MOTU vs. Digi 001 (Mac vs. PC) and advice on other home equipment

S

songwritergrl

New member
Hi. I'm a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is tired of spending lots of money for cheesy producers to make demos of my songs. I have been doing a lot of research on equipment for a home studio, where I'd ultimately like to produce demos for other songwriters I know, too. I am interested in using MOTU 2408 with Digital Performer (which would require a Mac) or Digi 001 with ProTools LE (I could use a PC or Mac). I ultimately want to be able to use midi and lay down rhythm tracks and keyboard parts, then play some live guitar and/or bass. Then I'd like to have the option of bringing my unfinished recording to a high end studio to get a pro vocalist's tracks. Finally, I'd like to mix and master it back at my studio.

All I have so far are the basses, guitars, a drum machine and a mic. So far, this is what I'm leaning toward as a setup:

MOTU 2408 $900
Digital Performer $345
Mackie 1402 mixer $485
Roland XP-30 $1000
Waves Native Power Pack $345
Powered Speakers $500
R&B drum sounds CD $45

I'm also going to need to get a computer to run it all. Any advice or opinions on equipment would be greatly appreciated!

Oh, also, are the CDRW's that come with Power Mac G4's generally good enough quality for making master CD's (as opposed to Yamaha or Plexor CDR's)?

Thanks!
 
I have a digi 001. Get the motu 2408 and digital performer. Digidesign runs a nice little monopoly on high end systems. To protect that they limit theyre low end systems. The 001 is kind of nice, in fact I like it, but theres a lot of things as a songwriter you could do with dp and a 2408 that you couldnt with the 001. If I was conducting a "shootout"(god forbid) the 2408/dp combo wins hands down. If you do get a 001 think about getting a mac for that as well because all the plug ins are on mac.The 001 on pc isnt supported well.

Get a mac and get dp.You wont regret it.
 
I sort of agree with Robert. Definitely go Mac. In a nutshell, you'll find people that go from PC to Mac and love it. I've yet to encounter the other way around.

See http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001125.html

I have zero experience with hard disc recording and ordered Protools on a Mac. PT is supposedly the most user friendly for audio editing and mixing albeit lacking in MIDI. But hey, I know almost zero about MIDI (this will change). And most folks I know in recording use Protools and can be of help to me when I get into trouble.

From the ton of material that I've read MOTU DP 3.0 (due this summer) will be more thorough and capable in some areas than Digi 001 but not as user friendly.

Cost isn't a major issue for me.

BOTTOM LINE:

easy of use--> Protools Digi 001
depth & breadth--> MOTU DP

That's my .02
 
Some input from a - I hope not to cheesy - producer / engineer :>)

One thing you will have to consider if you are going to work in the way you describe (which makes total sence, a lot of people do just that - but more on it later).

1) Pro Tools has, without question, become the standard pro system. Consider that, if you record at home and go into a studio to add tracks, you can just take a 001 into a studio with Pro Tools and you will be fully competable, hook up and go. This is not the case if you get to a studio with another system - and you don't want to pay expensive studio time to transfer tracks, sort out synchro problems etc. (TWICE - when you get there and when you want to take the results home). If people come into our place with an 001 or other PT system they are up-and-running within minutes. Other systems and we normally have to transfer their tracks to our systems first, making sure averything is perfectly time alligned.

2) From a technical viewpoint the converters in the 001 are better than those in the MOTU. Not hearsay, fact. This is the quality of your recording. (even tough you will find that one of the best investments you can make, regardless of what system you end up using, is a quality stand-alone converter like a Lucid or Apogee).

3) If you go into a studio and know Pro Tools, you have an advantage. No engineer can tell you "you can't do this or that".

4) If you are succesfull and go for a bigger, better recording system, you would likely not choose a MOTU. Learning new programs is a pain, you'll be busy learning upgrades already, and you're better of spending your time being creative.

5) If you can afford it definately go for a Mac - and buy the most expensive one you can afford. The new one 733 comes complete with a DVDRW - which until a month ago as a stand alone cost over $4000 (which is more than the Mac!). This will allow you to burn disks in ANY format - as well as editing movies, so you can make a promo disk with a video, pictures etc.
The best plug-ins are for Mac, some good ones are being released now for PC as well, but always later - and still not as good.

6) I noticed a Mackie mixer in your list - nothing against them but if you go digital - stay digital. You would be much better of with a small digital mixer as an interface. I believe Tascam (might be wrong- can find out if you like) has just launched one for this purpose. Most of them will give you some decent effects, and in general they have converters of reasonable quality. A Mackie would without any question increase the noisfloor of your tracks considerably (its a live console, not really a recording one).

7) If you make a whole CD for release (and that's my "bone to pick" *grin*) DON'T try and master it yourself. Mastering is an art in itself, requires dedicated skill as well as equipment. I will master demo's - but any other project goes away for mastering, or I will do it myself in a mastering facility. Often I fly half way around the world just to get the job done right. Its money well spend!

Hope the above is useful
 
Another question or two

Hey, thanks for those responses! I talked to my songwriting teacher today (she's written songs on Grammy Award winning albums), and she said that she used to have Digital Performer, but that it was such a pain to bring her tracks into bigger studios that she ended up selling her stuff for like $250 and switching over to the Digi 001. Since I'm probably going to need to go into a bigger studio often for stuff like session musicians, I'm now leaning that way. I'm still kind of confused about the Mackie mixer. Am I able to use a digital mixer even when I'm just plugging in a bass or guitar? Isn't that more unwieldy? Also, it looks like I should go Mac for sure. I've gotten some conflicting advice: is it better to get a 733 or a dual 533?
 
Theres a thread in the soundcards forum called digi 001. Check it out. I think its worth sesarching for...

... depends on your needs
I dont think youd be dissapointed either way. I should say that your engineer friend may over estimate the 001's a/d/a. I dont think its as good as the 2408. The 001's converters are on the soundcard as opposed to being in the box, this is bad.
The 001's dynamic range is 98 db.
The motu 2408's is 105 db
The motu 1224 is 116 db
The the motu 1296 is 117 db

the 001 is not expandable. The next step up is 10,000 dollars. With motu you can connect 3 of their units. Also motu soundcards have asio drivers wich means you have more software choices. As for power, its as powerful as your cpu. In one generation of computers ahead there will be no need for more expensive systems unless you do post production. And, in the next few month there are lots of dsp cards coming that support vst plug ins. Did I mention that dp can now also use vst plug ins.Also I beleive it can use rewire, so If you wanted to use a killer app like reason in its environment you could. You cant do that in pro tools.
There is no real upgrade from the 001 besides a pt mix system. the digi 001 just doesnt stand up against the motu 2408, or theyre other systems for professional use.

What is good about it, the 001?
Well it is easier to take your work into a studio with the 001. To me pro tools is just a name. It is the industry standard, with its $10,000 systems(wich youll end up spending $30,000 on). But the thing is they limit the 001's expansion capabilitys purposely because they dont want it to be a fully functioning professional system. In theyre words its the "home" system. Im not making this up, digidesign's staff has said this outright in their forums.

As for software, Im kind of tired mentally right now. I cant just explain it all so easily. Pt le, is limited, and there is no way to un limit it. theres no upgrade that works well with the hardware except logic audio, or the $10,000 beast. Still, I have no problemm with its limitations, it works good for me. Its midi is kind of weak though

There are lots of good things about pro tools as well. I havent laid that out as elequently, forgive me. But that isnt a bad choice at all.
If you have unique needs and are regularly going into studio's thats worth serious consideration. Pro tools has audio editing features that make it stand out. Personally, I would rather have a 2408 and dp. It depends on how you want to work.

Also, pro tools doesnt support multi processors. But for the record a mp 533 is faster than the 733. If you go with pro tools youll love it, until you want to take that next step up.They charge $10,000 for theyre pro system. They make the 001 a home system by limiting its capabilities; Theres a "joke" that the upgrade from a digi 001 is motu. The core of the pro tools software is still there though.

Do go to the studio for mastering, and for the drums. If they have 2 in. tape then its all yummy.
As for the mackie, what we homerecorders do is use them for their pre amps, and to run our keyboard modules into. How many tracks at a time will you record at home? If its only a few(or if your Well to do and can afford many) a dedicated pre amp pays nice dividends. Check out the art pro channel( not the art mp), or presonus mp 20. Also, get a nice microphone. The audio technica at4033 is good. The xp 30 is a very nice keyboard. Personally Id like to have a yamaha cs6x. It costs about the same as the xp 30, but instead of using expansion boards it uses expansion synth engines. So you could add theyre anx1 analog emulation engine into it(this is a COOL option), plus it has a phrase sampler. The xp 30 defines meat and potatoes though.

Also, you mentioned apogee and lucid. Well, Rme's a/d/a converters are just as good and cost less. Theyd fit onto a 001 quite nicely.And, maybe youll want to look at logic audio with your 001 as well, its the most complex, deepest, and thorough sequencer/audio program.
 
I ordered a turnkey system from Wave Digital (I think its www.wavedigital.com). I went for Dig001 and a Mac G4 733 Mhz with the DVD-R/CD-R for my home studio. I play guitar and bass and am not a MIDI head so audio is much more important to me than MIDI. Sure I'll get into MIDI but all my prowess lies elsewhere so I wanted to fortify it. I want the system to work for me, no the other way around.

The Mac 733 comes with a motherboard capable of supporting dual CPU so whenever the time comes I can add on.

I want the DVD-R for storage. Depending on the DVD--there are many types-- the minimum storage is about 4.5Gb and goes up to 15 Gb, compared to a CD capacity of about 0.6Gb.
 
Hey Robert / songwritergrl,

Robert is absolutely right, the 001 is not expendable. You get what you buy. But there all all the other advantages.

Have to take issue with the converters Robert. Dynamic range is very important, but not everything that makes a good converter. I have to admit that I am involved in converter technology professionally, so its not a quastion of "I think it sounds better" - but a combination of spec's, benchtests and components used. I don't like the 001's converters, I hate the 888 converters and basically would never use any ones that come "as standard" with the vast majority of gear. I'm spoiled!! (I normally use line level AD's with a 136 Db dynamic range, mic. level ones with a 157 range, with a practically non-existant noisefloor).

Like Robert said, a lot of home recorders use Mackies for pre-amps, and a good stand alone pre for vocals etc.
In your case however, as you will most likely just do scratch vocals at home and "proper" vocals in a studio, the priority will be to get your instrumentation to disk as good as possible, with a noisefloor as low as possible. So ensure you spend your money on a system that will acomplish a solid line level chain.

Regarding the Mac - definately go for the 733. Like I said, you get a complete high quality burner package (plus software) included which a couple of months ago as a stand-alone did cost more than the whole computer. The dual processor one is fantastic, but DAW applications currently do not use the capability of a dual processor system (there are also other problems). I've got 2 1GHz Pentium 3 PC's here and we've worked out that the new 733 Mac (which runs PT) is about 1 1/2 times faster!
The new Mac has achieved something no computer has ever done for me - got me exited about a computer!
The AV capabilities are amazing, the editing software is something that some years ago would have set you back well over 10K. As a result we are getting fuly involved in AV, offering video's etc as part of the package for our artists.
 
Well said,
the 001 is a nice system. If you get it youll enjoy it. I am sleep deprived and caffinated. Long day ahead:)
Sorry to get all opinionated and technical like. I personally dont have a problem with my 001's a/d/a.. Im a student and a working stiff, and if I wasnt a broke s.o.b. the day I got my 001 I would have also gotten some rme's.

Im starting to lean towards the 001 myself now;). I dont need no stinkin' dp. What you can think about doing is tracking the tune all out on a digi 001 as a demo. Then youll know EXACLY what to do when your paying for studio time. You could bring in your demo, play it for whomever, then use the good stuff to totally retrack it with the arrangements you worked out. Also, mastery of pro tools and a solid vision of what you want can put cheesy producers in their place( no offence). Btw, hopefully I'll be a cheesy producer in a year or two. Right now Im just figuring this stuff out like the rest of ya.

And, I personally dont use a mackie, to me it seems a waste of money considering that theres such affordable pre amps now that sound better anyways. If you want something cool to twiddle get a control surface.
 
136 db, 157? wow! May I humbly inquire who's the manufacturer of these beutiful things?

p.s.
can you hear the difference between 96 khz and 48 khz on your set up? Sorry, a little ot, but this has been floating around my head.
 
Robert,
The converters are prototypes using a different system than those currently on the market. It would not be right for me to disclose who I'm working with, I'm trying to stay objective here!!
If you want to see the specs on some good converter technology, go and look at the Stagetec site (not the company I'm working with) Very expensive but brilliant.

As I am using pro Tools I am as standard recording at 24/48, but as a preference will print a final mix to 24/96.

If you would for instance take an analogue master and do an AD conversion to 24/48 and one to 24/96 and compare them, there is a difference without question.

A while ago I was recording in the UK onto 2 x 2" Studers (live recording of a band with the London Symphony orchestra). As an experiment I ran splits into a bunch of Genix machines at 24/96. The result made me think "farewell analogue" - and made the decission to go totally digital for my new studio. That was using the genix' own converters (not bad) - Just imagine what it would have sounded like had I had some real ones!

The limiting factor about 24/96 is that with the vast majority of hard disk recording systems at the moment it halves (or more than halves) your track count. Also, it eats disk space.
In my new place we're going for 72 Gb hard drives, so thats one problem solved.

Didi you have a look at my new place (being build) on John Sayer's site?
 
whaaaaat ???

hey, robert, I never knew that the digi001 converters were housed on the card. That really sad.

that being said though, I wish I had protools software to run. It sounds good to me, and it is really a joy to work with.


Sorry, but Ill have to disagree with the choice of mac as a recording solution.

It costs twice as much as a pc right out of the box. Upgrading it costs twice as much as a pc.
For example the new 733 is going to have a dvdrw.

I bet you that in six months, you'll be able to get a dvd r for your pc for a fraction of the cost of a mac dvdr

My computer cost me $425 brand new initially, with $200 to add a cd-r and 256 mb.

At a total of $625 +monitor, I am only using a quarter of my resources.

my current 30+ track song with eq on half the tracks and reverb send on some tracks is only using up 25/255 megabytes in Vegas, and protools is uses about 10 % of system resources.

To spend $1500-2000 on a similar system, imo is counter productive to good music because one can buy so much more gear from the change and be happier.

Also, I agree that a mixer should be bypassed if possible. But a <1000 analog mixer is better , imo, than a <1000 digital mixer, because digital mixers in that range do conversions that sound crappy.

peace
 
One more question

Okay, so now I'm looking at computer prices and PC's are WAY cheaper. Would it be compatible for me to do my work with Digi 001 on a PC and then bring it into a studio that has Pro Tools on a Mac?
 
Well,
I have a mac, its an old 7300 my aunt gave me when she upgraded.I stuck a g4/400 upgrade in it for $350. Its ok, but the slow bus speed sucks(because it s a 7300 bus).If your wondering about power its not so simple, different applications work differently on different systems. But, shit if your slick you can get the pc for CHEAP, like a p3 850 for $600. Thats not bleeding edge, but why pay for bleeding edge when thatll be cheaper in 6 months. Still, dont scoff at the macs just yet. Theres no reason you need to buy their top of the line box is there?

Heres some speed benchmarks:
www.barefeats.com

What I wonder is how important is it to you to use pro tools? I think on pc pro tools is a much less compelling choice. In fact theres not a really great choice on pc. On mac there 2;Pro Tools and DP. Nuendo on pc is buggy( does that suprise anywone?) in regards to some automation, and other things. Otherwise its all around solid I hear. If you get nuendo, and the steinberg nuendo interface that is made by rme youd be smoking. Btw, nuendo IS coming to mac. The reason its not out yet is because its for os 10. So, when os 10 commeth we shall have nuendo.

Id say go to the digidesign forums and ask how sessioin interchange( a new feature) is working between the pc and mac versions.Also, theres less plug ins available on the pc. Theres better hardware out there than the 001 bear in mind. And pro tools value is diminished somewhatat by its limitations artificially placed. Id not dismiss a mac or pc so fast. Or make a choice before weighing everything.

This is why I like to say that it depends on how you want to work. I guess I cant TELL you wich is 'better' because each set up has its own plus's and negatives, its own balance.My opinion still lays with get a mac and run a motu system, this what I feel for myself though. It may not be best for you. You do not need the fastest mac. I wouldnt spend $3,500 for a computer personally.

Maybe you should look into emu's paris pro
I havent used paris, maybe someone has whos reading ths?
www.emu.com
 
I run protools on a pc, and I don't see how it would be better on a mac. A mac is the only way to go...... if you want digital performer, which is the bomb.

I am still praying that motu will release digital performer on the pc when they come out with version three.

on the pc though, you have Logic platinum , which stands up to d.p in everyway.

songwritergrl, I think that the sessions are compatible between pc and mac. Protools free sessions are not though.

I agree with robert, that Motu with D.P will serve you better in the end, even though it is a slightly bigger investment.

Also, don't overestimate the power of plugins. I have seen plugins going for $300. One can buy a better sounding outboard unit for that price.
the only advantage that plugins have right now is that you can run many instances of the same plugin on many tracks.

Right now, my pc is a 566 mhz system. to upgrade it to an 850 or faster is as simple as changing the motherboard/cpu for $215. If I want a 1ghz system, it will only cost $300. Try that on a mac.
 
did you know,

A dvd-ram drive for pc is now as low as $349. Next year it will be $99. ANother reason to stick with pc
 
Well,
The plug ins for rtas and mas by the likes of waves, mcdsp and bombfactory hold their own (except for reverb). In fact the waves native gold bundle is $850. To buy hardware equivilant to that you end up paying $5,000 or more. Some developers are planning to support rtas pc, what that means is that they havent even announced a release date yet.

I use plug ins some times. The quality plug ins for rtas are by tthe same developers that do the TDM versions. From snooping around digidesigns forums I've seen first hand; The big boys use plug ins ALL THE TIME.

As for mac vs. peecee, Just because one is cheaper doesnt make it better. With windows 2000 the pc is a more viable choice. Still, just because in the year 2001 windowz is just now not wholeridden crap doesnt mean mac's are useless.os 10 is coming in a few days, with that the mp 533 will have an edge over peecee's imho. It costs more, but it DOES work better. You do not need to buy their top of the line btw, get what you can afford.

Apple has had troubles with motorola. Its sad because the only thing thats been holding them back is manufacturing. In fact motorola's engineers has devised far more advanced cpu's. And while you can put down apple for this in the last year Intel has had the exact same sorts of problems. But, now motorola is manufacturing cpu's with faster clock speeds, and a more advanced architecture(in the 733). Imho, if you want what apple has its a worthwhile investment.

In the end, it doesnt matter. A pc isnt going to affect the quality of your songs. It will be a bit more of a headache, and things you buy may not always work with it. Also, you may have different combo's of say, soundcards, graphic cards, chipsets and software that will make your system crash like crazy. And, when a crash happens its more difficult to recover from on pc.
Imho, Pro Tools is a better investment on mac. Still, there is nothing stopping you from using it on peecee. If thats what you want go for it.

Still, Im having fun on the mac with all these great rtas plug ins. many dont exist on peecee. Theyre not expensive if your slick like silk;) I think Hardware is a better investment mos definately. But If you do get a pc, I cant help but wonder why youd want to use a digi 001? Id get nuendo personally, and the nuendo soundcard that is actually made by rme. If you get nuendo, I cant help but think you'd be smokin'.
 
OK - now here is one to make you think ---- or cringe :>)

Just had one of our regular session players come in, wants to buy some gear to start recording at home, putting demo's and basic tracks down for his own CD, vocals, percussion and grand piano to be added here in the studio, which we'll do for free cause he's a cool guy.
he's just moved house (and around here a small 3 bedroom place costs between $500 and $600k, which is a joke), so he's a bit strapped for cash (better word - he's just about broke).

This is what we came up with:

A Dell Dimension L refurbished computer with 19" screen,
933 MHz Pentium III, 256 RAM and 20 GB drive $ 950,00
A Tascam US-428 console / controller (no sound card required),
which comes complete with Steinberg's Cubase VST recording / MIDI software $ 599,00
A Blue tube stereo tube preamp (the US-428 hasn't got preamps) $ 200,00
2 JBL LSR 25P monitors (he wanted good ones - you can get cheaper) $ 800,00
He already has MIDI gear, so no cost there.

Total cost: Just over $2500 for a complete system with eight channels of audio and 16 MIDI, 2 bands of parametric EQ and 2 plug-ins per channel, with 24 bit AD and DA converters. Plenty of free VST plug-ins available on the web, multiple fader banks, and fully upgradeable to the full version of Cubase at minimal cost.
I think that's difficult to beat - if you get cheaper monitors you could have the system for about 2 grand.
 
A Mac bigot weighs in (LOOOONG!)

CyanJaguar said:

A dvd-ram drive for pc is now as low as $349. Next year it will be $99. ANother reason to stick with pc
Click to expand...

Yeah, well, that same DVD-RAM drive can drop into a current model Mac too. In fact, the high-end dual-processor Macs that were just discontinued a few months ago came with 'em standard. If you hustle, you can still get one for a great price (by Mac standards, anyway).

Ditto hard drives. My new G4 tower has a 40 GB IBM Deskstar ATA/100 drive. It's big and it's lightning-fast. If I want more disk space, I can go out tomorrow and buy a duplicate of that drive for US$160 -- from a PC parts store. And all I have to do to install it is check the jumpers, screw it down, plug it in, run Drive Setup, and go!

Mac RAM? Same deal; it's PC RAM. I bought my G4 and immediately added 512 MB of RAM for $180. Shop around the PC stores, and you can do even better.

Except for the processor itself, the hardware differences between the two platforms are getting smaller every day, partly because Apple adopts Intel's internal interface standards (PCI, AGP, ATA, SDRAM and soon DDR SDRAM, etc.), while the rest of the industry adopts Apple's external interface standards (Ethernet, USB, FireWire).

But... I've observed that the inexpensive sound cards are PC-first or PC-only. That's because there's so many more PC owners who want to get their feet wet in home recording, or just want to enhance their shoot-'em-up games with surround sound, or whatever, and the manufacturers can make money with a budget card. Part of the problem was that Apple included cheap audio A/Ds in most Macs until recently, so there wasn't any Mac market for such cards. Now Mac users need a cheap sound card, and at the moment there aren't any!

Move up a notch, and the picture isn't much better. From my own (limited) experience, and the posts on this and other boards, Mac drivers for the $200 cards are rare and often buggy.

Low-end (under US$100) recording software for Macs? There are a couple of choices, including Pro Tools Free, but not nearly as many as on the PC side.

I can't dispute the fact that low-end PC recording systems are cheaper. Start with a budget no-name PC and fuzzy monitor, throw in a white-box Soundbastard card and a cracked copy of Ntracks, and you can get going for a whole lot less than you'd have to spend on a Mac with comparable capabilities.

Start adding accessories -- mid-grade audio I/Os, FireWire and Ethernet interfaces to move data around -- and the Mac starts to catch up. Macs have FireWire and high-speed Ethernet built in, even the lowly iMac. Can you say the same about an $800 PC? Midrange sound cards cost about the same for either platform.

Head towards the high end and the price difference between the platforms drops into the noise. When you're spending tens of thousands of dollars on mics, monitors, mixers, studio acoustics, and processing gear, a $1000 difference in the bare computer price doesn't seem like such a big deal, especially when you figure out how much time you'll spend dealing with configuration issues on a PC. I won't say you won't spend any time dealing with them on a Mac, but you'll spend less. In that sense, a Mac might be cheaper to own in the long run!

Want to go portable? With its built-in FireWire and USB interfaces, capable CPU, and minimal configuration hassles, a PowerBook is the only sane way to make music on the run. Show me a PC laptop that's as capable for the money!

Someone mentioned Mac OS X. For me, the X stands for unknown: How long until the major recording software supports it? Will you be able to get drivers for your existing cards? Will you be able to use the gear and software you already own, unchanged? This all remains to be seen.

The biggest thing Mac OS X has going for it is literally decades of experience in its Unix-based internals, so you can expect it will be stable at its core. Next biggest is built-in multiprocessor support, which will be a Godsend for the heavy DSP user. But everything around that core is new, and much of it has had to be adapted to support old-style Mac programs. I figure it'll probably be a year before I make the transition for good, depending on when my favorite programs support it.

OK, so where am I going with this ramble?

If you're starting a studio on a shoestring, IMHO you should use what you've got, or whatever you can afford and make the most of it. Stick with the platform you already know. If you don't have computer experience now, find a mentor and use whatever (s)he uses.

Know that you'll upgrade in a few years anyway; if you buy a name brand computer -- either Mac or PC -- you can be confident it will survive until you have to replace it for performance reasons. (When it comes time to sell off the old gear, used Macs tend to hold their value better than PCs, allowing you to recoup a bit of the initial cost differential.)

The key is to pick a recording software platform you can grow with. Or more than one, if necessary. The big names (Logic Audio, Cubase, Pro Tools) are all available for both hardware platforms, at comparable prices, so it really doesn't matter whether you go with a Mac or a PC. (There are exceptions both ways: MOTU and BIAS on the Mac, Cakewalk etc. on the PC.)

Once you move up from the low-end sound cards, the interfaces all cost the same. If you're smart, you'll be spending most of your money on mics and other non-computer studio gear. The cost of the computer will quickly become irrelevant.

Executive summary: Choose your poison. The Mac may cost more initially, but in the long run it all works out about the same.

But I think Mac users will spend more time trackin', and less time hackin'.
 
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