Top Ten Reasons Why Successful Professionals Choose ICON

ICON is the state-of-the-art digital console line that has quickly become the top choice of professional music studios and post-production facilities around the world. Powered by Pro Tools|HD®, ICON consoles offer unparalleled Pro Tools® integration, maximizing efficiency and minimizing complexity — unlike solutions pieced together from individually developed components. From the large-format D-Control™ ES to the more compact D-Command® ES, ICON offers unmatched hands-on control and flexibility, enabling you to expand and customize the console to suit your workflow.

1. Affordable and Accessible
Pro Tools and ICON have put high quality recording and production into the hands of more producers, musicians and post pros than ever before –at previously unheard of prices. With unmatched editing, automation and recall capabilities, not to mention costs that dwarf old-school studio time, they are today’s sound solutions of choice. Dave Cadle – Owner, Envy in London: “I was blown away by the ICON when I first saw it… Only Digidesign offers the price/performance ratio that ensures commercial viability.”


2. Plug-In Power and Performance
Forever changing the sound industry, plug-ins allow ICON consoles to remain untethered to a single equalizer or dynamics type. The sheer horsepower of Pro Tools HD and available plug-in selection have opened the door to endless creative possibilities. Trent Reznor – Artist and producer: “What’s happened in terms of Virtual Instruments as well as Plug-ins and effects has surpassed their real world counterparts. Now all forms of music production come under one umbrella and it’s afforded us luxuries I never would have dreamed possible.”


3. Extend Life Expectancy
The Pro Tools Session format lives on, allowing mixes to be recalled from as far back as the mid 90’s. Ezra Dweck – Re-Recording Mixer and Sound Supervisor: “There just isn't another system that you can expect to recall a year old mix with all the elements in a completely different facility and not have a bunch of issues just getting the thing playable.”


4. Core Creative Curriculum
Based on its position as the industry standard for recording, editing and interchange, the educational world has made Pro Tools an integral part of its core creative curriculum. Command 8, C24 and or ICON consoles with Pro Tools not only excite students about learning how to record, edit and mix, but lead them to more financially rewarding real-world opportunities after school. Steve Miller – Los Angeles Recording School: “As educators, we have to be conscious not only of the current state of technology, but of what things will look like ten years from now. The ICONs are, for us, a long-term investment in tomorrow’s technology.”


5. Customize Your Mixing World Download the full whitepaper
Pro Tools has evolved into an extremely powerful mixing solution that has ‘virtually’ defined the idea of customization. Appealing to the heart and soul of the mixer, the tactile ICON surface adds to that by allowing you to slide any channel wherever you want it, layout any group of faders in any order, and custom map any group of knobs and faders to layout a plug-in. Maps created on ICON can also be exported for transportation and sharing. Scott Weber – Re-recording mixer, Disney Studios: “With the ICON I can set up custom mix templates for every type of job that come through our studio. From a simple trailer mix, to the most complicated TV and theatrical effects mix, I am able to create a mixer that fits the specific need of all my projects. The ICON give me the ability to pull off even the most complicated mixes, and give me the creative control that today’s projects demand.”


6. Sound Quality
Even with all its flexibility and functionality, Pro Tools HD preserves the highest order of sonic integrity. Delivering pristine clarity, quality and fidelity, Pro Tools HD provides a 48-bit mixing architecture, high-resolution 24-bit/192 kHz audio interfaces and nearly 300 dB of dynamic range that make clipping and distorting the internal summing bus nearly impossible. Rob Macomber – Chief Engineer Jazz, Lincoln Center XM Radio: “Obviously it has to be recorded right, proper gain stage and everything, but with all your ducks in a row – this system captures that amazing clarity and recreates it without coloration. Any client that is in here has always commented, ‘wow – I’ve never heard it quite like that in my studio’. There’s so much air, there’s such a low noise floor – it makes me look good. All I have to do is push up a fader, I don’t have to turn a knob and it’s like ‘wow that sounds amazing’ and that’s how it should be.”


7. Speed and Control through Automation
Pro Tools with ICON gives you the speed you need with moving faders, touch-sensitive knobs (and encoders), and automation of nearly everything. Choosing to tie your automation to the audio regions offers you the perfect system for dealing with big song or movie changes. Incorporating time-tested Big (Six Figure) Mixing console features like Auto-Join, Join, Capture, Snapshots, Punch Capture, Preview, Suspend Preview, Punch Preview, and Touch-Latch allows you to work without a mouse or even a Pro Tools screen. It’s the perfect mix of traditional technology and automation innovation. Marty Frasu – Engineer for Composer David Newman: “This has the best automation system of anything, anywhere.” Sherry Klein - Re-Recording Mixer: “There isn’t anything that you can’t do at this stage with Pro Tools and ICON.”


8. Ultimate Recall
Everything can be recalled in a matter of seconds, from settings and automation moves to alternate takes and multiple versions of every mix. And the best part is, you can take it all with you wherever you want to mix, send it over the internet to other people and have them return it back to you mixed even further. It’s a game-changer that buys back a significant portion of your creative life by letting computers do what they do best -- remember huge, detailed pieces of data with unparalleled exactness. Jordi Soler – Studio Owner, Girona Spain: “We were used to never ending mixing sessions with analogue consoles. The ICON system is the best invention that could ever land in our studio. The ‘Ultimate recall’ option and the surround panner really allow us to have a dynamic studio agenda.”


9. Work Lean and Green
Yesterday’s console is never powered down. It just goes on consuming a tremendous amount of power, which, even in a passive state, requires a copious amount of cooling. ICON and Pro Tools, on the other hand, are extremely energy efficient. Bruce Botnick – Engineer/Mixer: “If you’ve spent numerous hours sitting at a modern 100 input analog desk, you’ve experienced the heat that the console can generate, it’s like an oven and your legs are what are baking for dinner while the rest of the control room is freezing. The D-Control is a welcome addition to the control room in that it is just a control surface, though I do admit that during a heavy winter storm a big hot desk is your friend.”


10. Pro Tools + ICON = Integrated CONsole
ICON gives you the deciding advantage over any other console. With an editor/recorder/composing/video playback tool that is completely integrated with touch-sensitive, configurable, and customizable surface, ICON lets you do things other non-integrated consoles just won’t let you do. The bottom line is, today’s client is more tech-savvy and cost-conscious than ever before, so you need the kind of workflow that helps customers get the most out of their “paid studio experience.” Luc Fontaine – Owner, Studio La Majeure: “The ICON has made a tremendous difference in the way we work, because the ICON is so well integrated with Pro Tools, we are able to substantially streamline our workflow in mixing for music and film.”



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Got ProControl?
Gain control of Pro Tools with ICON with extended functionality enabling you to work faster and more creatively using the unrivaled console integration that only ICON offers.

While other consoles may offer rudimentary access to your mix, only ICON offers the deep integration, workflows, and extreme flexibility that make ICON a true extension of Pro Tools. Stay ahead of the pack, ensuring that your workflows are still relevant in today's market. And with this quarter's promo (ProControl owners not only benefit from great savings on a new ICON console with their trade-in, but they'll save even more compared to standard exchange pricing, up to 27%.

ICON is the only integrated console for Pro Tools|HD. Other consoles create unnecessary complexity in recalling mixes and automation because they function separately from the Pro Tools environment. ICON offers seamless integration with Pro Tools and delivers effortless and complete recall of your entire session because it's a full extension of the Pro Tools software. While some controllers offer basic control of your mix, no other console or controller offers the control or performance you get with unique ICON features such as custom faders, plug-in mapping, and VCA spill. All other consoles are only consoles. ICON is the only integrated console that puts the power, efficiency, and speed of Pro Tools|HD at your fingertips.