DBX 166XL, 160A, Drawmer DL241 or Ashley CLX52E which is the best rackable compressor

6stringbassist · #1 10-07-2007, 06:08 AM

I've read through the compressor megathread, what a marathon task that was, I deserve some sort of award......but it really is a fantastic source of information, well done to the person that put it together.

However there isn't a review, or much of a mention of the 166XL, which appears to be the newer version of the 166A.
I also did a search for the 166XL and didn't really find that much information about it.
The 166A got a better review than the 160A, so is the newer one as good as the 166A. and which would be the best one to go for.
The 166XL sells at £120/$240 less than the 160A.

I'm also very interested in the Ashly CLX-52E and Drawmer DL241 rackmount compressors, these are about twice the price of the DBX160a, how do they sound compared with the DBX models.

I'd really appreciate everyones comments please.

yamaha · #2 10-07-2007, 06:31 AM

160A and 1066 are pretty much the same price. The 166XL is less expensive, and has similar controls to the 1066. The 160A is pretty popular, because of the ease of control of it, and a rather fool proof led display that shows you what's happening to your sound. Unlike EQ, or effects, soft compression is harder for most ears to notice, and adjust, so the 160a's leds really help quite a few of us. Plus, as I said, it's easy to control. The other ones also have gates/expanders, and have more control over compression, but this is only good if you're the type of musician who will read up on everything and understand what ratio, attack, threshold, etc, really means.

My current signer, as well as my last signer, both have effect racks with compressors in them. They have no idea what button does what, they just say they're cool effects. I see them playing with knobs, without even looking at what the knob controls, and turns them clockwise, than counterclockwise, etc.... Sometimes it sounds good, but not often.

This is all IMO of course.

bongomania · #3 10-07-2007, 10:44 AM

I haven't used the CLX52E or the Drawmer yet, but I'd like to. Late-model Ashly gear is typically very precise and transparent, without adding any color or tonal qualities; whereas I've read that the Drawmer does have some tonal qualities of its own. I've been keenly eying Ebay for a 241, hoping to score a better-than-average price, that's the only reason I haven't bought one yet.

About the dbx's, if you read other reviews and commentary on web forums, apparently I'm the only person on earth who likes the 166A better than the 160A.

I don't know what to attribute that to, maybe the ones I had were atypical, or maybe my ears are atypical. A lot of people swear by the 160A, so who knows. And unfortunately I haven't A/B'd the 166A with the 166XL; OTOH I have read other people's commentary that they sound the same.

Johnny Crab · #4 10-07-2007, 05:29 PM

Use a 166xL here when the ACME's and a big stage happen as the other times bass is via a BOSE PAS. The ONLY issue found on the 166 was if you set some of the controls(forget whcih one) on the fastest times an occasional micro tick sound is heard. That could be user error(me) but the manual's comments on using it for bass are a good starting point. After that, tweak it at stage volume using your EARS and amp.

These are also very handy for controlling other bass players using your amp at a multi-band gig.

j0n0j0n0 · #5 10-07-2007, 09:47 PM

I use a dbx 166xl, it sounds great, gives my signal an awesome sound and is also great for keeping distortions under control. If i could go back i would prob get a 160a if i had the money they are quite a bit better.

bongomania · #6 10-07-2007, 09:51 PM

Have you A/B'ed them, or used the 160A much?

EricF · #7 10-08-2007, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0n0j0n0

I use a dbx 166xl, it sounds great, gives my signal an awesome sound and is also great for keeping distortions under control. If i could go back i would prob get a 160a if i had the money they are quite a bit better.

What about it makes the sound "awesome"? Rounder, fuller, fatter, cleaner, clearer...??? Adjectives used to describe sound are always a bit vague, but "awesome" really tells me nothing.

What (specifically) is better about the 160A over the 166XL?

Son of Bovril · #8 11-12-2009, 06:12 AM

I have owned both, I still own the 160A but to be honest I think the 166XL probably served me better (purely for live bass use) - both units seemed to exhibit a bit of distortion in the soft knee setting when "auto" shifting from subtle to harder ratios. I liked the addition of the gate on the 166XL but didn't need the second channel, although it was handy to chain them and use one for light soft knee compression and the other for hard (protective) limiting. The 166XL also has an additional brick wall/Hard limiter built into each channel that seemed to work but created a distorted sound whenever activated.

The sheer simplicity of the 160A is it's greatest asset, ie. the less knobs to turn the less chance you have of messing it up if you aren't exactly sure of what u r doing... but it does seem to have a noticeable loss in low end with any ratio higher than 2:1 and in all honesty I practically never use it for gigging anymore