Bought a Carbon. Now what?

[jimbo-baby]

So I bought a Carbon. It passes signal and all. Sounds pretty decent too. So far so good. But I'm a bit confused what to do next. I have a Pro Tools Studio perpetual licence, with a current support plan, but it's about to run out in a couple of weeks. I know the Carbon comes with a year of Pro Tools Ultimate. I don't really need the features of Ultimate, but if I switch to that licence I'd get a year without paying anything. But after that, I would likely want to go back to Studio. Will I cop a higher fee to jump back into a support plan on Pro Tools Studio if I move to Ultimate now then move back to Studio than I would if I just stay on Studio and don't let the support plan lapse?

On a side note, does anyone know how I can register my Carbon without the little slip of paper that came in the box? Like all bits of paper that come my way, I lost it within a few seconds of it touching my hand. I have tried inputting the serial number of the unit (which is sensibly printed on the box) into Avid's website, but that number seems to be of no significance to them.

Cheers!
Simon

[albee1952]

Hmmm, here's a suggestion: don't start the Ultimate subscription. Just renew your Studio license and sell the unused(unregistered?) Ultimate license and use that money to buy something nice that you need(but thought you couldn't afford). Maybe better monitors or a great mic? Or, if you plan on recording full bands, pick up a Midas XL-48 and connect to one of the lightpipe inputs for 8 excellent preamps for drums

[dominicperry]

You can't sell the Pro Tools license that comes with Carbon - it's tied to the hardware.

If it's a new unit, and you aren't clear on the licensing, talk to your reseller or ask Avid directly. The amount of discussion and nonsense on this forum about Carbon licensing is bound to leave you confused, especially as Avid have changed what they offer on a couple of occassions since Carbon was launched.

Dominic

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by jimbo-baby

So I bought a Carbon. It passes signal and all. Sounds pretty decent too. So far so good. But I'm a bit confused what to do next. I have a Pro Tools Studio perpetual licence, with a current support plan, but it's about to run out in a couple of weeks. I know the Carbon comes with a year of Pro Tools Ultimate. I don't really need the features of Ultimate, but if I switch to that licence I'd get a year without paying anything. But after that, I would likely want to go back to Studio. Will I cop a higher fee to jump back into a support plan on Pro Tools Studio if I move to Ultimate now then move back to Studio than I would if I just stay on Studio and don't let the support plan lapse?

On a side note, does anyone know how I can register my Carbon without the little slip of paper that came in the box? Like all bits of paper that come my way, I lost it within a few seconds of it touching my hand. I have tried inputting the serial number of the unit (which is sensibly printed on the box) into Avid's website, but that number seems to be of no significance to them.

Cheers!
Simon

Humm I am guessing that if you do not keep your PT Studio Upgrade/Support plan current then (unless you can find a retailer that still has a Perpetual Studio license in stock) you will be forced to use a PT Studio Subscription license and will loose the perpetual license option altogether .

Also unfortunately the confusion continues.
I think (but could be mistaken) that the only PT license actually "tied' to the Carbon Hardware, was the original (Regular not Ultimate), Pro Tools Perpetual/Parachute license . I believe you can sell the Ultimate license that now comes with Carbon ,,and just keep your Studio License Support/Update plan current .... BUT I would contact Avid to confirm that

[jimbo-baby]

Thanks for the information. I created a support ticket with Avid. They really don't make it easy to speak to someone! I had thought the Ultimate subscription was not allowed to be resold, but it would be great if I could do that. Particularly since it seems like there is good reason to keep the Studio support plan current. At least until there's a stable release with full silicon native support. Does anyone have any idea what I might be able to get for the Ultimate licence, assuming I am allowed to sell it?

[Extreme Mixing]

I think you need the license to use the Pro Tools hardware. At least you do for Pro Tools HD Native. The lesser license that I have does not recognize or authorize the Pro Tools hardware. I have to have the Ultimate license to use my Omni interface. Maybe Carbon is different, but I doubt it.

Steve

[dominicperry]

Originally Posted by jimbo-baby

Thanks for the information. I created a support ticket with Avid. They really don't make it easy to speak to someone! I had thought the Ultimate subscription was not allowed to be resold, but it would be great if I could do that. Particularly since it seems like there is good reason to keep the Studio support plan current. At least until there's a stable release with full silicon native support. Does anyone have any idea what I might be able to get for the Ultimate licence, assuming I am allowed to sell it?

You cannot resell it (except with the Carbon hardware). That much is clear.
However much Avid have mucked about with what they provide and how you support or re-instate and how you get your "perpetual parachute", one thing has remained consistent. You cannot sell the Ultimate license that comes with Carbon separate from the hardware.

Dominic

[dominicperry]

Originally Posted by Extreme Mixing

I think you need the license to use the Pro Tools hardware. At least you do for Pro Tools HD Native. The lesser license that I have does not recognize or authorize the Pro Tools hardware. I have to have the Ultimate license to use my Omni interface. Maybe Carbon is different, but I doubt it.

Steve

You're just adding more confusion here. Respectfully, it would be best if you deleted this post.

Carbon is NOT like HD Native. You do NOT need to license the hardware. You can run a Carbon with Logic or Reaper without ever installing PT on your machine. You can run Carbon with an existing copy of PT (Studio or Ultimate) without any need to activate the provided licenses of PT.

Dominic

[jimbo-baby]

Originally Posted by Extreme Mixing

I think you need the license to use the Pro Tools hardware. At least you do for Pro Tools HD Native. The lesser license that I have does not recognize or authorize the Pro Tools hardware. I have to have the Ultimate license to use my Omni interface. Maybe Carbon is different, but I doubt it.

Steve

The Carbon is running fine for me on Pro Tools Studio, including the DSP feature and software preamp control.

[digiot]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Hmmm, here's a suggestion: don't start the Ultimate subscription. Just renew your Studio license and sell the unused(unregistered?) Ultimate license and use that money to buy something nice that you need(but thought you couldn't afford). Maybe better monitors or a great mic? Or, if you plan on recording full bands, pick up a Midas XL-48 and connect to one of the lightpipe inputs for 8 excellent preamps for drums

I’m not sure anymore which license Carbon comes with if you buy it now. I bought mine early 2021 and it came with a license of Protools (which is now Protools Studio). I also already owned a Protools Ultimate license. Some months later Avid decided to give new users an Ultimate license as well. They ended up depositing a license in my account as well. Since I already owned an Ultimate license and the regular license that came with the Carbon I decided to sell the new Ultimate license. The new value of an Ultimate Perpetual license is $2500!
So yes I sold it and bought more mic pre’s.
As far as I know I would not be able to sell the original license the Carbon came with. That license has since expired and after some back and forth with Avid support became a perpetual license. It is still somewhat fuzzy on how to reinstate that license again to get it up to date since there is no option to do it through my Avid account. And retailers are just as confused about it.