I've done some recording with Audacity and Garage band 1, but now I'm ready to move up a notch. I record only classical guitar. I just purchased a matched pair of Rode NT5s and upped the memory on my G4 iMac (OS 10.2.8) to 768K. My mic pre amp is an M-audio mobile pre. I'd like to record true two track and do mastering. Any way I look at it I have to buy some stuff, but I'm having trouble deciding what.
I could buy an MBox and delve into Pro Tools, but I'm scared of the learning curve.
I could buy Tracktion, but that requires OS 10.3 and I'm not sure it has any mastering functions. I could also buy a Spike. It includes Tracktion, but I don't know if it would be that much better than my mobile pre.
I could buy the new iLife and use Garageband 2. Again, mastering? Requires OS update.
What have I left out? What options do you all think would work best? I like intuitive solutions better than more powerful, but dificult to use options. Ultimately, I just want to be able to put out nice guitar recordings.
Thanks!
Mike