Ed,
I actually left PT 7 to go to Sonar because it was such a drag on my machine, Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2 gigs of Ram, dedicated hard drives, XP Pro, etc. I couldn't keep a session running long enough to be useful, and without it crashing, so I gave up on it, and went to Sonar. Have had absolutely no problems since.

Chappy, if you have a desktop, I would recommend a Behringer UB802 mixer (inexpensive, but very functional) and a M-Audio 2496 PCI card. Connect the two together, and you'll have an awesome audio interface that will allow you to record two mic ins, and several stereo pair in, meaning your guitars, vocals and SD2 can all be recorded at the same time. Of course, I would record each track individually, but some don't want to do that.

Real Band will handle that set up very nicely, giving you a wide range of options.

You can go with a USB audio interface, PG Music sells the Roland UA1-EX, I think it is, for about $79. Paired with the aforementioned UB802 it will also give you just as good a system for recording two channels at a time.

I've looked, and it appears the UB802 may be discontinued, but Amazon still has some, Guitar Center has them.

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UB802-Eurorack-Mixer-Inputs/dp/B0002JF5CM

For $50, it's not a bad deal. I know, I have one, have used it for years, and although I've upgraded to a 16 channel Yamaha, I still find uses for my Behringer.

In either of the scenarios I've given you, you're at or below $150, not including tax or shipping. That isn't really bad for all you're getting.

Gary

Last edited by Gary Curran; 05/07/09 12:46 PM.
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!