"Jenna" wrote in message
om...
I am not a real tech-head. By that I mean that I am not fascinated by
technology for its own sake; just as a medium to record music. I'm
very much an organic, plug it in, and play it live composer. I'm
not Steve Lilywhite. OTOH I'm not a luddite, and don't want to be
scared off a more sensible medium simply because I'm not acquainted
with it yet.

Then your decision should be based on User Interface, whether or not you can
get enough tracks for your material with a multitrack hardware box, and
whether or not you're interested in signal processing and editing ease after
you track.

IMO The biggest downside to using a multitrack box is that your edit options
on the low-end machines are limited. Another problem is that dealing with
goofy menus and key combinations to use things like "virtual tracks" and
stuff may be more hassle than using a PC to record. But there are probably
some multitrack boxes out there that:
- Have a decent enough display and menu system to be user-friendly
- Include enough signal processing (eq, verb, compression, etc.) to meet
your needs.

You can learn the ins and outs of setting up a PC as a recording box - but
it isn't for the tech-newbie. But there are places that will build you a PC
DAW and pre-install software if you're going to spend that kind of money.
If you go this route, you'll have a PC that'll kick a multitrack box's ASS,
it'll be easy to use at that point, and you'll have options for upgrading
hardware, options for working in different ways (looping, MIDI, soft synths,
etc.).

My .02

dik