I say crap on ProTools. With any other software, you can pick from the hundreds of interfaces out there, but with PT, you must use theirs. If one of theirs isn't right for you, tough. Also there's the matter of cost: PT can be a bit of a money pit. After you buy in, Digi's kinda got you by the balls. For a person that just wants a really nice, simple, affordable recording system, I would not recommend PT. Apps are apps; they all do pretty much the same thing. Some people like DP for MIDI, Nuendo for post, Samplitude/Pyramix for elitism ;) It's all a matter of preference.

As for the FW interfaces, I like the few I've seen, and no, they don't seem to be resource hogs.

Fast2gg wrote:
acid 6, sonar 5pe, and cubase sx3.
creative soundcard that has midi inputs (pretty useless).
2ghz atholonXP 1g ramddr

Wow! That's about $1200.00 in software right there! And, you're using that with a SounBlaster card? For you this is what I would do:

First, I would ditch all the cracked software. Don't try to lie. You admitted you're a newb and newbs don't often spend $1200 on software. If you bought it on the web, you bought cracked software which you could've downloaded for free.

Second, I would by some sort of decent audio interface. If you bought a Mbox 2 you would get ProTools LE with it. If you buy any number of other interfaces, you will likely get some other version of either Cubase LE, Ableton's LIVE LE or Tracktion, depending on the hardware. If none of those do the trick, Tracktion can be had for about $150 US and Cubase SE for about $99.00.

It pays to be a registered user. Full support and a decent manual. Plus the self respect that you build for being legitimate.

David French wrote: Some people like DP for MIDI, Nuendo for post, Samplitude/Pyramix for elitism ;) It's all a matter of preference.

Hey now...just cuz my poo doesn't stink doesn't mean I'm an elitist....

hueseph wrote:
First, I would ditch all the cracked software.

YUP!

I can't agree more with both of these guys.

First, there's no need to have both Sonar AND Cubase (at least not as a beginner).

Second, most of the firewire devices on the market are relatively comparable and as hueseph points out, owning one of these will almost assuredly afford you a free package of software (some include SEVERAL packages that are quite nice despite their "free-ness")

Cheers -

J.

i got sonar and cubase for the sake of learning how to use them.
and i pwn acid.
i apoligize if you think its wrong, i dont intend on using either seriously, like i said i got them for learning sake, and i learned cubase lags the hell out of my system, and i hated the interface.
I.E. I Saved myself hundreds of dollars on some software that i didn't really like anyways.

like i said i'm very n00b and am just digging my way through all the different things out there to work with, and do. I have no experience in recording outside what i've learned on here and this book i got on acoustics.

i am really anxious to get a decent interface so i can start playing with recording, and learn thru experimentation and all that jazz.

Haha! I knew you'd see that, Jeremy! :)

Fast2gg wrote: i learned cubase lags the hell out of my system, and i hated the interface.
I.E. I Saved myself hundreds of dollars on some software that i didn't really like anyways.

What you're probably experiencing is latency. Something which usually isn't a problem with a decent sound card with decent ASIO drivers. Your computer is plenty powerful enough.

so if i got one of these firewire interfaces. does that take the place of my sound card? or is that a seperate issue?

Yes, a FW interface is a soundcard.

ok cool,

either way i thought cubase was a pain to figure out, and i dont think ill be using it.

are there things in SONAR/CUBASE that can not be done in acid? i haven't heard many people talking about acid but i know in the past it was highly regarded. I find Acid very intuative and it was really the first software i got my hands on, so im more familiar with it.

is it lacking any functionality of the other apps? or is it just another to add to the pile of options?

Thank you very much for all your guys help. You've really helped me clarify what my next steps will be in this crazy experiment known as life and money.

About ACID, I would have previously said, "yes", there are things that you will need that you can't do in ACID, but now that they've added the multitrack recording stuff adn the new MIDI/VSTi stuff as well, it seems that the answer is "no". You could probably do some serious projects from start to finish in ACID.

Let me give the pro PT side of the argument. (I have a PT 002 setup, and bought it as my first DAW.)

First, the PT/Digi way of doing things is kind of like the Mac side while the other systems are kind of like PC. PT has the advantages (and the disadvantages) of any self contained system. It's pretty easy to set up. The components go together easily. But as David said, you have limited choice.

Second, there is a lot more support for PT than there is for any other system that I'm aware of. Book, manuals, tutorials, on line courses.

So in my situation it made a lot of sense. I have a pretty demanding day job and I wanted to get to recording without spending a lot of time working on hardware/software interactions. I live in the sticks and wouldn't be able to get a lot of help learning any system locally. I wanted to make sure that if I got hung up on the learning curve someone could push me forward. I had enough money to invest in the system and was willing to pay extra for a system that was fast to set up and learn. (I charge for education - might as well pay for it too.) None of this may apply to you, but that's for you to decide.

Remember, all of these entry level DAWs make a lot of compromises. The ones that work for you may not work for someone else.

im thinking im gonna go with this http://www.zzounds.com/item--MACONYX1620

Nice choice. Comes with Tracktion 2.

so now its between the Mackie Onyx (1220 or 1620) and the firepod.

someone tell me which one to buy, i cant make decisions like this.
I like the mackie simply because its got a mixer. i know the firepod has some "mixer software" but i think id prefer the physicality of the mackie.

what about the pre-amps on the 2. This will be my only piece of hardware for a while, so id like it to be something reasonably good sounding, which of these 2 has the better pre's or will i not notice the difference being the nub that i am. :(

I must say, I have the Onyx 800R and I like the pres and the conversion. However, the Firepod is quite nice as well.

If you like the mixer interface, go for the Mackie. The tracktion software is decent too (I find it to be a tad clunky, but a lot of people like it!)

and with all these interfaces they "should" be able to talk with 3rd party software correct? aka acid?

Yes. The Mackie or the Presonus will talk with virtually ANY software (except for ProToools).

Well, don't concern yourself with the mixer. The mixer does not act as a control surface. In other words it is for input only.(so you'd still be mixing "in the box") In fact the eq does not go to disk unless you pay for the mod. People do seem to like the pres on the Onyx though.

As far as which one is better. I don't honestly think you'd notice the difference anyway. A lot of people use the Firepods and have nothing but nice things to say about them.