Hi, I was wondering if you guys could recommend me some good recording software that sells for $300-$400 (maybe even $500). I'm just a hobbyist, but I do take music seriously, so basically I'm looking for the best I can get for that price range. My current setup so far is a Powerbook G4 (brand new) and I have not yet chosen an audio interface (i want one that works best with the software). I was considering either Logic Express or Pro Tools LE or Pro Tools M-Powered (If i get one of those M-Audio interfaces) but I couldn't find a demo of either one of them so I'm not sure how good they are. I've used Pro Tools at a friend's studio before but that was the HD one which I believe has many more features than LE or M-Powered. Basically I would go for the one with the best audio quality and the best bundled plugins/effects, the most "professional" one...

Personally I llike Cubase SX or Nuendo, but you really need to look at each s/w's interface and decide if you like the way it's laid out (from a workflow/usability perspective.) Sonically there's going to be virtually no difference between high-quality s/w, and since they're all competing, the feature set is often similar as well.
_________________
Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer

I like Ntrack Studio , you can search over the web and get demo fully funtional for 30 days and test

Very easy and works whit many of sounds cards on market

I use Cakewalk Home Studio, I'm starting to mess around with N-Track, and I've used Pro Tools LE and HD.

N-Track seems pretty awesome and is probably the least expensive on the market ($50-75)

Cakewalk HS is fairly simple to use, but there are some things it could do better. It works, but it's no Pro Tools.

Pro Tools has tons of awesome features, but I don't like the interface too much-- probably cause I grew up on Windows/PCs. The main up-front differences between LE and HD systems are hardware interfaces and plugins. And PT is picky about the interfaces.

You can also use the New Saw Studio, it's very powerfull and simple to handle

put Saw Studio on Google and you can see many screenshots and a demo

I just got an Apple G5 tower and the Digi 002 racked....having had minimal previous expierence digitally with the Roland VS1680 (not the same at all, really), the learning curve was my first worry....I needn't be as it was a snap....I was up and running in zero time flat, tracking that afternoon...and couldn't be happier with my choice...Most of the local studios these days are running Pro Tools and it's nice to be able to back-up a song (or 10) onto some DVD's and take them into almost any studio with Pro Tools and continue creating....I track most instruments at home, then take my tracks to a better room for my drummer to play along....probably just as easy to do with most systems but I would wonder how "common" these other systems are in the better rooms/studios out there....having said that, I rarely ever leave my own studio as I love the system...addictive !!