I bought a DBX 165A some years back. I never liked it, no soul whatsoever. I opened it up and compared with photos online and noticed the VCA was different. I'm now interested in making my own DBX 202 VCA since finding them online is pretty difficult. There's 1 on reverb that looks like it was found on the bottom of the atlantic and 1 on ebay with no serial number. The schematic I found online is from 1975, 3 years before the 165A was released --- https://www.gyraf.dk/schematics/Dbx202.pdf --- . THAT corp has a document explaining the history of the 202 and later versions and only mentions the original 202, the gold can "202C" and later ones. Is it true that the original design was used in the 165A? Ive seen photos of the 160 which is from 1976 and the VCA is visually different but it doesn't mean it's a different circuit. The schematic looks simple enough to build, 2 types of BJTs, 1 mosfet and a bunch of resistors. I'm just getting into electronics but seems doable. Can anyone clarify if that schematic is correct for the 202 used in the 165A?
DBX 202 build
- Thread starter omax17
- Start date
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dbx used whatever was current in their production.
Are you sure the lack of "soul" is due to the VCA? I'd be surprised.
Have you had the opportunity to compare to other dbx compressors, such as the 160A or XT?
Maybe you simply don't like the dbx compressor sound...
In order to have soul at the output, you need soul at the input.
Are you sure the lack of "soul" is due to the VCA? I'd be surprised.
Have you had the opportunity to compare to other dbx compressors, such as the 160A or XT?
Maybe you simply don't like the dbx compressor sound...
In order to have soul at the output, you need soul at the input.
KrIVIUM2323
Well-known member
From the analog DBX i met, only the first 160Vu had a particular 'vibe' to it. In one of the studio i worked in two units were hardwired on kick and snare channel on studio B ( SSL4000).
Anyway it was the sidechain behavior responsible for the 'soul' in it.
If i remember correctly member abechap made a clone of it including the original vca, maybe try to find the schemo for this unit and build one vca from the schematic? That said i think most of them were built using 2181, because matching transistors is not this fun.
Anyway it was the sidechain behavior responsible for the 'soul' in it.
If i remember correctly member abechap made a clone of it including the original vca, maybe try to find the schemo for this unit and build one vca from the schematic? That said i think most of them were built using 2181, because matching transistors is not this fun.
Rob Flinn
Well-known member
I think Abe's boards had an optional footprint to use the original VCA rather being able to make a clone of the original VCA. I built a pair with 2181's & I like the sound of it, although it is somewhat cleaner sounding than an original unit.
KrIVIUM2323
Well-known member
I did a bit of search and discovered the pcb are still availlable from a member in whitemarket, which i find nice.
Manual can be found there and if i understand correctly there is option to build the vca including schemo:
https://collectivecases.com/clx_manual_rev3.pdf
Maybe it could help Omax17. That said it would be a real commitment imho.
Rob Flinn, cleaner in a bad or good way? I could see how it could be nice for snare though.
Manual can be found there and if i understand correctly there is option to build the vca including schemo:
https://collectivecases.com/clx_manual_rev3.pdf
Maybe it could help Omax17. That said it would be a real commitment imho.
Rob Flinn, cleaner in a bad or good way? I could see how it could be nice for snare though.
Rob Flinn
Well-known member
I guess that depends on ones perspective. I generally use a Gain Brain or Dynamite on snare rather than the DBX160 so I can't really give you an opinion. You could probably try building it with a dbx black can if you want it to sound more like the original 160VU.
