In article writes:

At the moment he is working with a ZOOM 1204 and he
feels restricted because he has to record one track at a time. He would like
to be able to play the drum machine, guitar and sing at the same time and go
to different tracks (he's old school, 69 years of age). He's thinking about
buying a Tascam 2488 so he can do this but he already has a very good PC.
I've shown him what I do with Cakewalk Pro 9 and how easy it is and I'd like
him to take the same path.

But does HE want to take that path? I'm old school too, and I'd rather
use something like the TASCAM that he's considering. I'll bet he
really doesn't want to fool with a computer. Ask him.

BUT, is there a device which will allow him to record the three seperate
parts and go to three seperate tracks on Cakewalk (or even Cubase)?

Yes. A multi-channel audio interface. Take a look at the M-Audio Delta 44
(http://tinyurl.com/ys89m) or the Omni Studio (http://tinyurl.com/yrfcm).
The Delta 44 doesn't have mic preamps and is intended to be used with
an external preamp or mixer. The Omni Studio has two mic/line inputs
and two line inputs which can be used simultaneously to record to four
tracks.

But be sure he really wants to use the computer before you lead him
down that path. He may rather have something that doesn't do anything
but record and mix, but does it without having to buy other hardware
and software and worry about drivers, viruses, or gremlins.


--
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