wishlist.

My new wish list ~

1. M-Audio Keystation 88es – 88-key, semi-weighted, velocity-sensitive USB MIDI controller (powered over USB, even); for controlling the effects through Apple Logic Express (see below) – I'd also have to get a sustain pedal, which runs about twenty bucks

2. M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 desktop reference monitors; for iTunes and monitoring recording, along with my Sennheiser HD280 (64-ohm) monitor headphones I already own (via the 1/4" headphone input on the back – not the 1/8" input on the front)

3. M-Audio Nova large-capsule cardiod condenser microphone, or – if I get lucky – maybe the matched pair of the Pulsar II condensers; for recording the Bechstein – I'll need two to record in stereo

4. M-Audio Fast Track Pro 4x4 USB interface w/ balanced/unbalanced analog I/O, S/PDIF/coax MIDI I/O, 1/4" monitor headphone out and phantom power for the condenser mics; for recording from the mic- and line-level (i.e. guitar) sources, this has two inputs for stereo

5. Apple Logic Express (7.2 – cos 8.0 won't work with my dual 1.0-GHz PowerPC G4 processors, but 7.x will); for recording, effects and mixing from the MIDI controller and mic inputs (the Bechstein, possibly a guitar, even more remotely possibly vocals) – this will supply all the effects for the 88es controller like synth, guitar effects, reverb, etc.

Surprisingly, none of this stuff is very expensive – which is what turned me on to M-audio. It looks like their stuff is pretty high quality without a ton of bells and whistles. And Logic Express is the stripped-down version of Logic Studio, but seems like it has everything I would need to record and mix from all these different sources.

I'll keep researching a little bit more, but so far this stuff is pretty cool. It's bringing me back to my days working in recording studios in LA and Seattle – something I absolutely loved, I just couldn't afford to keep doing and was, with a bit of remorse, forced to get a 'real' job. Sigh.