Hey man. It doesn't matter what you use. That record you heard was done on a cheap $600 001 interface with a $200 mic. When I cut drums, I hired guys who were great engineers. They weren't big names, just some guys from a small town in Illinois. However, they knew how to dial the drums in. Then, I had it mixed by our own Slau. He knows how to dial it in. Would he have preferred that my stuff be tracked on better gear so he didn't have to doctor it up as much or do tons of subtractive EQ? Probably. But he took what he had and knew how to make it sound like a million bucks. What makes it sound clear is how you use it. Tons of folks are doing industry standard stuff in Sonar, logic, garageband, etc. It's all 0's and 1's. Obviously a Pro Tools HD rig running at 192 K will sound better than a $200 interface at 44.1 16, but that's minor. It's literally how you employ the tools you have. I've spent over 13 years messing with this stuff to get the sounds I want. When I first started out, everything I did sounded like dog crap. The trick, get something that's easy for you to use, learn the hell out of it, and record record record. You'll throw away about 90 percent of what you record. THen 80, 70, etc. As you get better acquainted with your stuff, the more you'll like what you record. After 13 years, I know how to dial it in. It's that simple, and hard, all at the same time. Sorry to be such a downer, but I feel bad that someone put it in your head that getting another piece of software would make you sound better. I use Pro Tools because it's my rig of choice. Go listen to stuff by Goldfingas, http://www.goldfingas.com, or have Brian Smart send you something he did in Sonar. That stuff sounds amazing. Hell. I've got stuff I tracked in Sonar while I had that rig. My pro tools rig sounds better to me than my sonar rig did. Not because it's Pro TOols, but because I know how to dial Pro Tools in. That's the ticket. In short, learn your rig. You're jumping from board to board without really learning it. Don't go for bells and whistles. If I were you, I'd get a Mackie Onyx if you can grab the smaller one. That mixer is so easy to use and integrates right into Pro TOols. No effects, no nothing. Just an analog board with a fully digital back end. Then, open every pro tools plugin and see what it does. Move every knob in the window till you figure out how it makes it sound. Use presets if you have to. You'll find what you need after a while. Again, sorry to piss on your parade, but that's the true honest answer. You have to just do it to get through it. Trust me. I've hated stuff I've recorded and wanted to sell everything off. It's just part of this journey. Good luck.
Kevin
