Which Audio Interface?, FW or USB 2? Options

[timski]

I am in the process of starting up and wanted some advice on audio interfaces.
I have a 1Ghz G4 Powerbook (2x USB 2 ports, 1x Firewire 400) with Jaguar (may be getting Panther soon, however) and am planning to run Logic Express, recording mostly audio (vocals, guitars and old keyboards) with some MIDI. I do not require surround sound and do not plan to use any extra hardware (MIDI devices, mixers, etc) other than a MIDI controller keyboard.
Do I really need Firewire or is USB sufficient? The M-audio 410 looks nice but I have reservations about the fact that I'd have to keep it switched on all the time as this really isn't feasible - I require portability and use my PB for much more than just music. Furthermore, I may eventually want to record live drums and wasn't sure if the 410 would give me enough inputs.
There are a lot of cheap USB interfaces like the Tascam US-122 and the Audiophile Pre - would one of these be sufficient?
Finally - I will be getting an external HD, preferably Firewire. Can I run this at the same time as a 410, or could I get away with a USB 2 HD?

As I said I'm just starting out (although have some experience with recording using Cubasis and EMU APS on a PC a few years ago) so don't need anything too fancy, but at the same time want gear that will last a long time and won't limit me in the future.

MANY THANKS!

Ce message a été modifié par timski - jeu. 6 mai 2004, 21:48.

[Riverdog]

Sorry wanted to pipe in on your other questions!

- Using FW410 for standard recording is good... If you're going to try to cram a drumset through it, you will only have 4 inputs to work with... This doesn't mean you can't get a mixer and mix multiple mics of "cymbals" into one channel and multiple mics of "toms" into the second and so forth... It just depends on your method of recording...

- If you're going to record more "professional" projects (And I use that term "loosly" here), You'll probably want to go with a better performance FireWire interface.... But just because USB is slower doesn't mean you get "less quality"... It just means you don't get as many options...

- Not sure about the Hard Drive - FireWire hard drives are great... And I'm sure the USB 2.0 hard drives will record fine with your PowerBook as well... It's your choice... But personally I always try to leave the audio interface on it's own bus just for "posterity"... If you get a 410 - Go with a 2.0 USB Hard drive... it should work great... If you go with USB - Shoot for a FW hard drive... Understand - I've only been using FW Hard Drives until now... But I'm sure the choice is yours... Remember - the more audio tracks and channels you run - the more load on your interface and port you're going to use - Keep it as clean as possible for the best possible sound...