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Well... the Flintstonian, PC-stumbling,non-techy is finally jumping off the bridge, into the waters of doing something from a home set up; here's what "Clueless" has gone and done:

So far, my 'tech-Buddy' has set me up with: (specs - I don't know what they really mean)
a mid 2011 Mac Mini:
Intel Core i5 (2.3 Ghz)
12GB RAM (8 + 4)
2 storage drives 1) MSD = 265GB SSD; 2) SSD = 500GB HDD
Apple USB Superdrive CD/DVD burner/player
20" Cinema Display monitor
pair JBL 305s
Magic Trackpad (which I'm not sure I like - might revert to wireless (tail-less) mouse;
wireless keyboard
Garage Band (was an add-on)

Now - I think I need some recommendations for a good match for an audio interface (right?);
and I'll go find a nice mic (probably like the one my studio buddy has - sounds awesome).

What I want to learn, and to be able to do - no so much live recording here - but import all the instrument tracks/files from songs I've had produced; so that I can edit and cut them up, and paste them together as cues, etc. Make sense?
I can't see letting all that great playing (and investment) not get used as much as possible.

Okay - that's about enough yammering for one morning.
"Small steps, Grasshopper; small steps."

Sounds like you've made some great and economical choices; Mac Minis past 2012 don't have much user configurability. I'd suggest picking up a copy of Tracktion 6, cuz unlike GarageBand, it can host third-party plugins. It is also severely easy to learn.

mojobone wrote:Sounds like you've made some great and economical choices; Mac Minis past 2012 don't have much user configurability. I'd suggest picking up a copy of Tracktion 6, cuz unlike GarageBand, it can host third-party plugins. It is also severely easy to learn.

I wouldn't have known or noticed the difference, Mojo; so thanks for pointing out those particulars.
Also - thanks for the recommendation - I'm all over "easy to learn", since I am pretty much a dyslexic non-reader... and learn stuff by watching others, almost exclusively. I reckon there are YouTubtorials aplenty on just about any program.
Cheers.

That's a pretty good setup! For a cheap and easy to use interface(to get your audio in and out of the computer) I would highly recommend one of Focusrite's Scarlett units. They start below $100, setup really fast, and sound very clean.

The Scarlett interfaces are price performers.

I might consider getting Logic X instead of Traction, as its stacked with stuff built in. You could go a long time without getting a third party plugin. And the drummer is very flexible and quick - thinking of you demoing your tunes. $199.

andygabrys wrote:The Scarlett interfaces are price performers.

I might consider getting Logic X instead of Traction, as its stacked with stuff built in. You could go a long time without getting a third party plugin. And the drummer is very flexible and quick - thinking of you demoing your tunes. $199.

When I hit that Logic X icon, it prompts
"...can't use with OS X 10.7.5. This app requires OS X 10.9 or later"
followed by option for OS X El Capitan (might as well be Chinese to me).
Any reason not to jump through the hoops to do all of that?
(even though, I thought my tech-Bud upgraded me to 11 something... is that possible?)
Thanks Andy.
(not a pun on "...but this one goes to 11!!" from Spinal Tap)

you are going to have to upgrade sooner or later. its painful, but its somewhat necessary.

And yes, if you have OSX 10.7 on your machine, no it won't run Logic X. It does need to be upgraded.

You could upgrade to OSX 10.9, or 10.10, or 10.11 (el capitan) where (were) all free upgrades - but the only one that is available right now on the apple store is OSX 10.11.

your machine is qualified to run that as this page shows:

https://support.apple.com/kb/SP728?locale=en_US

The bad news really is that at some point, if you buy some third party plugins (like the native instruments stuff) they won't even install on the operating system you have on that Mac Mini. The ship has already sailed for OSX 10.7.

So might as well go to OSX 10.11 and be done with it. All the major manufactures seem to be supporting that right now.

just make sure that when you go to spend on an interface, that the drivers for said interface (if there are any - some are USB class compliant and don't require drivers) run on OSX 10.11 (El Capitan).

Make sense? Get your studio buddy to help you.

Logic is a good value; you won't need to immediately invest in effect and instrument plugins and there are lots of free, high-quality sounds for its built-in sampler, which makes it just about ideal for getting up and running with VIs, but Logic was one of the first MIDI/audio sequencers; it was built by people who like complicated things. For tracking live instruments and vocals and doing edits/remixes it's not terribly intuitive, and Tracktion 6 is $60, but you can try T4 for free, see how it runs on your machine.

Everybody has their preference for DAW, like Mojobone I'm a Tracktion affectionato, I found it easier to learn than the others I've tried (like CuBase) and it's just as sophisticated as any other good DAW. Tracktion 4 is free, if you upgrade to Traction 6+ afterwards it comes with some free plugins as well, one of which is the Tracktion Master Mix with some presets that are good to start learning from. Choose the 32bit if you have older plugins or the 64 bit for newer. Tracktion worked with my Windows XP and is now working with my Windows 10 so.. no issues so far.

In any case, whatever you choose to use, there's a ton of stuff on youtube and feel free to ask here as well - I learned a lot of what I know from this forum


PS
audio interface - maudio or presonus mic preamp with USB connection
Shure has a good set of mics, the SM7 is good for instruments and is around $100.

Mojo & Vikki - thank you.
ML often touts the Apogee (for Mac)... but no one has written any recommendations about that so far.
Honestly, I'm not so pinched that I need to "go cheap"... I'd rather get good stuff the first time around, and not have re-do gear later... mostly for doing acoustic guitar-driven songwriting.