Anyone? :(

Joey, you are asking a lot at one time!! Its a little hard to follow, but I'll try to help.

Remember though you are likely to get a LOT of differing opinions as to which course you decide to go.

So you are getting into recording? Have you ever done any recording before? Just curious.

The reason I ask is because some of the equipment you are looking into may or may not be neccessary depending on how far you are wanting to take your career and what sort of recording you are going to want to do initially.

If you are wanting to record a lot of tracks at once, then the MBox is not going to make you very happy. But, it will initiate you into protools LE, which wont hurt you to know.
A cdr 8 track is similarly limited, in regards to # of tracks, signal processing etc...
so which one to get? Thats up to you. If I was in your situation, I would probably go with the Mbox at first or try to find a used Digi 001, or save for the 002 and get the best of both worlds. I probably wouldnt bother with the 8 track, as future expansion of your trade will likely see the 8 track unused in the closet one day.
Thats just my two cents. Good luck,
Kev

Kevin thanks a lot for the reply...no one seemed to be able to answer me hehehe

well the thing is i'm just getting started in this "audio production" world.......the only "recording experience" i have is messing around with Garage Band.....(midi recording, etc...)

like i said, i'll be starting a course in Audio Production in July, which will last 9 months and then another 3 months course. But the BIG thing will be a Audio Production MASTER i'll be starting in summer 2006 @ Barcelona University........

so, what do i want to do.....hmmm i guess the thing is i want to go big but that's somthing that takes time and MONEY, which right now, the second one is not quite there "yet". I Want to learn Pro Tools tho, because it's the Industry standard recording programs, and i've heard A LOT of great things about it. i'd love to learn to use LOGIC too, but Pro Tools first.

i'm a Singer, Guitarist...so i want to start recording my music.....i don't mind not being able to record ALL at the same time, so i guess Mbox can do the job......i've heard it's a GREAT product.....i can record my music with a GOOD quality sound, and i get Pro Tools LE.

i'd love to get my hands on a digi 002, but they're TOO expensive, and i prefer to start with mbox and protools right away............the thing with the multitrack is that it seems like a good toy to record and mess around with, WITHOUT having to use the computer......which is cool if i want to take it to a friends house and JAM a little bit and record the jam and the ideas........it's not like the mbox + my laptop is "too much stuff" but i'd also need to bring my external hard drive, plus cables, plus some other stuff.....like i said............it's really mobile, but the multitrack's MORE mobile plus less stuff..........

....i'd be ok with me to buy both, BUT, what i DOn'T want is to buy the multitrack if is NOT going to bring me "new" features.........for example if EVERYTHING that the multitrack does, i can do with mbox and pro tools, then multitrack's a NO NO............

What do you think now?

one last question.......can i hook up the multitrack to the computer and download the tracks and edit them using Pro Tools?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for Replying :D

Joey, it sounds like you are almost answering your own question!

First, if you are interested in protools, I would suggest you lurk about this forum: http://duc.digidesign.com/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB32

Digidesign is cheap on tech support, but luckily the users conference is a wealth of information.

Here is the scoop on the Mbox. You can only record two channels at a time. Period. If thats enough for you, then I would go for it. You will probably want to upgrade one day, so you will already have the experience with the program when you do upgrade... and believe me, if you are serious about recording, you will not stop with the Mbox.

As far as an 8-track... well thats up to you. You wont be able to just hook them together like you could an 001 or an 002. If you have the money extra for the 8-track then that is subjectively up to you.
Like I said above, personally, if I were in your position, I would either go with the mbox, or I would try to find a used 001 on Ebay or something. The 001 is more expandable than the mbox, but not as expensive as the 002.
Unfortunatly, the 001 is being phased out, and while it will still work, you wont get the subsequent upgrades to PTLE that are coming out. This shouldnt be much of a problem for you though just starting out. These are the pros and cons that you will have to decide on...
Although I would definatly go with PT in some shape or fashion, ultimatly, the choice is yours though, because everyone's situation is different.
Good luck,
Kev

thank you very much again....

well i'll try to find a cheap used 001....i definitely want to go pro....i'll drop the multitrack idea.........i'll get a 001 + a good mic.

someone has recommended Shure sm57 and shure sm58....plus they're not so Expensive....have any good mic you could recommend?...(in between the 50 - 150 dollars range :)) i want a good "vocals" mic....and another good mic to capture "amp sounds" (bass and guitar) and to hook it up to a Drum along with the "vocal" mic in case i want to record a band's Demo......

There are a lot of little bands in my town and i can make "some" money by recording their Demos for a cheap price.........since thay usually don't have money to pay a Professional Rec. Studio......i can record them for a cheap price...this way i can make "something" plus gain some experience for future pros projects..........

So those are my plans......i'll try to buy a used 001....if not then i'll get the Mbox and record the Demos track by track (2 guitars first, then Bass, then Drums, the Vocals..) And what about the Mics questions i asked.....what can you recommend? :)

ONE LAST QUESTION: ehehe sorry i'm asking you a lot, but in there forums people don't seem to answer :(

if i buy a used 001 of ebay, where can i Buy the Pro Tools Software??....because that's the Pro's of buying a NEW Mbox, it already comes with the software..........

kevin....... i see that the digi 001 uses a PCI card........unlike the mbox that doesn't....... i hace a powerbook and it has a PCI slot BUT ain't there a way to hook the digi 001 to my laptop without the PCI ??

I agree with Kevin. I currently use a Korg 32xd (16tracks total, 8 simultaneous recording @ 24 bit 48khz). It is at this point, the pinnacle of portable multitrack machines, IMHO. I started down the portable multi-track road when I was 18 using a 4-track cassette machine, then years ago getting my 1st hard disk recorder Korg d -1200, finally last year the 32XD.
Everything I have learned about multi-tracking has been on these little machines, and I am grateful for all the knowledge I have gained. They are very portable devices that allow for all mixing and editing in the box, but they are not the industry standard, nor will they ever be. They are rather a learning tool for those getting into recording or wanting to do band demos. I am not familiar with the 8-track you mentioned but it probably will record more than 2 tracks simultaneously. The question is, do you need to record more than 2 tracks at a time? Unless you are micing up a drum kit, you are probably ok with the mbox.
If you're serious about about audio, and it sounds like you are, you should start learning protools earlier rather than later. I had the opportunity to see one of my friends recording his band in a protools studio at SMSU in Missouri. It was an eye opener to see the ease of editing as compared to my klunky Korg 32 XD. One day I too will have to learn protools, but I am waiting for the next version with the hopes of more inputs on their Digi 03 or whatever they call it.
Best of luck with whatever you choose. Either way just start recording and experimenting. Its alot of fun.

Justin

Well thanks for the reply justin!

i'm getting into ProTools as soona as possible...........after doing some intense research on the Digi 001, i'm dropping that idea too..........it needs PCI card (which makes it a little bit unconfortable to use with laptops (although i have a PCI Slot in the powerbook) and besides it doesn't work with the latest Proo Tools LE which i need, because i'm intalling Tiger as soon as Apple releases the patch for Pro Tool.....

i'd livo a digi 002, but that's OUT OF THE QUESTION! ($$$$$) it seems like Mbox is my best option right now..................

can i Later on buy a preamp to record more than 2 tracks?.... there's something like this out there in the market right?.....like an extention preamp to hook up to your mbox and have more than 2 tracks.......

for now it'll be ok with two.....i just have to play with it, and record things separately.......and with the Drums.....i've heard some "OK" results recording Drums with two WELL placed Mics.......

Mbox it is!

Throw in a couple of decent mics and you wont surface for weeks. :D

My wife considers herself a "protools widow" :lol:

Do yourself a HUGE favor though, and be sure to check out alllll the specs you will need for you computer and the Mbox first... PT is pretty picky so dont let it surprise you.