I had started using the compressor on instruments, until someone else said it was better for vocals, but I didn't notice any improvement there, so I stopped using it altogether. Right now it's set to 4:1 and I can only assign one instrument per channel (i.e. without messing around with groups). Would piano, elec guitar, acoustic guitar, and bass be a good choice, and what ratio or setting would you suggest?
The only other DBX we have is a reverb unit (Alessis Quadraverb), which also has been of dubious value (always too much or too little). But we do use it on vocals.
But will these give us that in-your-face you mentioned? What are we missing?