Suggestions Please, What hardware/software Options

[BobAdamson]

Hello musicmakers,

I have a few questions before I get into the meat of the subject. I am a long time Mac user (][e). My wife has a 17" Powerbook. My kids all have iMacs or Ibooks. The house is wireless. I purchased iLife to play around with GarageBand. Just as I was starting to get into it, my wife complains that she can no longer get on her Mac. See, I have my office at home and unfortunately, MY computer is a Dell. So, to keep the peace (and avoid buying another Mac for now), can anyone suggest something that might work well (I know that is redundant) on Windows?

I am a long time amatuer guitarist/keyboardist/singer/songwriter. My wife is a teacher. What I want is some kind of setup that allows me to record a few back up tracks to accompany live playing. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but I might want to do more than that, who knows? So, any suggestions?

[pdgood]

I would recommend Metro if they make it for PC (I'm not sure if the do or not). It is a wonderful, inexpensive sequencer. Whoever is running their business does a great job too...you can actually reach people and get answers to specific questions from the experts themselves. Most companies, reserve tech support for those that have already purchased and sometimes it can be tough getting a timely response. When I was shopping for sequencers, I e-mailed with several questions and got immediate and informative answers. They have three different versions from inexpensive, to ridiculously cheap - but of course you lose features as you go down in price. Still, it's nice to have options. Something to consider....