[linux-audio-user] GSG for home studio? (Newbie question)

[Chris]

Hello everyone.

I would like to make a small home studio.  I haven't played in about 5 
years, so I am a little rusty, and not "in" with the times.  I was looking 
on-line for open source mutitracking software.  I came across ecasound and 
ardour.  Ecasound looks a little more difficult to use, so I will probably 
start with ardour. Before I get started, however, I need know a few things, 
as purchasing new hardware will be a must for me.  I was hoping some of you 
could give me some advice, or let me know what your set up is.


Vexing questions:

1) How important is a da-ad converter, and how much must one spend on this?

2) What does one look for in a soundcard.  Is it necessary to invest $600 
in one -- I mean, where is all that money really going?  What makes a card 
like the hammerfall so great?  How much on these cards is "fluff" and how 
much is really practical for just recording.

3) Do people actually use fiber for their lines?  Or is this super-duper 
high end stuff?

4) I have spent some time on some sites of card manufacturers... and I 
can't quite piece together how multiple inputs work on the cards... is it a 
one for one deal (one input = one channel), or is their some software or 
hardware that allows for more than one channel per input?

5) how good is open-source software for effects processing... I saw 
something on the ardour site saying that it does not support "plugins"... 
(due to lack of a standard)... does that mean no effects?

6) What do you guys do for a drum machine solution, is software adequate or 
do you really recommend getting a drum machine?

7) Does everybody go direct on this, or do they mic their amps (I am 
primarily a guitar player).  How do you keep the sound quality up if you 
are direct?

8) I want to build a **QUIET** machine... Any suggestions on computer 
hardware?  (I have bought from quietpc, and found that some of the stuff 
was no quieter than normal --even louder some times).



I am sorry to hit everyone at once with these questions (and I have more, 
belive me), but I can't find a good place on line or otherwise to give me 
the low-down on what it is needed. I would love to hear the setup others 
have and the plusses and minuses regarding them.

I am accustomed to using cassette tape 4 tracks, and analog mixers and I am 
pretty familiar with linux and open source stuff (although I am not 
primarily a coder).

I have a marshall jmp-1 preamp with a valvestate 8008, a RockTron 
intellifex, proq and guitar silencer (all rackmount) on top of a marshall 
jcm-900 lead-1960.  I would be sad to see some of it go, but since I am not 
performing, I would be willing sell some off if there is better stuff for 
home recording.  I would only need about 4 simultaneous inputs.

Excluding the pc I must build, I would like to try to keep the price around 
$1000 (including the sound card).  Is this realistic?  I might spend more 
if I wind up selling some of my current equipment.

I would appreciate any advice here.

Thank you in advance!

Chris