At the 2022 AES show, Avid has announced a new addition to the Pro Tools Carbon system – PRO TOOLS | CARBON PRE. An AVB-equipped expansion option with 8-mic preamps, which can expand the connectivity of a Carbon system to 16 or 24 mic inputs, all benefitting from the low latency performance of the Pro Tools Hybrid Engine, which can leverage both the power and latency performance of HDX DSP with the flexibility and power of native processing.

When it launched in 2020, Pro Tools Carbon filled a gap in the Pro Tools product family. Previously there had been a considerable gap in terms of price and complexity between software-only Pro Tools and the near-zero latency performance of HDX. This gap was neatly bridged with Pro Tools Carbon. A 1U interface with HDX DSP acceleration built in and a complement of I/O aimed at people tracking bands and small ensembles. With 4 discrete headphone outputs fed directly from sends in Pro Tools with HDX levels of latency, this unit is ideal for the project studio or the serious home recordist.

Expansion Option For Pro Tools Carbon

However, with 8 mic preamps, for typical band tracking with drums, additional mic preamps are very likely to be required. Pro Tools Carbon offers potential expansion to 24 mic inputs via ADAT, but when connected much of the functionality of Pro Tools Carbon’s built-in preamps isn’t available to preamps connected via ADAT. Pro Tools Carbon’s connection to the host computer is via AVB, but this network connection didn’t offer a way to expand the system, for example, by daisy-chaining multiple Pro Tools Carbon units.

With the introduction of the new Pro Tools Carbon Pre, a Pro Tools Carbon system can be expanded to up to 24 inputs, a system suitable for the majority of tracking tasks, though at present only available to Mac users because of the use of AVB, which is less straightforward to implement on a PC. And, with a price tag of $2999, it is significantly cheaper than Pro Tools Carbon ($4199). So what is it, and how does it differ from Pro Tools Carbon?

What Is PRO TOOLS | CARBON PRE?

Pro Tools Carbon Pre is an expansion option for Pro Tools Carbon; physically very similar, it has identical mic preamps, analogue I/O on DB25 connections, ADAT, word clock and network connections. Indeed the only difference on the back panel is the lack of monitor outputs and the footswitch jack. The Pro Tools Carbon Pre has no built-in DSP and lacks Pro Tools Carbon’s monitor section and headphone outputs, but it offers high-quality input facilities identical to those of Pro Tools Carbon, with stacked AD converters for greater dynamic range and signal-to-noise performance. The signal path is 32-bit floating point end-to-end, and double-precision clocking is via Jet PLL for super low jitter.

The 8 mic preamps are identical to those found on Pro Tools Carbon and the S6L live console. The two front panel Hi-Z inputs and mic inputs 5-8 are variable Z, offering the timbre-shifting influence of different impedances to mics and instruments connected to those inputs. The rear XLR inputs are combi type connectors, with a 1/4” jack line inputs combined with the 3 pin XLR, but these line inputs are duplicated on the DB25 inputs also available on the rear panel, along with a set of 8 analog outputs also on DB25. These analog ins and outs are delay-compensated within Pro Tools when used as part of the AVB chain and so are ideal for use with hardware inserts. It should be noted that at this stage, the ADAT I/O doesn’t function when the Pro Tools Carbon Pre is used as part of an AVB-based system. Apparently, this might change in the future, but at the moment, it is disabled to better manage bandwidth load over the AVB connection.

I’ve never been a fan of XLR Combi connectors because they make the choice between mic or line an either/or choice meaning it isn’t possible to connect both a mic and line source at the same time and switch between them. Having line inputs only available on DB25 can be inflexible and adds cabling costs, so it is good to have the option of both, and an added bonus is the switching logic between these connectors. When the DB25 is connected, you receive a signal from the DB25. If/when you plug in a TRS to the combi jack, it takes precedence. You now see the TRS at that channel’s input. Unplug the TRS, and you see the DB25 channels input.

Simpler Setup Via CARBON Central

It used to be necessary to visit the Network Device window of your Mac’s Audio MIDI setup utility to set up your Carbon, but with Pro Tools Carbon Pre, comes a new utility, for setting up your system and managing your devices. Carbon Central is a simple application which lives in the Mac’s menu bar and offers a simplified, more consumer-friendly setup experience.

In essence, the Pro Tools Carbon Pre is a Carbon without the DSP and monitor sections, a practical concept as on its release, people asked whether it was possible to daisy chain Carbon units to build a bigger system. It isn’t, but also, such a system would represent poor value as to access the additional inputs, which would be the main reason such a system would be built; there would be potentially unused DSP and output facilities. Pro Tools Carbon Pre offers the preamps, with their very slick integration with Pro Tools software, Eucon control, remote control from the Pro Tools UI and full recall with sessions, but without the extra facilities of the Pro Tools Carbon, which would probably go unused.

Other Use Cases For PRO TOOLS | CARBON PRE

The principal use for a Pro Tools Carbon Pre is as an expander for Pro Tools Carbon, but there are other uses it can be put to. It can function as a standalone expansion for non Pro Tools Carbon Pro Tools systems. The preamps can be remote controlled via the network port, in a non AVB application, with audio routed via ADAT. The setup process for this remote control is different to the automatic assignment found in Pro Tools Carbon, involving setting up the remote preamps in the Peripherals dialog in Pro Tools. Up to 9 devices can be set up here, giving a large potential channel count, but you would need enough ADAT inputs to cover this. An example use case is Avid Omni owners needing to expand their I/O and wanting remote control of preamps. Pro Tools Carbon Pre can also be used as a standalone AD converter, with the outputs available at the analog outputs and ADAT outputs simultaneously, and it could also be used as a core audio device with system audio on a Mac, though you would at least have to add a monitor controller to this. Neither of these would qualify as reasons for getting a Pro Tools Carbon Pre, but they illustrate added flexibility.

An expanded Pro Tools Carbon system with just one Pro Tools Carbon Pre would make an excellent Pro Tools based recording system for high-quality tracking and, with the system occupying just 2U of rack space for 16 mics, compared to the equivalent HDX system, it looks interesting. Adding a second Pro Tools Carbon PreE would cover the majority of tracking tasks in just 3U with tracking through plugins, freedom from latency issues, including drop-ins, and headphone mixes set up entirely within Pro Tools. We look forward to trying one soon. Pro Tools Carbon Pre will be available from October 27th priced at $2999.