well, to say you are not using any multitracking is kinda strange... even if you use a software sequencer you will find that you will end up using the audio section of it as well because you may start bouncing your midi tracks down to lessen cpu usage...

anyways, something you may wanna check out first is Giga Studio... I know a few people who use it on a dedicated machine soley for triggering from other controllers... they do not run any other app on the machine while its in use... this sounds like what you are speaking of...

also, something to consider is that the new g5 2.0+ have pcix slots instead of pci slots... for me, this was a concern because i wante to run pci dsp cards such as the uad... although you can use pci cards in your pcix slots, they do not run as effectively and use up its dsp much quicker...

i chose a dual 1.8 with 2gb... this is more than happy to work with and crank some serious cpu usage from for running multiple plugs and vsts...

as for sequencing on mac, your two best choices (at least from my research) is Logic Pro 7 or Digital Performer 4.5

I chose DP 4.5 because the following:
1- scoring to video
2 - intuitive "pro tools" like interface
3 - deep midi capabilities
4 - great sound
5 - half the price of logic (you can ge a competitive cross-grade for $395 (http://www.sweetwater.com - ask for art hill)

i also know people personally who have driven their dance music label with consecutive successful releases with songs built off DP (plus added outboard gear of course)

BUT

i also personally know people who have created Billboard remixes off Logic... Logic was not so interesting to me because I am not a big believer in payinbg extra for 40 vsts when my goal is to buy a composition tool...

But gigastudio is for PC platform only.Any other similarly capable sampler for Mac that you recommend?

thanks

Mrakk wrote: But gigastudio is for PC platform only.Any other similarly capable sampler for Mac that you recommend?

thanks

Not too sure. I just made the switch over to Mac and I am still scouting the software available.

I made the Giga suggestion because if you are really sure that your immediate needs are to trigger samples only then Giga is probably the way to go.

You can also buy a mac later on and run both systems. Thats what many people do. Considering the cost of building a PC to run Giga is probably less than $500 - $700 and depending on your budget, you may be able to buy two systems and link them.

MOTU's Mach 5 can import Giga format.

If you were using Logic the EXS24 can import giga.

Not sure if all of the performance features are available though.

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