Currenlty, I run Cubase on Windows, hosting a variety of VST instruments, Native Instruments Kontact, GForce, etc. I have an old Aardvark sound card (that should tell you how old this set-up is), and am currently running the outputs to a 16 track mixer.

What I would like to do is this: replace the mixer with an on-board solution---something like RME?---get rid of Windows, for a variety of reasons, and maintain my VSTi's since I've paid for these.

I am looking at the Mac platform because I cannot find any realistic support for the VST instruments on a pure Linux platform, but perhaps I'm wrong about this?

Anyway, I am hopeful that some kind soul (or kind souls) on this Forum can make some constructive recommendations.

1) My budget is somewhat liberal; I don't expect to do this on the cheap.
2) My primary concerns are reliability and expansion capabilities.
3) Most of the music that I create is MIDI driven; I do play guitars (bass and six string) on some pieces, but am primarily sample/synth based.
4) I am keen to learn new software, and I am thinking that Logic + Reason might be a good starting point.

Any ideas, suggestions, or recommendations are welcome.

Thank you, in advance

Tom R

Aloha Tom! i been using Logic/Rason for years and love it! on the interface i like having the option to use it as a control surface , and quit mousing around,here is one http://www.audiolines.com/Studio-Recording...ref=Jemsite.com

I guess that I need to know some basic facts:

For instance, can I run this without having a dedicated hard drive? I'm thinking of going to a Firewire or a USB Audio Interface instead of a PCI. Will this software work with M-Audio or RME?

I guess I'm looking for possible machine configurations ... I'm not a hardware guy.

In any event: it is good to hear that at least it works for some.

TomR

Hey tom,you dont need a dedicated hard drive , but is good to have one foe all your music files, and yes Logic pro and Reason work well ,wiith MAudio interfaces

Thank you. I suspected that was the case.

I guess that the only question remaining is whether looking into a Mac Mini, in order to conserve space, or a Power Book, or, again, just a regular tower. I would prefer the space savings afforded by the Mini (loaded with 8 GB of RAM, I assume), but am would feel better if anyone had any practical experience with this particular box running Logic and/or ProTools.

Again, thank you for your response.

TomR