if i had pro tools and an mbox, could i use other hardware with it also, like an ADAT card that i already have?

I am fairly new to the whole home studio 'thing' but as a musician I have spent plenty of time in Studios. My questions are about compression. I currently have a number of compressor plug in's (UAD-1, Waves, Wave Arts and Focusrite D2/D3) which in many cases attempt to imitate a hardware counterpart. Unfortunately, I do not have the hardware versions handy to make the necessary comparisons.

There is a used gear/ pawn store in my town who has a Digi 002 rack for $500. The problem is that he has nothing else with it. Is it worth picking up? I know that the hardware won't obvioulsy work without pro tools, but can the software be purchased seperately? Will it work? The store will guarantee the rack "no questions asked" for 30 days.Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Any good suggestions for hardware machines for making good hard beats and deep bass for hip hop ? What are anyones thoughts/experiances with rolands mc909? is it worth it for small time production @ home? thanks.

can it be used without hardware? on XP?

hello, i was wondering what you guys thought about the quality of sounds you can get from pro tools le plugins(compressor, t-racks eq, etc.) vs. using say a couple fairly cheap Behringer tube hardware units for compression and eq(about $129 each)? I appreciate your input.

Hi, I'm a 3 mo lurker and decided it's time to ask a question.

I'm just getting into recording and have recently bought some gear.
I am getting ready to buy some things to upgrade my current setup which includes:

Hi,

First let me apologize if this has been posted a lot, I searched, but I am not a professional in this area (so I don't know exactly what to look for), I am just asking this for a friend who is.

Hey I have a question for you guys. What do you think would be good external hardware for recording. Im looking to spend arround $300. I need to record drums so I will need at least 4-6 tracks at once. Thanks