I'm a songwriter and musician looking to simplify my current setup--I need to make radio/demo-quality recordings: vocal, guitar certainly; but it would be nice to have the room to add more. Want it portable. Really I want the ease and simplicity of pushing the rec/play buttons on a handheld cassette recorder at my kitchen table.

Currently, I use a Digidesign Digi 002, ProTools LE 6.2.2, a Glyph Technology 40-GB external firewire drive, a Sony CDR-W33, an Audio Technology and Research Dual MP two-channel mic pre, a Marantz CDR300 portable recorder, and a PowerMac G4 dual processor 867-Mhz computer with 2 GB of RAM.

My thinking keeps coming to a PowerBook 15.2-inch, 1.25 GHz, max'd out with 2 GB of RAM and an Mbox, an FMR Audio 8380 Really Nice Preamp, Mackie HR824 active monitors, and maybe a Mackie 1402-VLZ compact mixer to have even more XLR input than I would get with the addition of the FMR RNP.

This is sort of the project studio equivalent of "layering" for foul, cold weather--you know, where you can remove or add items of clothing as you need to. I want the basic setup to record demo/radio quality when I sit down to write, yet if I want to take the song farther, well, I can.

Here's the hang-up: USB vs firewire. Should I be hung up, given my limited-yet-expandable needs? I really do want ProTools portability as the de facto industry standard. That said, well, damn the Mackie Spike with Tracktion looks interesting. M-Audio's 410 and MOTU and Metric Halo all have firewire units, and the Metric Halo unit gets such fine, high-end remarks.

If one of you, with professional-quality demo needs (including recording industry portability) were designing a flexible system for a musician and songwriter who is not spooked by technology, and that system was to be built off a Mac PowerBook platform, what would it look like?

Or do I need to build a recording rig for songwriters and musicians--it's interesting: as fine as the hardware and software is that exists, there still seems to be a hole in the market where high-end, industry-standard quality meets "rec/play" button ease of use.

Many thanks for any experience your can share and guidance you can give.

Garaageband, the new addition to the ilife apps, might be the software you're looking for. Audio, midi, loops, virtual instruments all rolled up into one package that has a very friendly user interface.

As far as USB v USB2 v Firewire

USB is tolerable if you're only doing stereo in/out. But most people I work with quickly get frustrated by USBs limitations

USB 2 while seeming being roughly on par with firewire may be fast enough. But as far as audio goes, it is unproven technology.

Firewire is out there, it works, lots of ins ands outs lots of tracks on a firewire HD. That's the way I would go.

Scott

Thanks, Scott. I appreciate it.

Pete