Recording - December 2020 - 53

2020.11, and it ran very smoothly. Unlike HDX rigs that allow for DSP/native
instances of plugins to live throughout a
mix session, Hybrid Engine is a targeted
approach specifically geared for tracking purposes. By default, all plugins will
run natively on the computer until the
new lightning bolt in Pro Tools is pressed.
When engaged, all plugins on that track
automatically get converted to DSP.
Non-supported plugins will be bypassed,
but they can also be activated and used
with a slight delay, which is not an issue
for most reverbs and delays.
Carbon is an insanely fast interface
capable of sub-one millisecond latency
times, and Hybrid Engine allows that
speed to coexist with plugins while
tracking. The tracking experience was
impressively fluid because of this; the
speed and flexibility to monitor with all
the processing as it sits in the mix is incredibly efficient. As a musician, it also
captures more inspired performances.
In the absence of a dedicated driver or
control software, all cue mixes are handled all within Pro Tools. The headphone
outputs appear in the I/O menu, making it
easy to tweak independent mixes for each

headphone output. If the drummer wants a
click and the guitarist doesn't, no problem!

Final Thoughts

The sheer amount of flexibility and
power that Avid managed to achieve
in Carbon is impressive, but it doesn't
come cheap. At $3,999, it's a significant
investment for any studio. In addition to
the hardware you get a one-year subscription to Pro Tools with a perpetual
parachute, that keeps working after the
subscription term is up. Plus it comes with
a compelling bundle of plugins, worth
over $1300-from 116 plugins included
with Pro Tools, including HEAT, to premium plugins from Plugin Alliance, McDSP,
Arturia, UVI, Native Instruments and Embody that come exclusively with Carbon.
Carbon is well designed and well
executed, and it only required a small
amount of time before I was able to operate it fluidly. I love that it doesn't rely on
an additional companion app for routing
needs. This helps streamline the workflow and keep everything running efficiently. I only noticed a few (very minor)
drawbacks. First, while its internal fan
isn't loud, it isn't silent, either. Building

off of that, the preamps are not yet digitally controllable, so placing the unit in
a machine room isn't practical. Avid informed me that it plans to add support
for this in a future update, but not for
the initial release. Software compatibility is also a concern; I was required
to update to Catalina (10.15.7) to use
Carbon. While that may not be an issue
for some users, updating core operating
systems often comes with a bevy of considerations (and anxiety).
I'm impressed with the new preamps
and converters. They sound very clear
and detailed. There's something intangible about Carbon that I found very pleasing to record with as well. Perhaps it's the
attractive blend of green, blue, and purple LEDs on the front panel, or the seamless sub-millisecond Pro Tools integration.
For me, Carbon has a certain X-factor to
it. As a daily HDX user, I found Carbon
to offer much of the same benefits as running a full-fledged HDX rig, with a much
more approachable entry point for users
of any version of Pro Tools!
Price: $3,999
More from: avid.com

http://www.avid.com http://www.nugenaudio.com/recording

Recording - December 2020

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