Total Beginner Needs Guiding Hand, Help for beginner Options

[russellthemessia...]

Hello all.

I am new both to Mac Music and making music on a Mac (or any other PC). I have absolutely no idea as to how audio setups work, MIDI interfaces, preamps etc. I once naively believed I could just plug my guitar into my computer; that gives you an idea of the level of ineptitude I display. BUT, I am willing to learn so, any plain English explanations of how best to go about recording my voice, my guitar and keyboards (yet to be bought but willing to spend some cash) would be much appreciated. I must make it clear that I fully intend to buy Logic Express 6... other than that, I am a little lost. I do not intend to spend more than £350 after having bought Logic... Many thanks in advance for your time.

[xingu]

Let's get some things straight first.
What gear do you already have? From your post I gather your guitar and your voice . Do you have a mic? You'll obviously need one of those to get the voice into Logic.
What kind of keyboards/synths are you talking? Once you get Logic Express, you'll actually have two virtual synths - the ES-1 (built into Logic) as well as the EVP73 (Rhodes) plug-in for starters. Then you'll just need a MIDI controller to "play" them. What kind of music do you plan on recording?
Sounds like the first thing you should look into purchasing is an audio interface, which will get the voice and guitar into your Mac. By the way, what Mac? What operating system?
For audio interfaces, you'll want to determine how many inputs you need - if you will only be recording one or two tracks at a time, look into the gear offered by Edirol, M-Audio and Tascam, which should meet your budget. Don't worry about a preamp yet - most interfaces have their own. Some might debate their quality, but whatever you get should certainly be adequate for starting out - besides, you probably won't be able to fit one into your current budget. Browse through these forums to see various reviews, opinions, rants, etc. to help narrow down your decision as to which interface is best for you. Any more specific questions, just ask.