[LAU] Request for advice : more specific

[jim]

    (with thanks in advance: this is per Paul's response 
below to my earlier request.) 

San Francisco: 
    I hope someone can provide opinions and/or pointers 
to web sites and especially local experienced users. <--- 

Context:
    I have a project of putting together a CD (or MP3 
or whatever format) that provides background music for 
singers at a party. Future projects will be similar. 
    The arrangements include a bass instrument, one or 
two keyboard instruments, and possibly guitar and/or 
sax and/or other, including (possibly) some rhythm 
instruments (most likely traps such as wood blocks...). 
    I have a 1986 Mac and Pro Tools and D002 setup, 
Roland EP150, X 10, and various electric and accoustic 
instruments along with mics, a mixer.... 
    I'll probably buy a drum machine/sequencer (Boss 
880 or some such) today. 

Problem: 
    I would like to convert my system to Linux. I hope 
I can use a laptop, but I have (or can buy) a high 
speed tower system, in which case I hope to use both 
rather than be tethered to the tower. My bias is for 
hardware as much as possible in order to ensure that 
the computer won't have problems doing its things. 
(My old Mac sometimes, and unpredictably, chokes up 
while running pro tools--usually "not enough interrupts". 
    I don't know what good software (*) and hardware 
(-) to get: 
* sequencer software 
* some kind of mixer software that stores audio to 
  disk? 
* other? 
- USB to midi interface (for the laptop at least) 
- other midi interface (expansion card for the tower) 
- audio sound card or external system (if external, 
  what connection: USB2 or Firewire or...?) 
- midi instruments (i've got a few; is there a 
  best-of-breed drum machine or keyboard or...?) i 
  like the idea of having a midi drum machine and a 
  midi bass machine and a midi keyboard machine... 
  and drive them all with a sequencer and capture the 
  audio on some device. 
- hardware equipment that captures audio tracks to be 
  used for mixing--there's a $399 eight in device that 
  saves to an SD card and allows mising the recorded 
  channels to a stereo out (no fx). 



On Thu, 2011-05-26 at 07:54 -0400, Paul Davis wrote:
> On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 2:01 AM, jim <jim at well.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >    I have a laptop running linux. I'm guessing
> > there's some sequencer software that works and
> > some USB to midi gizmo that will let me control
> > some external midi device.
> 
> there's quite a lot. you'd have to be a bit (lot?) more precise about
> what kind of thing you want to do before anyone could usefully point
> you at some of them.
>