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[chanzilla]

For Christmas, I want to give my teen daughter a "portable music studio." I'm not rich, but she has shown great promise in the studio, so I want to encourage her even more with the perfect gift.

Here is where I am. I am donating my Pismo 500 with Jaguar. I will upgrade to Panther if highly recommended. Um, that's as far as I got so far .

Here's what I'm aiming for. If she gets a tune forming in her head, I'd like for her to open up the Pismo, launch an app, and start fingering the notes together with an instrument of her choice. She can record the simple tune, and play it back for review, change the instrument on the melody if she wants to. She can create another track for drums, etc. Once she has her draft version, she can save the file or burn it to CD (there's a modular burner I picked up on eBay) to share. Is this possible? Can it be that simple, or is there a learning curve?

She does have a nice Yamaha keyboard I gave her last Christmas, which she enjoys and has shown enthusiastic talent for. It has a MIDI port, and I know I'm going to have to dish out for a USB-MIDI interface -- any recommendations? While she already has a music keyboard, I want her to be able to create on the road with just the laptop, if possible.

Also, if she wants to add vocals or a non-digital instrument (my acoustic guitar, for example), is it hard to do? Can she just plug into the mic jack?

What is a good program for recording music tracks? For a beginner with room to grow? Does it take more than one program to do what I described above? Where can I go to learn more about how all this stuff works?

By the way, if you haven't figured it out, I know NOTHING about music production. I am a mac addict, but that's about it. I need to learn just enough to help her get started. I appreciate any help, advice, suggestions, links, references, whatever you can provide to a fish out of water.

[rickenbacker]

Well, Reason is fine software, but quite expensive to start with and not spectacularly easy on the CPU. Live definitely is not easy on the CPU. I have both programs, so I know what it's like running a full song.

Also, you cannot record ANY audio into Reason, nor can you expand the program with plug-ins (ie add on other instruments or effects) in the future. You get what you're given. Granted, what it comes with is pretty good quality, so you can get a song going instrumentally, but if all you want to do then is add a vocal, you need a whole different program just to record it.

Really, Reason is geared towards people making four-on-the-floor dance music or electronic experimental music, not piano and guitar-playing singer-songwriters. As soon as you actually want to record something live, Reason is useless to you. You can do rock/alternative music - Reason is just a tool, after all. But as soon as you want to stick on your guitar or vocals, forget it.

If you then buy Live to record audio alongside Reason's Midi, you've just bought two programs for $700. Why not buy Logic Audio and an audio/Midi interface for $500 or less in total? Then you've got everything in one place and you can record any kind of music that grabs you, no limits. Reason is cool, but not on its own.

I would argue that Logic is ultimately as easy - if not easier - on the CPU and more suited to chanzilla's daughter's needs. For under $200, he can buy audio recording and Midi sequencing software that will keep pace with his daughter's forays into songwriting for a couple of years, maybe more. If she gets really into it, she can upgrade Logic or buy other software to complement it.

You also get three synths included (bass, lead and pad), which are pretty good and built right into the code of Logic. You also get all the FX processing plug-ins to produce a great mix (reverb, overdrive, chorus and lots more). Plus you can add on any plug-ins or soft synths you like in the future (if you have a Mac that can handle it) and you can ReWire Reason to it, if you end up buying that in the future.

OK, chinzilla will also have to spring for an audio interface, but his daughter probably needs one of them regardless. Using the Mac's built-in sound is a frustrating, disappointing business. Tascam do a good range (the US-122, 224 or 428 - the 122 is $150 or so), as do Edirol - avoid M-Audio products, to be honest.

Yep, the Pismo's CPU is going to take a beating whatever program it runs. Maxing out on RAM is definitely a wise move, whether your Mac is brand new or 5 years old.

The Computer Music magazine tip is a good one - they have produced a series of free instruments that would be worth checking out to start with, all of which are usually on the cover CD every month. That might be a good place to test the water.

It's a complex business, this computer music lark, and no mistake.