I wanna get my (recording) feet wet..

[chrispnyc]

if you can get your g4 to function it will be a big step in getting your budget to work better..

Indeed! Get that thing working!

It could also be good to teach you how to use certain kinds of gear for relatively cheap. There are lots of decent cheap/free comp plug-ins out there that will at least allow you to experiment and learn how to use them...

[KennyLusk]

And actually since you're doing midi and don't really know what other instruments you're going to be recording you could save the $5k and not buy anything until you figure out exactly what it is you would really like to do.

Save the money man.

Or buy a camera and take pictures of the monkeys in deep foreplay and post them on the net. There's an idea.

[lunchboxaudio]

i don't dig the focusrite platinum stuff i've heard. according to your list of equipment, you are looking to get a dual channel preamp/eq/comp, a small mixer, and a mic.

i kind of agree with saving money in the sense that you should wait and make "sound" (i.e. good) choices about what you buy. determine a budget, determine your needs, prioritize your needs, research products within your budget, read reviews about products you are considering (ask other users), think about resale value when choosing products to buy etc...

also, depending on your PC situation, (it has already been pointed out) that may hinder your budget. there are so many directions you could go on $5K. the more audio you get, you have to consider storage space as well.

SM57 will not hurt you financially and it's definitely a meat'n'potatoes choice. It's $80 and it mics any drum on a kit, a guitar cabinet, some vocalists ok, etc...you could basic mic a kit with kick, snare, overhead. consider your options based on your budget and items that multi-task. someone mentioned AT4033...or maybe consider the 4047/SV. You can use them for overhead mic, room mic, vocal mic. The 4047 is $500. my basic drum mics are SM57, D112, 421, 414.

i'm not sure you need a mixer at this point. i would want good AD/DA...a good preamp...and a decent mic. depending on how many i/o you want simultaneously could depend on what AD/DA you buy. do you need 2 channels or 8 or more? I use the RME/Nuendo 8 i/o 96k with pro-tools LE. the Nuendo box can run upwards of $1800...there are lots of hardware choices. make sure whatever you choose works well with your software of choice (in this case Logic Pro).

i'm not sure what a meat'n'potatoes preamp is in a lower price range. be creative with your choices, you could warm things with some kind of tube complement...i bought an old tube mixer for $80 that does wonders. you'd be surprised how a good eq and mic, with good mic placement can help you avoid the need for much eq. or you could also go all out and get some API modules like the 3124+ or a set of 512c...maybe a Neve 1272 pair?

summary:
$ 5,000
- 160 (2) SM57
- 500 AT4047
- 1,500 AD/DA (hardware interface-your choice)
- 100 Additional computer storage (estimate)
- 1,200 NEVE 1272??
- 80 Lucky score on a tube mixer
- 375 (2) FMR Audio RNC /funk logic or some other comps
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$ 1,165 (money left over to fix the PC...devote more to cost of a component of the system...or buy some room acoustics materials...etc...)

good luck with it.