$15

sixtyfive is a vintage-style, RMS Compressor, inspired by the dbx® 165A, a classic 1970's compressor found in many studios, but it also adds a couple of new twists.

It's a soft-knee RMS compressor with a vintage flavour. The RMS detection and soft-knee help to give a smooth and musical compression experience, the non-linear response imparts character and the gentle saturation brings colour and warmth. As well as all of the originals features, this version adds parallel compression, extended knob ranges and peak metering

sixtyfive can deliver a range of compression from gentle smoothing of vocal performances to brutal slamming of your drum buss. Enjoy!

Note: dbx® is a trademark of dbx Inc. which is not associated with de la Mancha LLP. The trademark is used solely to identify the product that was used as inspiration during the development of the dlM sixtyfive plug-in. Use of the dbx® trademark is for informational purposes only and does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship of de la Mancha products


- Vintage style RMS compressors with non-linear response, parallel compression and comprehensive metering
- Subtle colouring from a unique blend of harmonics, saturation and noise
- RMS detection offers natural response
- Soft Knee makes for a less obvious transition
- Wet/Dry control allows blending of dry uncompressed signal for phase-free NY style parallel compression
- Non-linear attack/release curves give unique character
- Auto attack/release with manual option
- Manual attack/release has ultra-low values
- Distortion reduction for very short release times
- Linked Stereo input detection, can be unlinked
- Internal or external sidechain routing
- Additional 'Internal sidechain only' version
- Optional hard limiting on final output
- Metering covers stereo input, output and gain reduction. All meters show actual and peak levels with adjustable peak hold time
- LED display to indicate above and below threshold, and in the knee
- Non-linear knobs for precise control at small values
- 18 presets covering different configurations
- Updated to SE 1.1

$15 - Click the Buy Now button to purchase sixtyfive from the dlM automated webshop using PayPal
Clicking this link will take you to the PayPal secure payment page, where you can pay using a PayPal account or a major credit card
On successful payment, you will receive an automated e-mail with a download link to a zip containing sixtyfive

The download includes sixtyfive with a full manual and also a "internal sidechain only" version for hosts that don't allow multi-input plugins




Download demo VST (5.2 MB) - This zip contains the demo version of sixtyfive to allow you to fully evaluate it before purchasing. It is fully featured except is has 1 second of silence every 20 seconds.

The presets were made with source audio peaking at -6dB. You should expect to have to tweak the presets to suit the level and dynamic range of the audio you test it on, especially the threshold and output gain. A Manual is also included with the demo




The demo VST is the best way to test the capabilities of sixtyfive, however below are some audio demos to give you a taste of what it can do
The audio demos are purely sixtyfive, no other effects or processing are used. Each demo starts with the dry audio first, followed by the same audio processed by sixtyfive. Peak levels are matched in both dry and processed parts, so the difference you hear is the compression effect, not "louder is better"

Acoustic drum loop - extra body, long tail
Acoustic drum loop - gentle parallel compression
Acoustic drum loop - stereo unlinked
Acoustic drum loop - subtle lift, longer tail
Acoustic drum loop - heavy compression
Acoustic drum loop - extremely smashed

Slow drum loop - stereo unlinked
Slow drum loop - heavy, heavy NY squashing

Fast drum loop - heavy compression
Fast drum loop - extreme example

bass guitar loop - subtle volume lift
bass guitar loop - slammed

slow bass loop - subtle volume lift
slow bass loop - attack emphasis

nylon guitar loop - subtle volume lift
nylon guitar loop - more body
nylon guitar loop - pushed hard




You might be asking what is the vintage mojo character colouring thing? Well, it's subtle but audible in the audio demos and the VST demos, but here is a visual representation to show you what happens to a 500Hz sine wave. Harmonics, noise, EQ, saturation and magic mojo!





The presets were made with source material peaking at -6dB and demonstrate the range of sixtyfive, from subtle to extreme. These presets can sound totally different depending on the source material and may not compress enough or could clip/distort depending on the level of the material that you try it on. The compressor settings will almost always need to be adjusted to the volume and dynamic range of the audio you are running through it. So the presets are a demonstration and a starting point, but you should expect to tweak each one a little if you want to get the best out of sixtyfive.




sixtyfive rev. a was updated using the latest version of SynthEdit, SE 1.1
Plug-ins developed with this version of SynthEdit have no problems at all with multiple instances on multi-core processors. This problem is only related to plugins developed with SE 1.0



sixtyfive has been tested and works in Cubase 4.5.2, Sonar 8.5 LE, Ableton Live Lite 8.1.3, FL Studio 9.1, Reaper 3.63, Renoise 2.5, energyXT 2.5.2, energyXT 1.4 and Podium 2.30

You should however always test the demo version in your choice of hosts/system before purchase



If you use energy XT2 as your host, you may want to also download the free Stereo to Dual Mono plugin
As the standard 'external sidechain' version of sixtyfive has dual mono inputs in eXT2, then this free plugin will convert any stereo signal into dual mono pins for input to sixtyfive. You do not need this converter for the 'internal sidechain only' version of sixtyfive as it has a single stereo input



A big thank you to Paul Faby at dbx Inc. for kind permission to reference the dbx® 165A as inspiration to sixtyfive

Thanks for the 3rd party modules from Chris Kerry, Dave Haupt, Kelly Lynch, Daz Disley and Scoofster

Also a huge thanks to g200kg for the fantastic freeware knobman, used to make the controls on most of my GUIs



All plugins are Windows VST only. They can be bought seperately or in bundles for an even better deal. Please check the included End User License Agreement (EULA) before installing. You are encouraged to try the demo version before purchase. You can get updates on plugins by subscribing to my newsletter