NEW -> Pro Tools | Carbon Pre

[smurfyou]

Originally Posted by audiolex1

And then there is Ferrofish.????

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6PctmJQLSU

Costs 600 more.

What say you? Thoughts?

Ferrofish are great if you need A/D-D/A only. No mic pres, no interface just good versatile conversion.

I agree this thread is interesting. I never realized people liked the Carbon preamps so much. Avid /Digi pres have been very hit or miss over the years. I assumed they'd be usable but nothing special. Hardy is probably #1 for me. Everything you need, nothing you don't. Works for everything.

The reported issues with Carbon are concerning. Like they weren't tested adequately to do the job they're designed for. I don't know the details, maybe the problem lies with the Hybrid engine and not Carbon itself.

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by smurfyou

Ferrofish are great if you need A/D-D/A only. No mic pres, no interface just good versatile conversion.

I agree this thread is interesting. I never realized people liked the Carbon preamps so much. Avid /Digi pres have been very hit or miss over the years. I assumed they'd be usable but nothing special. Hardy is probably #1 for me. Everything you need, nothing you don't. Works for everything.

The reported issues with Carbon are concerning. Like they weren't tested adequately to do the job they're designed for. I don't know the details, maybe the problem lies with the Hybrid engine and not Carbon itself.

The "reported issues" wondering which specific "reported issue" is concerning you ?

I have had Carbon since Nov 2020 and have had almost no issue

There was one PT version in 2021 that would not switch sample rates when launching a new session with a different sample rate than the previously open one (without quitting PT first). But that was fixed on the next version .
Other than that it has been very stable and functional (for what I do) Which is self record mostly audio and overdub tracking mostly audio (which I believe is what it was designed for )

[eightamrock]

Originally Posted by audiolex1

And then there is Ferrofish.????

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6PctmJQLSU

Costs 600 more.

What say you? Thoughts?

I have a ferrofish pulse 16, actually snagged it back when it was on sale at sweetwater for $850, so it was a pretty sweet deal. (pun intended)

I run my sessions at 48k 99.99% of the time and the carbon and the ferrofish give me 24 IO with zero latency for tracking etc. I use a host of outboard preamps and compressors on a patch bay, and have some of my main pieces (reverb, stereo bus comp, etc) hardwired into it as I run them on every session.

The .01% of the time I want to do something in 96k, I just have another IO profile I load and the ferrofish goes into smux giving me a total of 16 I/O with the pulse and carbon. Its so rare that I need it, that when I do, I just make the concession to run less outboard gear when I am mixing.

Another thing to note is that the FF Pulse has an additional 8 channels of adat I/O that you can re-route to the analog IO. So if I get a particularly big session, I can hook up my digimax LT and route it to one of the adat outs that are connected to the carbon. So the ferrofish pulse is actually a very flexible unit especially for the $1100 price tag.

[smurfyou]

Originally Posted by K Roche

The "reported issues" wondering which specific "reported issue" is concerning you ?

I have had Carbon since Nov 2020 and have had almost no issue

There was one PT version in 2021 that would not switch sample rates when launching a new session with a different sample rate than the previously open one (without quitting PT first). But that was fixed on the next version .
Other than that it has been very stable and functional (for what I do) Which is self record mostly audio and overdub tracking mostly audio (which I believe is what it was designed for )

There's an 8 page thread in the Carbon forum about sync issues. I believe while using the Hybrid engine. Honestly I'm not in the market, it was just a hypothetical thought.

Thinking about it more I do agree that if they're offering a Carbon expansion they should do so with line inputs. Seems to be a market.

[LFO]

[QUOTE=K Roche;2652615] I have had Carbon since Nov 2020 and have had almost no issue

+ one with Carbon since beginning of 2021 and no issue....problems concerning Hybrid engine have been solved at least to me.

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by smurfyou

There's an 8 page thread in the Carbon forum about sync issues. I believe while using the Hybrid engine. Honestly I'm not in the market, it was just a hypothetical thought.

Thinking about it more I do agree that if they're offering a Carbon expansion they should do so with line inputs. Seems to be a market.

Yes I read that thread and in the end it appears it was actually Hybrid software ADC sync issue , not actually a Carbon HW issue as users with HDX systems were reporting the same issue ?? And while a number of users of both Carbon and other HDX HW had/have sync issues there are also a number who have not,, myself included,, I have had no track sync issue what so ever as far as recording with DSP on and then switching it off to mix .
Now to be sure Carbon has specific HW related limitations of expandability etc. and it is not any kind of be all to end all solution,,, nor it is right or workable for everyone (And it never will be) that said the Carbon HW itself should not be misconstrued as having an "issue" that appears to be more a software issue

[LDS]

Originally Posted by K Roche

Yes I read that thread and in the end it appears it was actually Hybrid software ADC sync issue , not actually a Carbon HW issue as users with HDX systems were reporting the same issue ?? And while a number of users of both Carbon and other HDX HW had/have sync issues there are also a number who have not,, myself included,, I have had no track sync issue what so ever as far as recording with DSP on and then switching it off to mix .
Now to be sure Carbon has specific HW related limitations of expandability etc. and it is not any kind of be all to end all solution,,, nor it is right or workable for everyone (And it never will be) that said the Carbon HW itself should not be misconstrued as having an "issue" that appears to be more a software issue

It doesn't really matter at the end of the day, the hardware is only ever as good as the software implementation. The hybrid engine is great on paper, but it has never been anywhere near as stable as 'Classic' HDX or classic Pro Tools DSP systems from my experience. It is totally uncharted territory for Pro Tools. Whether the deep running bugs get fixed in the next Pro Tools update, or end up dogging the system for the rest of its shelf life is really anyones guess at this point.

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by LDS

It doesn't really matter at the end of the day, the hardware is only ever as good as the software implementation. The hybrid engine is great on paper, but it has never been anywhere near as stable as 'Classic' HDX or classic Pro Tools DSP systems from my experience. It is totally uncharted territory for Pro Tools. Whether the deep running bugs get fixed in the next Pro Tools update, or end up dogging the system for the rest of its shelf life is really anyones guess at this point.

Well fortunately for me my experience with Carbon and the implementation of Hybrid HDX and DSP software it runs on has not been an issue, at all ,, and has been totally stable for going on 3 years now,, which does in fact "really matter at the end of the day" ..

[LDS]

Originally Posted by K Roche

Well fortunately for me my experience with Carbon and the implementation of Hybrid HDX and DSP software it runs on has not been an issue, at all ,, and has been totally stable for going on 3 years now,, which does in fact "really matter at the end of the day" ..

I’m sure that is super helpful for the people who have shelved their Carbon interfaces and HDX rigs due to acknowledged issues and bugs.

[BScout]

I had to use Carbon to record one guitarist with 4 mics. Straight through, no backing tracks, dsp mode on for the channels. The talkback was terrible (noisy AF!), the delay was terrible (is there an echo in here?), mic gain was lacking (not even using ribbons! KM56 and KM84 mics), the stability was terrible. Forced a firmware upgrade hoping it'd help. It didn't.
That was last year. Swore never again.

True HDX and even native were/are much better.
Glad it works out for you but it was a garbage experience for me.