Good Recording Software? What else do I need? - I'm sick of

[babahi]

Hiya.

I wrote in another post how I gave a friend a laptop with some techno programs on it, after having asked for some advice on the forum. I got him full versions or ACID PRO and REASON. We fooled around a bit with ACID and I was amazed at how easy it was to use, how versatile the effects were. I also liked the graphic representation of what I had recorded, illustrating the peaks and cuts in the takes.

I have the Roland 16 track VS machine, and it's a pain in the 'nads to set up and edit variables using the tiny screen and buttons. This computer software-based recording seems a zillion times easier, so I want to change. I will ditch my VS-1680, it's just too much trouble.

So my questions:

What software will give me a full palate of effects that are easy to use and graphic in nature, as well as giving me a graphic representation of my tracks -- and must have the levels represented too, like in ACID PRO?

My current desktop is 800mhz, 256 RAM, 100 GB, Soundblaster 128 soundcard
Is this enough? I know, I know, Mac is the best, but it would be a pain to get one just for this. Is a SCSI system a necessity?

Can I use my laptop for this kind of recording, or not because of some different soundcard requirements? I would really like to be able to use my laptop...

And how many tracks do you get with which program?

And how is the mixing done on these programs, anything with a graphic virtual mixer?

Thanks for the help, any commentes are appreciated,

Eric