Tascam Us 122/ Cubase Vst Oem Problem Options

[jebbels]

I'm trying to record my band, mostly for a demo but if it turns out OK we'll also press some cds. I recently bought the Tascam US 122 hoping that I could use the version of Cubase that came with it. I expected a paired down version, but it said on the add that it could record 64 tracks. After reading the manual it appears that most of those tracks are midi related (which I have no use for.) It only records 7 mono audio tracks. Does any one know if it is possable to upgrade this version, or to bounce tracks like you would on a 4 track tape recorder? Or can you have more than 1 track on an audio channel in Cubase? I messed around with Audacity which is a free shareware program and it seemed ok. It has unlimited tracks and you can use vst effects. Is there an advantage to using Cubase(even with it's limited tracks) over Audacity? We don't have much money, so I'm looking for the best option. Could a Cubase expert out there clue me in. I also keep seeing adds for Cubase 5.0 for $89.00 at musicsoftwaresuperstore.com. Is that the same version that I have, or does that have more tracks? My mac runs both OS9.2 and OSX jag so if there's a cheap option, and I mean cheap, I'm open to suggestions.

[xingu]

I have a US-428 that came with the same OEM version of Cubasis, which is really only designed to give you a feel for how Cubase works but has enough limitations that you spend money to upgrade to the "full" version. Sure, you can bounce tracks. I have no experience with Cubasis/Cubase, but say you have the full 8 tracks - then do whatever it is they call it - bounce, mix down, export, etc. and then use the resulting combined track to add more stuff to. No, I don't see how you'd have more than 1 audio channel on a given track, but bouncing should take care of you.
As for Audacity, again no experience, but if it's doing what you want it to, then use it. I don't believe it has MIDI capabilities, but if you don't need them then Audacity might be nice. Plus it'll run in OSX.
The Cubase 5 you're looking at is an older fuller version (you won't see the OEM Cubasis for sale separately) - but if you look, that place only has the PC version only. Cubase SE/SL/SX are the current versions that run on OSX.
Another cheap alternative is Metro 6 SE - about $80 but it only has 4 audio tracks. You could do the bounce thing, but if all you need is audio, I don't see any reason not to just keep using Audacity until you find that it's not doing something you need it to.

[jebbels]

Thanks for your response xingu, that was really helpful. I have one other question, and forgive me if this is a dumb question. Is there a difference in the quality of recording from one program to an other. i.e. can Cubase or say protools free or which ever program capture a higher quality sound than any other program, or is it the same digital information regardless of the program? And also is there a diffrence in the output quality? If there isn't, I'm probably going to stick with Audacity just because of the amount of tracks it has available.

[xingu]

I've heard people claim differences between the audio quality of programs relating to audio engines and algorithms and other things I don't understand, but I think in general, there shouldn't be any huge variance. Your primary consideration should be the quality of gear you're using to get the audio into the computer - namely your microphones, audio interface and its A/D converters, preamps, etc. From my understanding, the main difference in output between programs comes after any processing - so what plug-ins you use can effect quality. But now I'm getting into areas that are over my head, so I'll just bow out from here....