The better home recording choice would be...?

Both of these are great choices. If I had to choose between the Korg or the Tascam I'd probably get the Tascam because it's cheaper. The downside to these is that they are dedicated, all-in-one recording units. That means that you can't upgrade or customize any aspect of them, what you buy now is how it stays forever. If you go computer based instead you'll have options in the future to upgrade the separate components and therefore keep your rig up to date. This way, once you get to the point where you're maxing out your system and you need more processing power or more memory, you can get more processing or memory... With the all-in-one rig you'd have to replace the whole thing to improve processing.

Amittai and Matt,

Thank you so much for your insights. I think the main reason I am leaning in this direction is its familiar to me as I used 4 tracks and reel-to-reels in the past for making demo's.

Going in the computer direction, can you still have hardware with knobs and faders? Which I guess would make the computer itself the recorder/connector? Sorry if this sounds stupid.

I've been a guitarist for 30 years and feel like I've gotten to a place where I can express myself from a soulful place. I want to be able to capture the sounds in my life without the obstacle of a huge learning curve that may come with unfamiliar equipment.

Any further input or ideas would be much appreciated. I will also try to do some research on "computer based recording to familiarize myself with anything you may present.

Thanx again, renge

Hmmm perhaps if its similar to what you know already, then it might help keep the creative process intact as well. You mention the huge learning curve. Of course its possible to learn most new techniques, but if the software route detracts too much from the enjoyment of the recording process for you, it might be too much of a hindrance, which is the last thing you want. Just a thought.

Amittai should hopefully have some input on the mac situation, as I haven't dealt with them myself. I've always just built up my own PCs for my use really, but these days I see a lot of value packed into some of the big brand pcs as well such as Dell etc. Some great deals there.

If you are considering the computer-based recording route, several things to keep in mind :

- Good musician-oriented audio/midi interface, with the appropriate number/type of inputs. I use the Delta 1010LT, or if you don't need multiple simultaneous inputs you could go for something like the audiophile 2496 which is excellent value.
- Plenty of ram
- Plenty of harddrive space (virtually all deals around now have decent space), and a nice fast harddrive too. I'm sure the older/slower laptop harddrives for instance would have issues keeping up with a lot of live recording data. 7200rpm and higher is the way to go. But I think the new laptops are all 7200s now anyway? And desktops have been 7200+ for ages.

Can you still have hardware style knobs/controls to control your startup home studio? You usually *can*, but its usually more complicated to get working smoothly than a dedicated hardware recorder, and does involve buying some extra controllers obviously, depending on what you need it to do. It also depends on what the software you're using can have assigned to external controller boards. This is mostly pretty complete for the main software choices around these days, but not always every feature! Basic transport controls for instance are almost always assignable now, with play/rec/stop etc on most midi controllers, however I tend to find sticking points at things such as being able to erase the previous take, and re-record, via the external controller. It may well still be achievable, but its not something which I've got running - I have to always have the mouse nearby as well, to sort things out...

Renge, I understand what you mean. If you've got experience with reels and hardware outside of the computer based platform, by all means go with what you know. At some point you may decide that the computer recording way would be better for you... Some folks work better without a computer though. It is about the music afterall, isn't it?

Dude...buy a Mac. Buy one now....If you want to go portable then buy a Macbook Pro or and iBook. Even if you just go the cheapest route with something like a Mac Mini you will have WAY more flexibility and utility with a computer. It already comes loaded with music making software (Garage Band). I learned GB in one weekend so I could teach my daughter how to make music with her computer. There are a TON of inexpensive multi input interfaces out there. How do you want to make your music. Do you record alone? Just get a one or two input interface (like from Line 6) and that will be cheaper anyway. Line 6 also makes an 8 input interface. I mention Line 6 because it is already OSX Leopard compatible (the lastest Mac OS platform). Apogee makes fantastic interfaces though that are also currently Leopard compatible....they are a little more expensive though. I bought my Mac 4 years ago and have no regrets....they work right out of the box. The thought of using a 2-4 inch screen to do all my navigating gives me a headache just thinking about it. The menus and command buttons on those hardware recorders are a royal pain in the ass to boot.

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