What’s in 8.0.1

If you’re an existing Pro Tools 8 owner, you’ll want 8.0.1:

• Improved interface performance (“snappiness”!)
• Improved selection drawing in audio
• Workflow improvements, fixes

Those of you who grabbed the update in the last week or two, I’ll be curious to hear what you’ve found in some of those subtler improvements. Avid, to their credit, does do a lot of work on these point releases, not only in bugfixes but in other improvements, as well.

Software update for 8.0.1 (LE + HD + M-Powered)

End of the Line

Pro Tools 8.0.1 is the end of the road for quite a range of "legacy" hardware. 8.0.1 (in one or several of its LE, HD, and M-Powered flavors) will be the last version to support:

• Original Mbox
• Expansion|HD Chassis
• Macintosh PowerPC Computers
• Pro Tools MIX-era Peripherals

See last week’s End of Software Support announcement. Now, I suppose you can look at this as glass-half-empty or glass-half-full; it means if you have a studio with that gear in it and a PowerPC-based Mac at its center, you have a stable, modern, brisk version of Pro Tools that could last you a while.

PowerPC support is generally waning; Apple also dumped PowerPC for its own Logic. But there’s still a surprising amount of life in the processor. MOTU’s Digital Performer 7, released this week (news story on that coming) will actually run on a 1 GHz G4; see their System Requirements. I wouldn’t recommend that system, necessarily, but if you’ve got a fast Mac tower with a PowerPC, it could still make a fine studio machine. And DP7 is also compatible with Pro Tools HD, including Pro Tools 8. Ableton Live, also popular around these parts, also still runs on a PowerPC.

New OSes? Not Yet.

Absent from the 8.0.1 update is support for either Snow Leopard (Leopard only is supported) on the Mac side or Windows 7. Now, in fairness, Windows 7 isn’t even shipping yet, though in stark contrast to Vista’s RTM version, developers I’ve talked to have found their software runs without modification – and can run better without intervention than under the previous Vista release, which is something that almost never happens.

Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem, but it does mean that studios with “legacy” gear could wind up with a version that doesn’t support Mac OS X 10.6 or Windows 7, if 8.0.1 is in fact the last version of that gear. It obviously won’t matter for the PowerPC Macs, since they run neither Windows nor Snow Leopard, but I can imagine some folks with the HD chassis or MIX peripherals who won’t be thrilled. It’s a small handful of people, but – well, before you complain in comments, yep, I’ve figured it out, too.

It’s been one of the few constants in music technology. To use Pro Tools software, you need Pro Tools hardware – that means M-Audio interfaces for M-Powered (and now Essentials) and Digidesign interfaces for LE and HD. Without M-Audio or Digidesign hardware actively plugged in, the software refuses to run. And there’s no way for a third party to get their audio hardware working with the software.

Or so everyone thought. Without the cooperation of Avid, Mackie says they have managed to get their Onyx-i mixer line working with Pro Tools, and they’ll even “certify” compatibility. At the end of July, a number of audio sites (including Mix and Sonic State, but not CDM) received a package with one of Mackie’s new mixers, a video, and a copy of Pro Tools M-Powered. The message: a “secret” driver provided compatibility between Mackie’s mixer-audio interface package and Pro Tools. (See Sonic State’s writeup.)

So, what’s going on?

Onyx-i – What’s “i”mproved

Before I get into that, first, a word about Mackie’s new Onyx-i mixers. Viral videos aside, I already know many CDM readers don’t actually like Pro Tools, and the Onyx-i has plenty of other features to recommend it. The original Onyx was already an interesting solution, with the potential to combine a full-blown Mackie mixer with a FireWire audio interface. But the hardware was bulky, and adding FireWire support required buying and installing a separate add-in card.

The Onyx-i solves both problems. The entry-level Onyx 820i model adds a compact, inexpensive (street just US$500) 8-channel by 2-channel output option. Also, all of the new Onyx line (up to the 16×16 1640i) have FireWire built-in – no expansion needed. The line still has a rather hefty bulge that sits below the mixers, but at least with the addition of the 820i, there’s an option I could imagine throwing in a backpack. (That’s good news, I think there are more scenarios where you might want simple mixing than need to lug around a 16×16 mixer-interface.) The cheaper Onyx-i models are also competition for the Cakewalk VS-100 I reviewed recently. The Onyx lacks the VS control surface, flash recorder, and the Cakewalk software bundle, but if you were more interested in the mixer to begin with, the Onyx series could be worth a look.

At the high end, the 1640i can stream full 16 x 16 audio channels in and out of your DAW.

The Onyx also makes “universal” compatibility a selling point, and that’s where this Pro Tools saga comes in. The Onyx-i is “qualified for use with all major DAWs,” including Logic, SONAR, Cubase, Ableton Live, and … Pro Tools M-Powered 8. Of course, the last entry was assumed to be technically impossible, and Avid has, to my knowledge, never been compatible with any hardware other than their own. (The only exception I can recall is the brief availability of something called Pro Tools FREE, which worked with standard audio drivers and cost nothing, though it had a number of other limitations.)

Mackie’s announcement came with this disclaimer:

The Onyx-i Series Mixers are qualified by Mackie for use with Pro Tools® M-Powered™ 8. Mackie will release a driver (via www.mackie.com) together with full details of how to use the Onyx-i series with Pro Tools® M-Powered™ 8 in the coming weeks.

Avid has declined to comment for the time being on the Onyx-i compatibility claim, though they at least confirmed that they were not involved.

Shaunna Thompson of Mackie emphasized to CDM that there was “no reverse engineering” involved in creating the Onyx-i driver for Pro Tools M-Powered, and that they were “in discussions” with Avid but could not comment further on those discussions or how Avid would respond.

Conventional wisdom about Avid and Pro Tools has been that hardware “lock-in” – the reliance on their hardware – is good for their business. That may well be, and I do believe in hardware choice; it’s part of why Pro Tools hasn’t ever been my main DAW. I do have to point out, though, that every other audio software maker, from big developers to people maintaining open source software, will tell you compatibility is a huge pain. Massive amounts of time get spent on testing and compatibility, particularly when you start combining different operating systems and different combinations of hardware and drivers. So there’s no question that the other thing Avid has been able to do is to reduce some of that complexity, some of the additional sources of support problems, and all the costs associated with both.

But that made me all the more curious about just how the Onyx-i support works.

Q&A with Mackie

CDM: Can you comment on the inclusion of Pro Tools M-Powered?

Mackie: The “Ransom Packages” that were sent out as part of a viral campaign included a copy of Pro Tools^® M -Powered^™ 8. However, the mixers do not come with a copy of Pro Tools; users will need to purchase this separately.

CDM: I’m sure you can’t talk about all the details, but is there anything you can say about how the M-Powered support was reverse-engineered?

Mackie: Mackie did not ‘reverse engineer’ support for Pro Tools M-Powered 8. We created a custom universal driver that enables use with all major DAWs including Pro Tools^® M -Powered^™ 8.

CDM: For that matter, at the risk of asking the obvious, why would Mackie want to support Pro Tools given support for other hosts and your own DAW (Tracktion)?

Mackie: The Onyx-i Series interfaces with all major DAW’s including Pro Tools^® M -Powered^™ 8 and our very own Tracktion Software. Our customers have been telling us for years that they want a mixer that can interface with Pro Tools^® – we are simply giving our customers what they want. 

CDM: Aside from the Pro Tools questions, I’m a little unclear – what’s new in the "-i" versus the original Onyx predecessors?

Mackie: The biggest difference is that the Onyx-i Series has deep FireWire integration. Now you don’t have to buy a separate FireWire card because it’s already built into the mixer offering a significant increase in performance and value over the older Onyx Compact Series. This effectively means you get a premium analog mixer AND an ultra-high quality digital interface. These are the tools you need for serious computer recording.

Every channel on the mixers can be routed pre- or post- EQ to the computer, allowing the user to choose whether to implement EQ to tape or not. Returns from you computer can be routed back through the channel strip for integration into the mix or for mastering the Perkins EQ.

So, Does it Matter?

It seems that if this had happened a few years ago, it might have been explosive news, which is not the sense I got with Mackie’s attempt to “go viral” with that guy, his little dog, and his pantyhose mask. Then again, I’d better not speak too soon, lest I wind up with 100 comments on this post…

For many users, people who want hardware choice may already have found DAWs with which they’re happy. Pro Tools has its loyal users, and people make great music with it – it just happens that the same can be said of Ableton Live, Apple Logic, Reaper, and many others (just in descending order of recent reader interest on this site). And, of course, Mackie also makes their own Tracktion. Mackie actually risks overshadowing the other news here – the ability to buy a single piece of gear that’s both a Mackie mixer and a FireWire audio interface for under $500.

On the other hand, it’d be a fairly significant acheivement to release this driver, and perhaps even to get Avid’s support. And while I had to ask the question above, of course, Mackie wouldn’t do this if they weren’t getting customers bugging them for it. That’s why interoperability ultimately matters: users want certain choices, and (perhaps rightfully) don’t understand why they might be denied those choices.

I’m going to place the burden on Avid on this one, for one reason: Avid claims “interoperability” is one of their new corporate goals. It’s never been entirely clear what they mean. Some of that goal seems to have more to do with interoperability between products in their own product line. (In fairness, that seems a logical place to start!) So I hope whenever Avid and Mackie do finish their discussions, whatever Avid’s decision, we get clear communication for exactly what the “new” Avid’s interoperability goals are. If they feel they have a case for not supporting hardware like Mackie’s, that’s their prerogative. I’d just like to see clear communication from either company, to explain to their user base why they make those choices.

And, of course, I don’t expect that communication from either Mackie or Avid will come from anyone wearing a mask and a disguised voice.

I’ll be watching for the outcome of the discussions between these two industry giants. Stay tuned.

I know some people were wondering about this – it’s now official. Digidesign reports Pro Tools 8 is actually shipping now, with the integrated MIDI edit window, score notation editor (via recently-acquired Sibelius) right in the DAW, bundled instruments and synths, some amp simulation, “Elastic Pitch,” and additional insert slots.

None of this is huge news to users of competitive products, with the notable exception of Sibelius notation integration. I’m very keen to hear how people actually use that, because the score facilities in tools like Logic aren’t competitive with favored tools like Sibelius and Finale, in my experience. On the other hand, many people are perfectly happy keeping their scoring and audio editing workflows separate from one another – particularly if you’re using Pro Tools for audio editing and Sibelius to write that new string quartet. So as this ships, do let us know how you’re using it, or if it’s a non-starter.

So, what does it cost to upgrade?

Pro Tools HD 8 Upgrade: $249 US
Pro Tools LE/M-Powered Upgrade: $149 US
Pro Tools M-Powered Full Version: $299 US (for use with M-Audio audio interfaces)

If you bought Pro Tools systems or upgrades since October 3, the new release is (rightfully) free.

Of course, that still means you might still be tempted to just go buy one of the cheaper Mbox products with Pro Tools LE included. There are also upgrades for the Music and DV bundles.

Note compatibility: Vista SP1 (32-bit only, still no 64-bit) is supported, as is Mac OS X 10.5.5. 10.5.6 isn’t ready yet, and Vista requires Business or Ultimate, which as I said in the past I still find pretty odd given that Home Premium is basically identical from a support standpoint. (Digi’s choosing to be a bit literal with that.) On the other hand, only Leopard support is available, whereas on Windows XP Home and Professional remain supported with XP SP3.

Once this arrives, I’ll be curious to hear about you. I’m happy doing my work in SONAR and Live at the moment, so I don’t think I’d be a fair judge, but someone who uses Pro Tools daily would be. Be in touch.

Pro Tools 8 Shipping [News @ Digidesign.com]

7.4.2 Announcement – download is right there [Digidesign]

That’s the good news. The bad news is, your plug-ins may not yet be along for the ride. Digidesign reports some current instruments and plug-ins may be “incompatible.” Based on other reports, I assume this means it’ll run, but may either cause instability or sub-par audio performance.

Digi is maintaining a plug-in compatibility page for Leopard.

Here’s the other bad news news: for the most part, that’s just plug-ins that Digidesign ships directly. Some of them at least have updates, but some of Digi’s flagship instruments (Hybrid, Strike, Structure, Velvet, and others) are awaiting updates as of press time. Your third-party plug-ins require a whole separate set of compatibility checks.

At least what we’re generally hearing from readers is that the situation is getting better, not worse. I’m still far from being able to recommend Leopard, however, especially given the fact that Tiger remains such an adequate OS. Update: Digidesign tells us that they’ll be monitoring other third-party plug-ins on that page, as well.

FireWire Fixes (Non-Digidesign)

Via PowerPage, some users of Leopard are having FireWire connection dropouts. At least for this issue, though, there are some suggested fixes. The symptoms, as reported at MacFixIt:

After the installation of software updates, the FireWire ports on various Mac models may cease to properly function, not recognizing devices or exhibiting other issues. For some users, this has occurred with printer driver updates and for others it has occurred with the latest QuickTime update. One MacFixIt reader reinstalled Leopard and the problem still occurred.

FireWire connection dropouts: more fixes [MacFixIt]

That’s a pretty nasty issue, but it sounds different than the intermittent audio issues users here were reporting, so I don’t know how widespread it is or whether it’s related to problems CDM readers have had.

I’ve actually seen less documentation of the audio issues, which means, brave CDM readers – it’s up to you. You’re the ones pushing your Mac’s audio. So if you are still having issues, even with current drivers and 10.5.3, be sure to let us know exactly what your hardware and software configuration is.

The Digidesign Digi 003 is a strong value if you need this much mixing and I/O facility. But is it overkill for our reader Lynn?

Gear isn’t everything — but getting geared up is the one hurdle that can hold up beginners. In the Ask CDM series, we’ll be answering at random some of the questions we regularly get in our inbox. First up, Lynn Morgan, who’s ready to make the jump to digital. Lynn writes:

My questions will quickly [make it] apparent that I’m from the old “tape” school of recording. But nonetheless, I do understand sound recording to some degree, having recorded 5 long-play projects in “Guitar City”.

I want to set up a home studio where I can record my own tunes. I’ll use guitar, guitar synth, bass and some keyboards and, of course, my vocals. I want the sound to be totally professional and I want the ability to interface with other users of Pro Tools, for possibly background vocals or drums, etc.

My question is this, What do I really need for equipment? The 003 Digidesign looks impressive but what would I need beyond that?

It turns out Lynn isn’t currently a Pro Tools user, but she added this when pressed:

I want to set up a recording system that will not be outdated in 6 months and sound quality to equal the best out there. The transition from “tape” to digital they say has its advantages and disadvantages. I’m just not sure what I need in the “digital” world to make it all happen.

Good questions — and ones I expect will spur some reader comment, too. But let’s divide this up into some smaller questions and look at it that way. I did intend to answer just this sort of question with my book Real World Digital Audio, but there are some specifics I didn’t get into there, so we’ll look at the specific questions.

This wound up being a huge answer, but I know it’s a very Frequently Asked Question.

What do you need?

I think the best way to begin is to think through what you need to do and work backwards from there. With audio hardware, you’ll want to think literally to inputs and outputs and how much you’ll be recording at a time.

So, for Lynn, that’s:

• Guitar, bass: you’ll be either recording directly into the interface via a guitar input on the computer audio hardware, or using a mic like a Shure SM57 to mic the amp
• Guitar synth, keyboards: these all require line-level inputs. If they’re newer models, they may have USB connections so they can be plugged into a computer directly. If they’re older, they may require a MIDI interface
• Vocals: you’ll need a mic. I’m really pleased with my Beta 87C for vocals (pictured), but there are plenty of options here — you’ll want to try singing into mics you’re considering

That translates as wanting the following gear, at the very least:

• Computer audio interface with ample ins and outs and MIDI for these recording situations
• Computer software
• A control surface for providing some physical control (knobs, faders, transport buttons) over the recording
• Good studio-quality monitors (known to the rest of the world as “speakers”), plus headphones
• A vocal mic, and maybe a second mic for recording an amp
• You might also consider software effects, and particularly a guitar effects / amp simulator package

As it happens, the Digidesign 003 does cover the first three of these: it’s an audio interface, it includes computer software (Pro Tools LE), and it’s a control surface. But it’s just one option, and you want to make sure to budget for the other items if you don’t own them, which brings us to the next questions.

Don’t forget the mic! I really love my Beta 87C from Shure — it’s warm but precise, and has a pickup pattern that works well for a typical home studio setup. You can also take it on the road and use it live if you like. There are some cheaper alternatives to the Beta 87C; the easy advice is to try vocalizing into the mics and see which you like.

Should you use Pro Tools?

First, let’s clear up the myth: you don’t have to use Pro Tools — do it because you want to. Plenty of “professional” music is made on other systems, such as Apple Logic Pro (Mac), MOTU Digital Performer (Mac), Ableton Live (Mac/PC), Steinberg Cubase (Mac/PC), and Cakewalk SONAR (PC). There’s even free/open source software with similar capabilities (Ardour for Mac and Linux). I spent most of my time this year in SONAR, Live, and Logic Studio — but that’s a personal choice.

In this case, you’ll choose either Pro Tools or one of these alternatives based on several factors.

First, do you need Pro Tools to exchange files? It’s not strictly necessary for collaborators to use the same host as you — and you’ll still need to account for whether your collaborator has the same plug-ins you do. (If not, they’ll “bounce” the audio with the plug-ins they’re using so you’ll just get sound files on your machine.) That said, collaborating with other people who use the tool you do can be more convenient.

Second, what do you like using? It’s worth spending a few minutes giving the thing a test if you can, especially since you’re new. That should be first-hand testing with a friend nearby, not just a demo. I will say, I know a lot of people new to recording have been really happy with Pro Tools. I also know people who have been really happy with some of the alternatives.

Third, is Pro Tools the best value for you? I’ll talk a bit about that in the next section, but some people find that the choice of hardware that other software offers is a better deal. Others are perfectly happy with Pro Tools’ value proposition. So this comes back to some personal choice.

It’s also worth mentioning that other choices beyond Pro Tools open up greater hardware choice, and greater plug-in choice. The latter is really an objective difference, too, as Digidesign makes its plug-in developer tools harder to get at. That should mean that plug-ins for Pro Tools will have more quality control — weird free plug-ins for other systems can in fact cause your system to be unstable. But you have control over which plug-ins you install, so I think the main thing to consider here is that preference for usage style ultimately overrides everything else. Pro Tools users give up a little choice partly because they like the system so much.

The one thing not to do is to assume you need Pro Tools because other tools won’t “sound” as good, or are harder to use (that’s entirely dependent on taste), or aren’t “professional”, or that “no one uses them.” Truth is, any one of these tools will do the job, so this comes down to taste.

As far as the criteria of having the solution be future-proof and make good-quality sound, most of that is really a matter of tailoring your purchase to your musical needs and investing enough money and (more importantly) time working with the tools after you’ve got them.

It’s a big decision, so spend the time to make the right choice. At the same time, go ahead and make a choice — all of these tools work, and you’ll want to spend more of your time actually using them than just worrying about which one to use.

Apple Logic Studio — and many other tools — can do all the same basic tasks Pro Tools software can. The choice comes down to preference for working styles, what platform (Mac/PC) you’re using, and whether it’s important to you to be able to choose your own hardware and have greater plug-in choices.

Is the 003 overkill?

Now, to the core of this question: the 003 looks great in the ads and glossies, but what does Lynn really need?

Hardware + software: First, we have to back up into what “Pro Tools” means. Pro Tools is a different animal from its competitors in that it’s a combined hardware/software solution. Digidesign makes three classes of Pro Tools software, and it runs only in combination with hardware made by Digidesign to work with it:

• Pro Tools M-Powered: supported M-Audio audio interfaces (and the most choices available) — the “M” stands for M-Audio
• Pro Tools LE: 003, Mbox
• Pro Tools HD: Pro Tools HD hardware

With M-Powered, you buy hardware and software separately. With LE and HD, you can’t buy the hardware without getting the software, and you can’t buy the software without getting the hardware. That tends to make your first purchase more economical, but future purchases a little pricier if you need to switch audio interfaces. (You can buy software upgrades separate from hardware; that’s the one exception.)

Pro Tools M-Powered is Pro Tools software sold separately, for use with any M-Audio hardware you want. It’s not quite as much choice as you get with other music software, which will work with any  pro-grade hardware, not just one brand. But it could be the best tradeoff if you want to use Pro Tools but maintain some hardware flexibility.

LE vs. M-Powered vs. HD: LE and M-Powered are almost identical in their feature sets. You’ll sometimes get a slightly different mix of plug-ins with LE, but the only really significant difference is that LE versus M-Powered adds some desktop post production features for people working with video, which in this case probably doesn’t apply.

HD is much, much more expensive (thousands of dollars), but in case you’re interested, here’s what the difference is. On the HD line, Digidesign uses hardware to assist in processing audio, rather than using your computer’s CPU. This used to be a very big deal, because older computers weren’t powerful enough to do all the audio processing you might like. That’s no longer such an issue, so the differentiation in HD now is higher-end audio gear, more inputs and outputs, and, to some extent, a platform for higher-end software audio processing. The software has features similar to LE and M-Powered, but with more advanced capabilities for multiple tracks and routing, surround sound, sync and automation, and other features. (In fact, while they don’t support the same specs as the HD systems, even the LE and M-Powered systems are capable of recording audio that would theoretically be considered High Definition — just to make things really confusing.)

Fortunately, you don’t need to worry about HD — this is a battle between LE, M-Powered, and, well, things that aren’t Pro Tools.

Picking your tools: If you’re committed to going with Pro Tools, the 003 isn’t a bad option. It has loads of ins and outs, includes the software you’ll need in the box, and doubles as a motorized control surface.

But it is probably overkill. I’d suggest going instead with Pro Tools M-Powered and then mixing and matching the hardware you need. The $450 Fast Track Ultra plugs in via USB and gives you all the inputs and outputs you need. If you’re just recording your stuff solo, the $250 Fast Track Pro would be enough, because you don’t need to record simultaneously. Both of these have onboard MIDI connections for connecting older hardware. Yeah, you may be tempted to get Digidesign’s Mbox, which has Pro Tools LE already included. But I think spending a little extra to buy M-Powered and an audio interface separately will be worth it in flexibility.

We’re now at a fraction of the price of the 003, and unlike with the 003, you’ll be able to work on the road without lugging a giant piece of gear. (Pro Tools LE will refuse to run if it doesn’t spot approved Digidesign gear plugged into your audio interface — and in the case of the 003, that’s no small matter.) M-Powered will work with just a small USB key plugged in and an M-Audio interface. You have the choice of which M-Audio interface you buy, so while you still have to carry that to use Pro Tools, you have more options than you would even with an Mbox. (Of course, this is some of the appeal of other software systems, which let you use just an internal headphone jack on a laptop if you so desire.)

If you don’t care about being locked into one piece of hardware — that is, if you have a system that stays stationary or you don’t mind carrying around an Mbox — you might also consider the newly-introduced Pro Tools Music Creation Studio. It actually includes a good mic, decent monitors, a keyboard, and a big software bundle for the ridiculous price of US$895. But that’s only a good deal if you need that bundle, of course, so weigh that against what works best for you.

The Fast Track Ultra pairs well with Pro Tools M-Powered. The first two jacks double as mic or instrument (read: guitar/bass in this case) inputs. And you’ll have a lot of I/O flexibility for a pretty low price. If you’re not using Pro Tools, of course, more hardware options come into play.

Control surface: The one thing you miss out on is the control surface, but for solo recording, you’re just going to want something that makes starting and stopping recordings and monitoring levels easy. I really like the Frontier Design AlphaTrack. It works perfectly with Pro Tools — and a lot of other software, as well.

For solo recording, I like something that’s compact — it’s rare in a mix session that you’re adjusting multiple mix faders simultaneously, anyway. The Frontier Design AlphaTrack is an easy impulse buy at the moment with a street around US$200, and it wins out by being compatible with just about everything. (The PreSonus FaderPort is another good option, but it’s not as compatible and lacks some of Frontier’s extras.)

Play the field: If you don’t entirely have your heart set on Pro Tools, though, I’d check out the options — for me, that’d be SONAR for Windows or Logic Studio for Mac, depending on which platform you’re on. For around $500 you get just as much software power as M-Powered, and you can use any audio interface you like.

But really, either way, we’re talking about $1500 (instead of $2000) in hardware and software. If you’ve got some money to spare, you can add a guitar amp simulation package like IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube or Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig and really have some fun with your guitar and bass.

Shopping List

Here’s what we’ve come up with, for the record:

• Pro Tools M-Powered
• M-Audio Fast Track Ultra

Or, if you choose the non-Pro Tools route, for Mac users, something like:

• Apple Logic Studio
• Apogee Duet FireWire Interface (for audio interfacing, nicely integrated with Logic and the Mac, among various other options)

..and for PC users, something like:

• Cakewalk SONAR Power Studio 660, probably the best bargain here — under US$500, and you get both a high-quality FireWire audio interface and your software, plus a healthy selection of plug-ins; with the money you save, you could upgrade to additional software tools or budget for extra accessories down the road — see the Recording review

Total spent: about US$800-1000 for the first couple of options (less if you choose a simpler audio interface), under US$500 for the SONAR choice. And that leaves more money for the rest of your setup.

And the extras:

• Frontier Design AlphaTrack
• IK Multimedia AmpliTube 2 or Native Instruments Guitar Rig

… which, total, runs you around another US$400-700. (Guitar Rig has the advantage of bundling a foot controller fairly cheaply, but AmpliTube is available as cheaply as US$80 for some basic presets in AmpliTube Live). Digidesign has their own guitar product, Eleven, but I haven’t gotten to spend much time with it yet and I have spent some quality time with the IK and NI offerings. And there are Waves and TC Electronic and Line6 offerings, as well. Long story short: software guitar users are spoiled for choice.

Feel free to disagree

This being an open forum, I’m sure our readers will have some opinions of their own. So fire away.

Keep those “ask CDM” questions coming; we’ll pick the most pertinent questions and let our editors and readers weigh in.

Updated: The fact that the 003 is able to bundle in good audio I/O, control surface, and software led Lynn — and a few others — to opt for the 003 after all:

The latest is, surprise, Digidesign, with their new Structure Sampler. Head to Digi’s Structure site for the beta download. You’ll need some flavor of Pro Tools 7, of course, plus an iLok; you’ll get the software and a library of samples to play with. Should be worth doing for Pro Tools users; this is the latest from the AIR soft synth division, with talented vets of recently-acquired software house Wizoo. Now, if Digidesign would only release a native VST/AU version; I’ll add that to my wish list of things that will never ever happen.