dbx DC66 Stereo Compressor/Limiter/Gate TDM Plug-In

January 16, 1997 -- dbx Professional Products announces that it has entered into a joint venture with AVID/Digidesign to develop its DC66 stereo compressor, limiter and gate TDM plug-in, based on the company's popular 1066, for the Pro Tools system.

"The DC66 represents a new direction for us as a company," says Rob Urry, dbx President. "Not only are we excited by the possibilities of this new platform, we're confident that our first software venture will offer the same outstanding quality and performance that dbx users have come to expect."

Physically, the screen layout is considerably different than the dbx 1066, but is presented in a fashion that is both intuitive and user-friendly. Dual tri-color graphs at the top of the screen represent "below", "at" and "above" threshold (green, amber and red, respectively) with movement in realtime. When the plug-in is not in OverEasy(R) mode, the amber section is eliminated. The graphs move to the left and right representing the audio outputs. Gain reduction meters always remain visible, lighting down the ladder right to left.

Under the metering section, computer-rendered sliders and buttons control gate, compressor and limiting functions. There are three ways to control any one parameter: 1) clicking and dragging a slider, 2) clicking on a numeric box to the left of a slider, then typing a number down to the tenth, or 3) clicking on the icon of a particular parameter on the meter at the top of the screen and dragging it to a desired location.

The dbx DC66 also offers a number of software-specific features, including the ability to activate the plug-in's functions from any other audio track within the Pro Tools(TM) environment, as well as attenuate the response of the primary signal.

The module has several familiar features, such as PeakStopPlus(TM), which tames unwanted transients while minimizing the sine wave distortion common to many other "hard" limiters. Selectable hard knee or OverEasy(R) characteristics make the TDM plug-in ideal for gain control needs from "heavy" almost special-effects compression to soft, smooth gain leveling.

The "classic" dbx response (with program-dependent attack and release times) is instantly available at the click of the "Auto" button. Independent Attack and Release controls can also be used to tailor the sound to the user's specific needs. As has become the dbx standard, the plug-in's contour function allows entire mixes to be easily smoothed with soft compression and keeps the low frequency peaks from punching holes in the overall mix while maintaining the integrity of the low end.

Additional features of the DC66 include: