Considering a switch from PC to Mac

Hello!

I'm currently using a stationary PC for recording music. I sing and play guitar and have a pretty nice microphone which I use to record songs in Cubase. Anyway, the PC is working pretty well, but I'm considering to purchase a portable macintosh(a powerbook) to replace the PC.

I'm having a few concerns however which I hope that someone could answer, so here goes;
*Is the standard soundcard in the powerbooks good enough for recording? I read that it has 16 bit recording, but how's the quality?
*Is the GarageBand application any good? Comparable to Cubase? If not, how about Soundtrack?
*Finally, is it possible to insert a better soundcard in a powerbook?

Sidenote: Is it possible to insert an Audiophille 2496 PCI soundcard into an iBook?

Is the standard soundcard in the powerbooks good enough for recording? I read that it has 16 bit recording, but how's the quality?

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never used a powerbook to record, but its probably similar to my iMac, and the recording works great.

Is the GarageBand application any good? Comparable to Cubase? If not, how about Soundtrack?

Click to expand...

I love Soundtrack. easy to use, and can do some great things. havent tried GarageBand, but it looks like an easier to use version of Soundtrack.

Finally, is it possible to insert a better soundcard in a powerbook?

Click to expand...

if its a full size PCI card, im guessing no. and even if its a small PCI card, you might want to check the box for compatibility or call apple. i couldnt find anything on their site about compatibility with an Audiophile card

know some indy rockers that use powerbooks for live performances and recording/mixing. I would venture to say you will get better results with sound quality if you use an external device such as this thing pictured here from http://www.ismt.com.au/news.asp. You could also take advice from apple http://www.apple.com/pro/

another example

http://www.motu.com/english/motuaudio/828/body.html

Considering how popular Macs, particularly powerbooks, are for music pros, I wouldn't worry.

As a music professional, I recently purchased an 12" g4 Ibook for my concert recording needs.

I have always done my editing, mixing and mastering on my PC, but the first thing I ever bought for it was a PROFESSIONAL audio card.

As for the sound quality of the internals of any computer.... Most stock sound cards are just not up to the job for professional recording. What you want is either a USB or Firewire device that converts your microphone inputs to digital.

If you only need 2 microphone pre-amplifiers take a look at the following:
Digidesign Mbox
Lexicon Omega
Mackie Spike
Apogee Mini-me.

If you need more, there are many fantastic ways to spend a lot of money fast. Some of which include
Metric Audio Mobile I/O
Mackie ONYX with FW option (newly released at NAAM in January)
and a whole slew of others that cost thousands of dollars.

Hope this helps.