I just bought a g4 powerbook. I want to record my band, mostly as a demo, but possably to distribute at shows, if it turns out good enough. I saw that the Tascam us 122 comes with a paired down version of Cubase. I need a recording program . When I've tried recording through the mic input of my comupter the sound comes out crackling and week.Will the tascam improve the quality of the sound I'm recording? Is the version of cubase good enough(non of the adds are very specific about about the paired down programs features)? Our funds are very limited which is why I thought this could cure both my sound quality issue and program needs at the same time.

Hi!
I bought my own Tascam us 122 a few weeks ago and I'm very happy with it. Compared to the mic input of your computer you will improve the sound quality very much! To my opinion you can't make a mistake with buying it because it's worth is much higher than it's price. There's no better audio-interface in this price cathegory.
Unfortunately the software package is not as great as the hardware. The tascam giga studio only runs on windows, and cubasis only runs on OS 9. So, if you are a OSX user, you can't use any of the programs. If you got OS 9 (I don't know if it's still installed on new macs), cubasis will do it for the start. You can record, edit and sequence, but many of the features of cubase sx (for example) you won't find. But I don't know if you really need them. Great mastering sessions are not possible, but for demos it will sure do it! I think it's ok to start into harddisk recording, even though I'm happy to have cubase sx.
So, the us 122 sure will cure your sound quality issue. Cubasis will not cure all your (future) software needs, but it's very much better than nothing!

If your searching for a "good" sound and "good" software, not per say the best, but something that will meet your needs within a limited budget then i suggest you look at Digidesign's Mbox.

Yes, I know 450 is much more then 200, but you get OS X software that is really nice (pro tools LE) bundled with the device.

I've been searching/researching for about 6 months now and it seems to be the ideal solution for under 500 bucks. Once you go above 500 it can get very complicated.

Of the "buy seperatly software" I've noticed a quality trend towards Emagic's Logic 6 (plat)(700-800 bucks) and Steinburge's Nuendo 2. (1100-1300 bucks).

If you already have access to good software that WILL work with the tascam US-122, go for it... But otherwise I suggest the mbox for the overall bottom dollar with quality in mind.

I hope I was helpful without complicating things too much.

Xajen

Although note that the Pro Tools route is something of a closed path - most plug-ins, soft synths etc are primarily available as VST or Audio Units which don't work with Pro Tools. If they are available for Pro Tools, they're always more expensive.

The Mbox is a nice bit of kit, but you can't even buy one, fool about with Pro Tools for a bit and then switch to using your Mbox with Logic or whatever - at least not officially. Some people have managed to get their Mbox working with another sequencer, but it's not as application-neutral as any other interface and it's a process fraught with headaches, from what I read.

There's always Cubase SL or Logic Silver (or the Gold package) for very good prices - buy one of these and a separate audio interface (say, a US-122 or one of the Emagic USB devices) and you can upgrade both elements as your needs develop.

As you have a G4 PowerBook, it's worth considering that Logic is becoming the de facto sequencer for Mac users. Owned by your computer's OS developers and fully optimised for the G4 chip, Logic has a lot going for it.