dbx160 emulation sources?

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by musicman691

Like I mentioned in post #3 I have several pieces that have Bonham-style drumming and I figure maybe a 160 can help where my other compressors don't seem to get the job done. Also as I said I'm not so much looking for recommendations to a specific plugin but sources/developers I might not know.

Of course hearing what someone has to say about a certain comp is always welcome. This is one of those where demoing will help me to make up my mind.

You do need a free account and then you get 20 days of demo time.

https://www.softube.com/support#/faq...aq-how-to-demo

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

You do need a free account and then you get 20 days of demo time.

https://www.softube.com/support#/faq...aq-how-to-demo

Thanks - I'll give that a shot. I was hesitant about Softube because they used to use Gobbler and from what I've found out they jettisoned that a couple of months back. I've got a free weekend to experiment around with things.

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by musicman691

Thanks - I'll give that a shot. I was hesitant about Softube because they used to use Gobbler and from what I've found out they jettisoned that a couple of months back. I've got a free weekend to experiment around with things.

Its quick and I really think you’ll like Dyna-Mite We have 2 racked hardware units and they are great and greater on drums and guitars aswell on bass where IMHO where this plugin shines.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

Its quick and I really think you’ll like Dyna-Mite We have 2 racked hardware units and they are great and greater on drums and guitars as well on bass where IMHO where this plugin shines.

Wish I had your optimism. I'm trying it and it's just not getting it for me but then again it's only been a couple of hours. It's not the easiest of plugins to understand and even a fellow who does a couple of YouTube videos with it (he's from Softube) has a bit of a problem understanding it particularly the full verskon although he seems to get on well with Slam and the Gate. Compared to what I get from Major Tom and the Waves 160 emulation it's seems to be missing some breadth of sound.

Been working with the suspects mentioned here - Dynamite, Major Tom, the Waves dbx160 and the NI 160 that Softube did for them. So far the scoring after about 4 hours of tests is like this from first to last:
Major Tom
Waves 160
Dynamite
NI's 160 emulation from Softube

Trying the NI I'm reminded why I don't use it if I have other choices - it's like a bad dish of grits made by somebody who doesn't know what they're about. The full-on Dynamite is as obtuse as anything I've run into. Now Slam is quite decent and the Gate is good as well but nothing I want to spend the cash on even with a coupon discount. Besides the total plugin misses too many basses I want to/need to cover.

Major Tom & the Waves 160 are pretty close to each other with Major Tom having more of the sound that I need for the tracks I am working on. And that's what it's all about at least for me. I may end up getting both of them but I need to spend more time with the whole shebang.

For those who have Major Tom - are there any presets from the developer in it? I don't have any but then again I only have the evaluation version. I can't remember with Rocket whether the demo had presets or I got them when I paid for it. The Waves 160 has a bunch of presets.

[64GTOBOY]

https://klanghelm.com/contents/main.php

I use mostly the VP Dyna-mite myself with the Arturia 165 add sometimes, but I have used the MJUC and the DC8C from Klanghelm also and it may be worth trying these for your project

[deanrichard]

No, I don't see any presets for Major Tom. To be honest, I've had the plugin for a few years and never looked because I'm always setting everything up specifically for the track anyway.

Originally Posted by musicman691

Wish I had your optimism. I'm trying it and it's just not getting it for me but then again it's only been a couple of hours. It's not the easiest of plugins to understand and even a fellow who does a couple of YouTube videos with it (he's from Softube) has a bit of a problem understanding it particularly the full verskon although he seems to get on well with Slam and the Gate. Compared to what I get from Major Tom and the Waves 160 emulation it's seems to be missing some breadth of sound.

Been working with the suspects mentioned here - Dynamite, Major Tom, the Waves dbx160 and the NI 160 that Softube did for them. So far the scoring after about 4 hours of tests is like this from first to last:
Major Tom
Waves 160
Dynamite
NI's 160 emulation from Softube

Trying the NI I'm reminded why I don't use it if I have other choices - it's like a bad dish of grits made by somebody who doesn't know what they're about. The full-on Dynamite is as obtuse as anything I've run into. Now Slam is quite decent and the Gate is good as well but nothing I want to spend the cash on even with a coupon discount. Besides the total plugin misses too many basses I want to/need to cover.

Major Tom & the Waves 160 are pretty close to each other with Major Tom having more of the sound that I need for the tracks I am working on. And that's what it's all about at least for me. I may end up getting both of them but I need to spend more time with the whole shebang.

For those who have Major Tom - are there any presets from the developer in it? I don't have any but then again I only have the evaluation version. I can't remember with Rocket whether the demo had presets or I got them when I paid for it. The Waves 160 has a bunch of presets.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by 64GTOBOY

https://klanghelm.com/contents/main.php

I use mostly the VP Dyna-mite myself with the Arturia 165 add sometimes, but I have used the MJUC and the DC8C from Klanghelm also and it may be worth trying these for your project

The Klanghelm stuff is all the wrong compressor styles for what I need. And the 165 is a different beast than the 160; not that it's not good but not what I'm looking for. Besides I think of Arturia as more of a vi developer than effects.

Originally Posted by deanrichard

No, I don't see any presets for Major Tom. To be honest, I've had the plugin for a few years and never looked because I'm always setting everything up specifically for the track anyway.

Thanks for that. I like to use presets as starting points and then go from there. There are times I don't quite know what I want and cycling through presets will sometimes get me close or give me a new idea to try.

BTW so far I've gone for Major Tom; the Waves 160 may be next but not sure. I really need to have an epiphany on the Valley People comp to but into it.

[jeam25]

Uad 160 +1 here pretty close to the original as chris said. I use it a lot and can't tell in a blind test. One plugin that behave like dbx160 at least in practice is the focusrite red compressor, if you tweak enough your gonna find it.

[64GTOBOY]

+1 for Frite Red. I had forgotton about that one until about an hour ago while using on an acoustic guitar track. IDK what sound u are trying to get but another one i like for drums is Arouser for some genres

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by 64GTOBOY

+1 for Frite Red. I had forgotton about that one until about an hour ago while using on an acoustic guitar track. IDK what sound u are trying to get but another one i like for drums is Arouser for some genres

Once again - I'm going for a John Bonham sound. Got a few Zeppelin-esque pieces that could use help in that regard. Got the drums recorded and now for the mixing.

Arouser is nice but WAY out of what I want to spend. As for less expensive version didn't Sknote have one? Looking at their site I can't find it. I have issues with his stuff. Granted they're of decent quality and his prices are low but not enough to make me buy it and deal with the preset saving issue. I have his version of the Distressor before he changed the gui (originally it looked pretty much like the h/w version) and it's become flaky since I moved to High Sierra.

And an update on my testing/shootout:
Purchased Major Tom and on the fence on the Waves emulation; think I'll wait and see if Waves put's it on a $29.99 sale. VP Dynamite is slipping fast on the likability/usability scale. Even one of their own people that does a couple of YouTube videos says 'it's a pig to work with'.