Norio De Sousa wrote
Well my biggest issue is that I'd like to record without a PC and then probably edit on one.
Well, that's not really an issue - rather a preference. I can understand and empathise with someone who isn't comfortable with computers wanting to shy away from their use for recording, but if you are comfortable with them, you have no excuse.
I won't discount the power of a PC when it comes to editing but I find all the keys, mouse and everything to be extremely cumbersome when I'm actually trying to play/record something.
Which is more likely unfamiliarity - I ran into the same recently with graphics software. As an example, recording in Sonar:
1. Make a new track
2. Arm the track
3. Push R to start recording
4. Play
5. Space to stop
Quick stuff is even easier - In guitar rig there are two virtual "tape decks" that operate as simply as analog decks. I can record something and play along in seconds. I can also load a drum or backing track in one, play along and record the result in the second deck.
The most difficult time I ever had recording was using a four track Fostex X-26 cassette-based recorder. I could and had run big studio stuff, but that little Fostex completely stymied me for months until I could use it efficiently. Too much stuff crammed into a small space - which is the problem with the newer digital hardware recorders.
I was a complete computer illiterate when I got my first version of Cakewalk (the MIDI only V3 for DOS) - I had to have a programmer friend set up the PC (a 486 DX4-100) to load DOS and Cakewalk automatically so I wouldn't have to do any of the esoteric command line stuff. When Cakewalk added audio in V6, the Fostex was given away almost immediately, as even with the relatively primitive software then, it was so much easier to use.
