Product Review Pro Tools | Carbon
Hello welcome to Funky Junk Studio today we will talk about the latest
Avid novelty, the new Pro Tools | Carbon.
Entirely designed by Avid, the new Pro Tools | Carbon marks the decisive
return to the world of audio interfaces and to what for more than a decade has made
Avid the reference in the digital world. With the new AVB protocol and the Hybrid System Engine it
redraws the boundaries of audio interfaces and redefines the concept of integration
between hardware and software, bringing it to a level where quality and flexibility
makes it the perfect choice for any type of music production. Let’s have a look!
Actually Pro Tools | Carbon is much
more than a sound card, it is a complete recording system. In fact,
included with the card we have an annual Pro Tools subscription,
convertible into a perpetual license, and a bundle of more than 115 plugins from the best software houses
currently on the market such as Brainworks Plugin Alliance, Native Instruments,
Arturia in short, a real arsenal for music production.
Pro Tools | Carbon is a hybrid 32-bit 192 kHz sampling system. It is
certainly not the first hybrid system on the market but the big difference from
the competition is the absolute total, unique integration with
The Carbon does not replace the HDX systems but rather supports them in a new dimension
thanks to the eight DSPs, the real beating heart of the interface, introduces a new way
of managing resources within the session. If on the one hand the mixer as in
all hybrid systems remains in charge of the cpu, on the other hand we now have the possibility to activate
and deactivate the individual tracks in DSP Mode for a real monitoring experience at
0 latency and above all with plugins activated during registration. The front panel
as well as the whole interface denotes order and research of detail. The materials are of
excellent workmanship and all switches and potentiometers have the right grip.
The navigation of the interface is easy and intuitive, each
function is assigned a color code that allows a better understanding
of what is happening. The card has 25 in 34 out
On the front panel we have the two instrument inputs that enables when jack jack is inserted,
the gain encoder for the management of the eight channels channel link,
phase inversion, 48 volts, talkback and impedance selector. Usable both on instruments inputs
that on the last four microphone inputs, allows to optimize the signal
according to the instrument or microphone used. Metering section, where I have
the ability to view both inputs and outputs, and monitoring section. In fact,
the card allows you to use up to three pairs of speakers. And finally it has
a Dim button and four independent headphone outputs. Pro Tools | Carbon allows you
to create four different headphone mixes for a better management of the workflow
during the recording and also for live recording situation.
On the back we find the eight line microphone inputs in
combo format, 4 of which variable impedance. With 60 dB of gain, the
preamplifiers have an absolutely appreciable presence and musicality; with
the use of the three impedance settings and the use of the plugins during the recording
we have a wide range of tonal choices. The line inputs can also be connected
on D-sub 25 for a better and functional management of the inputs. Then we have the
eight separate outputs, always on D-sub 25 and two dedicated monitor outputs,
16 digital channels in ADAT format for possible expansions,
World Clock In and World Clock Out. Although the card has a very high quality clock it
is still possible to use an external master clock. Pro Tools | Carbon
connects to the Mac via ethernet port. Thanks to the experience gained in a live environment, the
AVB protocol guarantees reliability and very low latency. The installation of the
card is absolutely plug’n’play, does not require drivers and is immediately recognized by the
system. We have two independent Core Audio available: one dedicated to Pro Tools, the other
can be set as a system sound card or used to manage
other Workstations at the same time. Once the card is connected to the system, the buttons appear
on Pro Tools that allow you to activate and deactivate the DSP Mode on the individual tracks,
but the real plus is the use of plugins informed to AAX. With more than 300 active plugins on the market
developed by both AVID and third parties, they can be allocated, according to the needs, on the Carbon
DSP or on the system CPU with a simple click. Thanks to this, it is possible to
record with active plugins on the track at latency 0. Currently Pro Tools | Carbon is
available only for Mac environment with minimum specifications Catalina and Pro Tools 2020.11.
In our opinion Pro Tools | Carbon turns out to be intuitive and of excellent quality. The implementation
of the AVB protocol denotes the precise desire not to follow market standards,
but to break the mold and take a new path.
Thanks to 126 dB of dynamic range,
the full integration with Pro Tools software and the
Hybrid System Engine, Carbon has all the numbers to bring Avid back into the market.
With that is all, for doubts and questions do not hesitate to contact us. For more
information please visit our website and if you liked the video click “Like”,
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say goodbye and wait for you next time. Good music!
