLR I/Os)....best of both worlds.

Don't get your hopes up folks....

I own several dbx units, a 118 a 160 and a 165.
The 160VU and 165 use a dbx 202 VCA in a rather large 1" x 2" metal can.
The 117 / 118 / 128 use the simpler subcircuit (labled 260382) with 2 foil wrapped transistor pairs as the VCA.

Here is a photo of the inside of my 118...

The two subcircuit boards on the left are the VCAs and the one on the right is the RMS detector.

Internally, your 118 looks NOTHING like my 119 and I wish right now I had a functional digital camara.

My 119 has only 1 pcb board which feature (3) 1" x 2" rectangular metal cans - lined up one after another from front to back on the far right side of the unit (looking down on top of the unit).

- The front can has a piece of tape on top with a "208" written on it (dbx 208 VCA).
- The middle can has a fluorescent red circular sticker labeled "7.5".
- The rear can has a fluorescent yellow sticker also labeled "7.5".

Interestingly, just to the right of the middle & rear "7.5" cans (on the very right edge of the pcb board) are what look like two very large (~3/4" or so wide) metallized poly film caps with the tops chopped off which were filled with a fluorescent yellowish colored plastic/wax compound. These two things are stamped with a number "B32234".

Anyway, the internet myth that the 118 & 119/208 VCA share a 202 VCA like the 160VU is wrong.

And to think of all the Ebay buyers who've been paying over $40 for the 117/118/119 in the last year because of this 160VU myth. Hysterical, isn't it...!!!

I apologize for the cruddy photos I posted of my 118, but at least they helped to dispell the innane rumors and outright lies about these -very- consumer grade products... I used my mobile phone to take the photos, If you have one, post some photos of your 119!!!

This is pic from someone else's dbx 119 but mine looks identical EXCEPT:

1.The can at the far left has "208" written on a piece of tape. It's factory as my box has never been opened. So I'm assuming this is a 208 VCA...???

2. The cans in the middle and far right each have "7.5" written on a fluorescent yellow & red Avery-like circular label as noted in my previous post.

Anyway, this isn't the same box as a dbx 118.

I'm glad I haven't been scammed by the "lies" that these are all the same VCAs as the 160VU. These things are worth $40 tops and it wasn't long ago some poor sap was ripped off for $160+ on Ebay. He's gonna be pissed when he finds out his dbx119 isn't the same VCA as the 160VU as it was advertised.

*NOTE* I've successfully uploaded the file but the pic won't load into this post (and it's the 3rd attempt!). Any suggestions???

I hope this pic of the dbx 119 loads...

Thanks for posting the photo of the dbx 119 guts!

Those modules (the RMS detector and 2 VCA) look like shielded versions of the 118 circuits, and the support circuitry looks similar.

A real dbx 202 VCA as in the 160vu and 165 is smaller and narrower than those in the 119.

Thanks to Andy at the Prodigy Professional board as these are his pics.

Here's a pic of inside one of the VCAs. How does it compare to your circuit boards?

That's another interesting variation. The 118 has 2 sets of thermally coupled transistor pairs, an opamp, and the trimmers on the subcircuit itself.

An actual 202 vca, if I recall correctly, (it's been years since I opened one) has 12-16 transistor pairs in that same sort of silicone material shown in the above photo.

As I mentioned, mine is labeled "208" on top of the can...but I can't find jack on a 208 VCA...

I wonder what the difference is between this dbx 160 audiophile-version and the rackmounted, dbx 160 studio version???

Is this where the VCA comparison coming from???

Hmmmm...we really should research this 160 line more and create another thread.

Here's a better image...
(thanks to the photographers who took these images)

The striking difference between the above dbx 160 and the dbx 118/119 is found at the compressor knob:

- the dbx 160 Compressor knob rotates clockwise with a maximum compression of 20 to infinity.

- the dbx 118's Dynamic Range Enhancer & dbx 119's Decilinear knobs rotate counterclockwise with a maximum compression of 5 to infinity.

No doubt the 160 has extreme crunching power over in comparison to the 118 & 119.

The ratio control on the 118 etc is pretty incidental. It simply inverts the control voltage polarity on the 12:00-on positions to provide expansion.

The 202 VCA has so many more devices simply to reduce noise and distortion, as well as better matching between devices. It is 'professional' after all!

I should say the "striking PHYSICAL difference"...

But is the audiophile-looking dbx 160 different in design than the studio version? Are they one and the same? That's my question...

Thanks!

Time to resurrect an old thread!

I have owned a DBX128 for many years now and love it, so much so that I recently purchased another. However, I immediately noticed a difference in the sound of the new unit and the way it responded to the incoming signal. Out of curiosity I decided to open up each of the units up to see if there were any differences internally that could explain what I was hearing and was surprised at what I found. I appreciated that possibly capacitors may have been changed etc but there were a number of major differences between the two units and I have uploaded my finding onto Photobucket should anyone here be interested in viewing them.

http://s374.photobucket.com/user/ban...tml?sort=6&o=0

And here are a couple of audio files of each of the compressors working on the same signal with exactly the same settings. I purposely have the 128 applying some sever compression in order to highlight the sonic differences between the 2 units. I noticed the main difference on the higher frequencies and the way that the compression was working on the hi-hats and cymbals.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Do you have a photo larger than a thumbnail that you could post? Impossible to see anything in that one..

I've listened to your audio files and right away I noticed that the settings were not the same, B is louder than A for starters and is compressing harder. The compressor isn't actually "working" on the hihats and cymbals, it's only crossing the threshold on the kick and snare hits, you're hearing a difference in the release time due to the dissimilar compression.

I suggest routing the two in parallel inverting the polarity of one and adjusting them until you get a null between the two units, then run your example files again.

I dont understand. When I check the link it goes through to a full size image with the option of scrolling through all the images, one at a time.

I will follow your advice and try re posting the audio files again later.
I fully appreciate what you have said but I persevered with the threshold and ratio settings of the latest 128 but could not seem to get it quite as aggressive etc as the other unit. I will perform a more thorough check though and get back to you in case my judgement during the first test was somewhat impaired due to a long day in the studio.

Here's what they look like on my browser:

Photos show up fine here. The only important ones are the first few which show the horizontal boards which are either the VCAs or the detectors. Some obvious differences between the two units there, which no doubt are what you are hearing. The other boards look largely the same from what I can see. All of the shots of power transformers, filter caps, and chips are irrelevant. They are all the same parts from different manufacturers.

I noticed that your photo link is to "m.photobucket.com" which is the link to the mobile site. Is there a link for the regular web address?