Mac Mini + Live Multitrack Recording Options

[Quintron]

Hi All, glad to have found this knowledgable spot!
First off I know hardly anything about Macs except they have a good track record as stable units good with audio applications.

As I'm sure is the case with many others I have become enamoured with the new Mac Mini but am wondering if it will be sufficent for what I need.

I run a small Jazz CLub in Ireland and for a long time was considering a laptop to record live gigs there. I was looking at Macs and PC laptops, but on a budget of next to nothing with the venue, all desirable options were off limits.

With this new machine there is some hope. I am looking at the 1.4Ghz mac mini with 512MB RAM option. I would also get an Edirol FA-101 usb capture card and was wondering how good these would be at live multitrack recording using Logic or Cubase (Have both). I would need to record usually up to 6 Mic imputs or 4 MIc ins with maybe 2-3 Line ins at a push. The usual setup for a night is about that. Sometimes less. Mix it down when I get home. What can I expect from this box with the FA-101 (or indeed a cheaper alternative if anyone knows??)?

Any options / help / advice greatly appreciated!

One of the sellers of this for me is that it would also be an excellent replacement for my ailing PC at home.
Adding a KVM switch I'd have the best of both worlds. Not a laptop, but a unit in the two places I need it most. (Its' lighter to transport than a lot of Laptops) and a hell of a lot cheaper!

If my above expectations are unrealistic then caould anyone suggest the max abilities of this unit for live recording. I could work something out.

Sorry for the barage of questions.

Cheers in advance,
Quintron.

[Quintron]

Hi again all,
ALl I can say about Mac Mini is that a lot of my friends use Powerbooks and ibooks to multitrack record gigs between 4-8 instruments and they have never had any complaints. The Mac Mini while underspecced compared to an iMac etc is somewhere between an ibook and a powerbook (with 512 ram min) in terms of its innards so I really don't see it as a problem for recording. I too have gone off the Edirol in favour of the firepod for the 8 X bal channels and recommended preamps.

I'm going to go for it with this set up.

Mac is ordered and I'm getting the firepod in a few weeks. I really dont see it as a problem for recording.
Its not a top specced setup by any means BUT it is adequate and that really is sufficent for what I need.

I would recommend an external HD to record but even adding all of these items up you still save over the laptop counterparts provided you have a Monitor and keyboard lying spare which a lot of folks seem to have.

Will it multi track record live? From what I've scoured all over the net and firsthand info from experienced users.
It will.
Thats all I require, in fact while not ideal you could get quite decent results with an even lower specced machine.
People have been live recording and pushing their macs for years.

The only thing I'm confused about is the direct monitoring aspect on say a Firepod. If I send all my imputs to the firepod to record and then send the signal out of the firepod and into individual channels on the desk for a seperate live mix, does the direct monitoring mean that this method doesn't tax the processor to much hence the "no latency direct monitoring label"?

All the Best,
Q.