I am looking to set up a home studio, and am trying to understand all that's involved. I have started collecting elements slowly and have a Mackie 1202, condenser mic, and Cubase VST. I will using this on a 366 mHz iBook with 196 RAM and 10 gb drive. Yes, I realize I might need a Firewire hard drive at some point. And I'll probably be purchasing a desktop G4 fairly soon. I'll be recording instrumentals (solo, multi-tracking) on guitar, flute and keyboard. I'd like to have the option of including MIDI at some point.
I assume my next puchase needs to be a USB A/D/A converter. I'd like to keep costs around $250-300 (probably by buying used).
I've been checking out the Midiman Quattro and the Tascam 428. Am I on the right track regarding what I need to get started? Do these perform similar functions?
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Joe S.

There is a multitude of USB options available, most of which have been discussed in these forums - have a scout around under topics such as "newbie needs help" or some such title.

As for your choices so far, be aware that a lot of people complain about M-Audio products (the new name for Midiman), especially the Quattro. The 428 is pretty good and there's also the smaller bus-powered 224. How about Edirol's UA-5 or the forthcoming UA-20? I know the UA-5 gives a good sound - in a comparison with the 224, I preferred the results of the UA-5 and I know that the 224 and the 428 have exactly the same components.

The UA-5 has no Midi but a better range of connectivity ports, while the UA-20 will have Midi but less connection options. Out at the end of the month, I believe. I think a good compromise is separate interfaces - one for audio, one for Midi.

And if you need a USB hub after all this, try the Griffin Technology 4-Port Audio Hub. Apparently it's been optimised for audio work. Whether this really makes any difference, I don't know, but I've had one on my desk for a couple of weeks and I don't have any complaints with its performance.

Good luck choosing - I know what a minefield all this can be when you first get into it!

I know there's conflicting info. out there on the Quattro, so I can only speak from personal experience (and note that I'm completely new to Macs and recording, digital or otherwise).

After fiddling around for about a month with no luck, I sent my Quattro back. If you care to read about any particulars of my problems, see: http://www.macmusic.org/agora/forums/index...T&f=1&t=2535&s=

I decided on the Tascam US-428, mostly because it gave me 4 audio inputs and two MIDI ports in one package. I got it this past weekend and have not experienced any problems yet. Not sure if this applies to you, but it's been particularly nice, especially not being an avid Mac user, that I have everything running fine in OSX with Reason 2.0 and Deck 3.5. Now I just have to decypher the software! Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. Very helpful.
As a result, I have been looking more carefully at the Edirol products. The UA-20 seems like a good option for me. Both audio and MIDI, low cost, and 24 bit processing (see, I did learn something from previous posts). The only problem is finding one.
Joe S

The UA-20 is supposed to be out by the end of August - that may mean mid-September, of course, but it took me nearly six months to finally decide on a USB interface, so surely another month can't be too long to wait!

Give Edirol a ring and get the latest news - 0845 117 2001 if you're in the UK. If not, check their website (edirol.com). They're always very chatty whenever I've called them with a long list of questions.

just a quick note on Edirol... I personally would stay away from them. Not that their products are horrible but I found out a couple years ago that they are a PC first and Mac last company. Meaning... they develop stuff for PC first and later if they can make it work... they port it to the mac. I had been interested in one of their audio interfaces and emailed them about support for Macs... well all they were willing to tell me was "it should work on Macs but they couldn't confirm it and couldn't offer much help with Mac related questions. Then after researching more... it seemed to me that their products were not really cheap when you look at features and what some of the other interfaces offered for less.

point being... if you look around like samash.com or musiciansfriend.com you can find better choices for the money... but that's just my opinion for what its worth

That's interesting - I've always found Edirol very helpful, even when they know full well I'd rather be found dead in a ditch than using a Windows PC for music. Certainly, some of the Edirol folk I've spoken to have obviously been using PCs at home, but their USB interface gear still works for me. This is Roland gear, effectively, so it's rock-solid in performance.

Also, as far as I know Edirol produced the very first USB audio drivers for the Mac platform, so respect to them for that. I don't think they ignore the Mac at all - and anyway, we Mac addicts do represent just 5% of the computing world. I think virtually every company develops for the PC market over the Mac. No wonder we get ignored sometimes - Windows has had Cubase SX for months now. Maybe that's positive karma for losing Logic.

Whatever, Edirol's OS X drivers are coming soon, no doubt to coincide with the major sequencers appearing for OS X. The next few months will be glorious for all of us looking to make the permanent switch to OS X, whatever products you prefer.

Id say go for the Quattra, instead of the US428.

First off you already have a mixer.
You will get better sound through the Quattra, and be happier over all with you music.

The only thing I like the US428 for is its a really inexpencive Control surface.
They audio quality lacks, as does the MIDI but being able to use it for transport and fader levels, and FX sends is cool.

You won't be able to do that with you 1202 but hey you'll like what comes out of the 1202 and Quattra