[linux-audio-user] Newbie checks in

Hi all, I'm a lifelong musician turned geek who is now returning to the music arena. I'm not new to technical issues. My day job until recently was working on real-time Linux for Sony, so I know my way around a Linux system fairly well. The music part I've got down. But music technology, well, the last time I recorded anything was on a Tascam 4-track reel-to-reel and, whoa! Things have changed! And I'm gonna need some help getting up to speed with all this cutting edge digital audio stuff available today. As an avid open source supporter, I intend to use a Linux box as a multitrack digital studio to help me bring 20 years of sidetracked musical talent back to life. But so far I've had nothing but trouble so I went looking for help and ended up here. So here's what I've got... On my main machine, I'm using RedHat 9 (kernel version = 2.4.20-6) on a little cube Pentium4 machine (Ice Cube). The audio module that RedHat came up with at configuration is: 'i810-audio' I'm also working with an old Gateway dual Pentium II runing RedHat 9 with SMP (kernel version = 2.4.20-6SMP) and this one is using a Creative Labs SoundBlaster MP3+ USB Audio unit. It comes up with an audio module called 'audio'. (I'd like to set this up for my son who is a budding guitarist). I was thinking about using the latest ALSA drivers (1.0.4) and Audacity, but, first thing first. I'm having trouble getting the ALSA drivers working. First question: Is this the best way to go? I mean, I want to do pro or near-pro quality audio, but I don't want to spend boatloads on sound cards without knowing there's good open source software to use. Thanks in advance for any and all help. ~Jos~ Jos Laake Santa Cruz, CA