If you had this gear how would you use it?

[zenabi]

Ok......Here's my questions: (Remember I am new to Recording)

***Main Question: If you had this stuff how would you use it?***

1) Do I have everything I need to make recording fairly easy and have a simple flow?
2) Are there any piece(s) I need to buy to allow more efficiency? Midi Interface? Sound Card?
3) How can I utilize my guitar gear into all this recording?

Here's what I have to start:
Yamaha AWG-16G Digital Recorder
Mackie 16 Channel Board
Pro Tools 6.4 LE M-Box
Sony Acid Pro 5
Soundforge 8
Music Studio
1 Condensor Mic
3 SM-57 Shure Mics
Behringer Mic Preamp
Dell 8200 Dimension Desktop - 1gb Ram, 200gb Hard drive etc.

Here is my Guitar gear:
ADA MP-2 Preamp
TC Electronics G-Major
Marshall 9200 Mono Bloc Dual Amp
Behringer FCB1010 Midi Footswitch
Morley Wah
Morley Volume
Marshall 1960A Cabinet 4x12

[LfO]

Looks to me like you're way overprepared. The yamaha recorder, Acid, and Pro Tools all do the same thing. You've really got to pick one and go with it. Personally, I like working on the computer, so I wouldn't even consider the hardware recorder. I'd probably go with Pro Tools if I were in your shoes - its closer to a "standard" application than Acid, and probably has more functionality (Acid is designed for loop-based work, right?). Depending on what exactly you're doing, the mixer might be overkill as well, since the M-box should have the appropriate inputs for all your mics.

In short, I don't see any reason to do anything more than:

Guitar/mics -> M-Box -> Pro Tools

[zenabi]

Here was my thinking:

Yamaha AWG-16 was for portable use : drummers home etc.
Pro Tools was for the guitar work.
Acid Pro was for the loop based and mixing down.

Is there an interface with more control than MBox? I guess I should just go look.

Larry

[LfO]

I would be surprised to hear that Acid is capable of anything that Pro Tools isn't - I'm not a veteran of either one, so I'm not trying to say anything authoritative, but it seems over-complicated to be using different sequencers for any one project.

Bear in mind while shopping for interfaces that Pro Tools is hardware-dependent - your options are limited. What other features are you looking for? You can do all your panning, EQ, etc. in the sequencer(s) - the only thing I can think that you're looking for is more ins/outs.

Your plan with the Yamaha makes sense to me. You'll probably need more mics for the drummer, though

[zenabi]

I think you hit the nail on the head. I am wanting more in/outs. And also a way to get Midi all put together with my guitar rack gear and use the computer to do all the work. What would be a good interface to use? I want to get all the mics and not have to keep moving them around to mic my cabinet, then record vocals, etc. etc.

[LfO]

Ah - in that case, I'd take a look at:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOD1010E

I haven't used it, but I've seen it recommended around here numerous times for someone with heavy I/O requirements. It has one MIDI in/out, but if you're going to be running multiple synths, I'd recommend checking out a MOTU MIDI interface (these I DO have experience with):

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--USB-MIDI-Interfaces--2434

I use the Micro Lite, which is 5in/5out, but it sounds like you're interested in buying once and covering all your bases - you'll probably want to get something like the Express XT or the Microexpress, which have SMPTE and MIDI timeclock functionality.

Larger scale interfaces (such as these) aren't built with the same "everything in one box" philosophy as something like the M-Box, so you'll have to use something else for preamps. Your mixer would probably be good for this, so all your mics go into the mixer, set your levels there, and send the direct outs to the 1010. Based on reputation (do a search and you'll see what I mean), I would avoid using the Behringer pre-amp.