iMic vs. iVoice vs. 4-Track tape for demos

[druber]

Long-time musician, Mac-user, and poet. Tired of writing lyrics and sending them off to musician-friends and hoping they'll find a direction to take. I'd like to set up a very small and simple (read inexpensive) recording studio just to do demos and fool around a bit. I'd like to do it on my Mac so I can send out mp3s when I'm through and can fool around with more tracks than just 4 in getting stuff down. Minimal fx and whatever. Looking for a pragmatic setup that can help me learn basic recording stuff and push my musical knowledge as well.

I'm looking at either iMic/iVoice to import audio to a software app or just go for a tape-driven 4-track. No way I can afford a MOTU solution, though of course I'd prefer FW to USB. I think I could make either one "work", as far as that goes, and I'm certainly not afraid of going low-tech. Any advice you care to drop on the newbie?

[macmidi]

try reading this string:

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/Forum19/HTML/000367.html

[druber]

I'd actually already read that thread, just by luck. I'll probably go 4-track tape, just for simplicity's sake. Thanks for the redirect, tho.

[CleanBlues]

druber,
if you really want to end up with mp3 files, you might want to look into the inexpensive ways to record via you Mac.

The Free version of Pro Tools would give you an intro to recording/mixing, and you would be digital from the start, making the conversion to mp3 files easy. Granted, you can still run a line out from a tascam 4-track into your Mac (if have a friend who does this), but you're going to pay a few hundred for a decent tape 4-track. If you already have an amp with a line-out, you could go direct into the Mac and Pro Tools...

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm just as much a newbie as druber. I've decided to go with the Pro Tools method via the DG Stomp (or a POD, still have some testing to do). I've been told that my blue and white G3 won't require me getting the iMic, just a 1/4" to 1/8" coverter.

-Jim
cleanblues

[druber]

I'm even more old school than you are, actually. I'm running an old Umax clone with a G3 card stuck in it. I'm also partly relying on my Dad, who's a musician, for a component or two. I know he has an old mixer that isn't used often, but I'm not sure I could steal it for months at a time. I guess this is what I get for always using borrowed equipment: I finally need it all and I have to practically start from scratch.

An iMic/iVoice would make a simple addition later on if I bought a tape recorder now. Guess I'm also a little confused about hard drive speeds et al. Every once in a while Apple runs a story about some band that does recording stuff on their TiBook, which have, what, 4200rpm drives? But then I hear people say you need at least a 7200rpm drive for decent performance. I actually have a 7200rpm drive, though it's only on a fast scsi bus. Is it more a matter of scale--for X many tracks you need X bandwidth--er whut?