dbx 286

It has an illogical approach that is not similar to what are used as standard. DRIVE and DENSITY instead of ratio and threshold makes it confusing - a look into the manual is required.

Sounds very good once you get a grip on how to adjust it.
Very good on vocals and acoustiv instruments.

No flaws in over ten years.

haven't needed it.

Folks, I made a review of this 286A unit 5 years ago and boy, did I get things wrong. Check it out down the page...

This is a great unit once you get to know how things work. Very easy to get a good sound out of it. Plug in your mic, set up a little compression and add perhaps a little enhancement to either high or low-end and you're away!

I think the manual really set me straight on this one. It told me to use certain cables and how to dial in basic settings. Now 5 years ago, I was still in my audio infancy. But now, as I'm about to undertake a sound engineering course, I can hold up my hand and say that my previous review was down to inexperience. And hey, the reason I'm posting this added review is because I'm looking to get another one! Yep, the old one hadn't died at all!

One last note. The compressor can get extreme, which is probably what happened when I first tried the unit all those years ago! Just keep tweaking and it'll come round to the sound you're looking for.

I've used the 286a with vocals mainly. But have also injected miced up guitar, snare and kick drums. Handles things nicely and it's also great to add a little of the enhancements.

Certainly not a noisy unit. While the effects are mostly good, the low-end enhancer part has not yet impressed me. However, I must admit that I've never plugged anything in that would require it. I may use a bass through this unit some day.

Certainly scope to get great sounds. One of the best vocal sounds I've ever had came from using this rack unit! I did a cover in 2000 and the vocal that I recorded had a great high-end detail that I've never achieved with another unit in my proj studio. The high-end enhancer part was particularly good with that side of things. That comes highly recommended.

Had it since 1999 and it's still running perfectly. Not had a problem at all. Disregarding my silly comments from my previous review!

Well, not dealt with Dbx themselves - But yeah, I remember that bloody mail-order shop I ordered from. Getting a replacement or help from them was tough. Academy of Sound. They didn't make it easy.
But that was then and I have since had better things from them.

Well, it's great! I really wouldn't want to lose it because it's individual. It has its own sound and I really like it. If it did get damaged or stolen or whatever - I'd try and get another.
So, after my 5 years with this unit, I'm happy to report a successful purchase. It really works well. V.good! I just wish that it'd had a second input section. Just cause pricewise, it was kinda expensive. I think you can get twin channel units for that price these days.

I've tried the Joe Meek VC3v2 series and the TLAudio Ivory 5050. They both had their own sound and features that I liked. And this unit is no different. Like I mentioned, it has a sound of its own. And the quality of the sound is very nice. It's certainly my no.1 choice when it comes to quieter more intimate vocal recordings. And it's very quick to work with. So, go forth and try to find one if you're interested. It's certainly worth tracking down to try it.

The 286a is a nice little mic preamp/processor. It has a compressor, an expander/gate, a de-esser, and an enhancer built-in. Also there is a high-pass filter, phantom power, and a process bypass so you can compare your original signal with the alterations you're making. I found the 286a to be a handy studio tool, and a great asset for live work. Editing is a snap. Just turn the knobs. The compressor controls are labelled strangely, so experienced comp users might be turned off by the descriptions DBX chose to use. The manual, which is easily available at DBX' website, explains the unit and its controls very well.

I use this in my little studio for tracking with a Rode NT-2, AKG C-1000s, and a Shure Beta 87. I use it elsewhere in professional mixdown sessions, for cleaning up murky vocals. I also use it for live vocals with the Beta 87. For tracking, I generally leave the compressor, de-esser and enhancer disengaged. I use the expander/gate to help filter out room noise. The 286a has an insert, so I usually put a tube comp and a tube preamp in the insert loop. The 286a doesn't necesssarily beautify a mic signal by itself, but it's a useful tool for tailoring sounds. I'm not terribly impressed by 286a's compressor, but it doesn't suck. The de-esser is useful, and the enhancer (while I usually hate such things) is helpful at raising the overall sparkle after the comps and de-esser have darkened things a bit. Live, it's great. I use my Shure Beta 87 (a handheld condensor), which requires phantom power. The built-in comp is good for live gigs. The de-esser and enhancer allow my vocal to really jump out of the mix. Overall, it's an improvement (in the studio setting) over no preamp at all, but is NOT better than say, a simple little tube preamp. Together, a tube mic pre and the 286a can do some nice things.

I've never had a problem with it. Someone else previously mentioned problems. I haven't experienced any.

DBX posts .PDF files of their user manuals. All companies should do this! Manufacturers, take note. I got my 286a used, with no manual. a few minutes later, I had a printed copy. I have never dealt with DBX directly for support issues.

Overall, this is a nice entry-level "swiss army knife" kind of processor. It works well with pro level gear, and can be used for amateur stuff with very nice results. It's great for live shows. I was looking for a 1086, which is the big brother version of this, but they are hard to find. If my 286a was lost or stolen, I'd probably look for a 1086 again. I'm not happy that the 286a has an XLR input, but only a *-inch outut. It kind of defeats the purpose of having one or the other. It really should have both (ESPECIALLY an XLR out!) For the inexpensive price, it's hard to beat. To be fair, I haven't compared it to other units like it. Actually, I don't know of any.

I'm going to tell a dark tale about a unit that proved too much pain in the end. Here is that story:

In the beginning, I bought this unit because of a good review in my favourite magazine and because of all the features that it had. I couldn't find a place to test it, so after all the praise that it got from various places (un-named places), I decided to buy it. It was a very easy to use machine, but there was a problem which I'll mention below.

The problem with this unit was that it distorted my audio. I used a very respectable AKG C3000 with it and for a short while it did sound fine, but after a few recordings in the studio, I noticed the distortion. I thought the unit was faulty so I sent the unit back and got another one, but as I found out, it wasn't an easy problem to get rid of. For the time that I had it, I did get some use out of it and I thought it sounded pretty good. But the compressor was horrible as it just seemed to lose any realism and it sounded too much like it was squashing the signal. The other effects were mild in use and I can't be bothered talking about any of them. A noise-gate (Not bad), a compressor (Stupid and rubbish) and a LF/HF detail knob (little difference when applied to signal).

I can't depend on it as I've already explained that the unit just died on me. It is very unreliable in that sense. And as the rating says "I think it worked once", after that, nothing. One more spot of irony was that when I received my newly ordered Joe Meek unit, the dbx decided to die completely and I haven't heard from it since!

I only dealt with the mail-order store that I got it from and they were a pain in the ass! They didn't seem bothered with my problem and it just seemed like they couldn't care less. "Academy of Sound" sucks for customer service. Try not to shop there unless absolutely neccesary.

If it worked with no distortion problem, then I'd be happy with it and I wouldn't mind telling my friends and others to get it. But, the fact is that it just couldn't cut the mustard. For this reason, and the reason that the compressor was horrible, I cannot recommend it to anyone I know. If it were lost or stolen, I'd thank the person who took it. There was abolutely nothing that I could recommend about it and quite frankly I don't care about it any more.

My advice? If you want a good vocal/instrument pre-amp with a compressor, buy a Joe Meek VC3v2. I got this unit a few days ago and have never been happier. It does the job, and it does it with class!

The simplest voicebox i've ever seen.The compressor is very easy to use with simplified controls,The expander is also simple but,above all,the manual is really good, with clear explanations and a few good examples.

I use it with a Shure SM58, a Zoom 507 reverb unit and everything goes in the power section of a Peavey guitar amp or in my 4 tracks Tascam recorder.The compressor is good:you can't hear it when it works ! The Low freq enhancer is useful ( i'm singing in a Metal style...) and the expander gate is working well to reduce manipulation noises,or sounds coming from other amps. BUT IT IS NOT A TUBE PROCESSOR.There is some warmth thanks to the preamp but don't think you'll get a tube-like sound...

If you put it in a hard case ( it is a rack ), you won't have any problems.I've been using it for 1 year, on stage and at home and it works perfectly.But don't pull on the buttons when extracting it from your flightcase,they seem to be fragile...

Never had to deal with them

I would buy it again.It is the perfect voice processor for "non-pro" bands, with no money:It is cheap, it sounds good, it is easy to use... For less than 400$, there is no other choice

A very simple straight forward microphone proccessor. compressor termonology is different (Drive, Density) but the manual is easy to understand.

High gain settings can produce noise but I have found it quite easy to obtain good signal to noise ratio.

? Only had for a week.

Never needed support from dbx.

I like this box, it's a good value for the money. It has a pretty good pre-amp, fair compressor, de-esser, LF and HF enhancer, a useful gate. Oh, and it also has and insert for additional effects loop.