To tell the truth I don't know why you don't just download Audacity. Only it does not work with midi. Audio only. But it's totally free and has a ton of bells and whistles you can use or not use. There are some features about Audacity I can post here:
    1. It's free.

    2. It has a ton of rather techy plugins you can download if you need them.

    3. It will record audio just as well as some of the best programs I've used.

    4. It has noise removal and does it so well I use it for that all the time on my recorded tracks.

    5. You can slide your audio tracks around by default.

    6. Great for cleaning out between track areas because you can expand the tracks verticle and horizontal.
There are tons of other things I can think of but for simplicity this will do.

Powertracks main drawback is it will not handle outboard equipment like Sonar and other biggies like that. But:
    1. It is one of the best midi controllers around.

    2. It is a powerful audio tool.

    3. Has the TCHelicon built into it for making harmony tracks.

    4. Has a piano roll editor. An excellent one, I might add.

    5. Has a host of midi/audio plugins.

    6. Does handle most VST/VSTi plugins. (This is where PTW falls down is in handling VST)

    7. It will do mono or stereo tracks

    8. Is a simple program to run and operate.

    9. Very inexpensive. Around $50 now, I believe.
I don't know what the future holds for PTW but it was just recently updated so that it will send the TCHelicon to the new Real Band program.

The biggest problem with PTW (and Real Band as well) is the lack of handling outboard equipment such as, mixers and the like. Will not run heavy duty controled programs like Jam Stix.

Now for the money and what you can produce with it Real Band is the killer program. With it you can create your music like Band in a box does, then edit it with the audio/midi side like PTW does only way more powerful.

The use of Real Instruments makes it almost a must have for musicians. With Real Band you have a full blown arranger DAW. The price varies from a little around $100 all the way up to high $500 or so. Just depends on what you want it to come with. I highly recommend this program to anybody on this planet. With Real Band you have it all.

Just my 2¢ worth. Others mileage my avary.

Russ
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