the box doesn\'t matter?

what are your thougths on the following statement and why.... the box (e.g,. digi, motu, omega, mackie) and connected software (e.g., protools) doesn't matter nearly as much as the quality of mics, instruments, preamps that come before it. agree? disagree? why? steve

Depends on what you mean by "matters". Sound-wise, my understanding is that your assertion is correct, that DAWs, when used as basicaly tape machines, are just that. But, what about ease of use? Compatibilitiy with other studios? Available plugs? HW/SW compatibilitiy for new upgrades? Price? You always have a fixed budget and fixed level of experience and fixed outboards at any given time, so it can make a difference...

Well there are a couple of ways to look at this... Of course quality is the biggest concern of anyone recording. So mics, pre-amps etc. are all in most cases the most imporant thing. However, depending on how many people you like recording at the same time (the "box"), and how many features you want in a program, that's also something a lot of people worry about. So if you record one person at a time, with software you like, the mics, pre-amps etc. are all the most important thing. And in most cases it always is. But when people get comfortable with that, they move onto wanting to upgrade the software, and blah blah blah. But it really depends on the actual person. Hope this helps.