[Jim Paradise]

Yeah, I'm a bit new at the whole recording thing despite writing music for years. Instead of a FireWire mixer, I'm think that I might purchase a M-Audio MobilePre USB Audio Interface. The question is that if I do buy this and later purchase a midi keyboard, will I be able to hook up that keyboard to this device or will I need to buy a midi to [whatever] adapter?

http://www.midiman.ca/EngSite/EngPro...USBMobPre.html

(Yeah, I'm aware that it's chepaer on Apple Canada's online store.)

[k_munic]

i think you mix two things up:
audio is NOT midi!

an audio interface makes it possible to input the analogue frequencies of any electronical sound device (a mic, a guitar amp, a cd player) into your computer - which needs just data (0001101011001110...)

midi IS allready a kind of data: it says "hey, right now the key c1# was pressed for about 1,5 millisecond with this&that velocity" - ok, there are some minor electrical hurdles to jump over to get these data into a computer, but a midi>>usb interface is cheap.

when you want to play aroudn with music and a mac, you will need: some software , if you want to input "analogue" sound (your voice, some "samples" from vinyl, your stratocaster... ) you need an audio-interface; and akeyborad - many modern keyboards HAVE an integrated midi<>usb port, so you connect them directly to your mac with a standrad usb cable... have a look in the apple store...

[spiky_dog]

as the previous poster said the mobilepre device you mention has nothing to do with hooking up midi keyboards. the mobilepre is used for hooking up microphones.

for hooking up keyboards, either get one with usb (as also mentioned by the previous poster), or buy a usb-midi interface. m-audio also makes these devices:

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=...midiinterfaces