Well, after hours of searching on the net, I finally got everything I needed to make music. Sibelus 2 and Acid Pro 4 is a good combination. So here is my question: I want to record sound from locations away from my computer and microphone. Can you give me suggestions about recording sound, what instruments are needed, and how much they will cost?

These prices are from the top of my head:

If you don''t need much portability and you already own a laptop, then that is your cheapest solution.

Your least expensive quality recording device is minidisc. Minidisc uses lossy ATRAC compression - not so cool if your going to be doing any serious DSP (i.e. sfx editing). ($50 - $200)

You need a microphone, and a way of connecting it to your recording device. For about $100 you can get a stereo condenser mic - it will need to be one which takes a battery if the recording device does not supply phantom power. This can connect to the recorder via a minijack plug.

This means that for around $200 you can have a very acceptable portable recording setup, which is a very good place to start I.M.H.O.

Make sure you set the recording level manually or the minidisc will add an annoying ramping compression to the incoming signal. Sharp minidisc recorders are meant to have better mic pre’s than Sony’s.

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If you feel like splashing out:

Then there is Sony''s walkman DAT recorders. Better than minidisc in the sense that it is uncompressed, but DAT is starting to be phased out as it is replaced by hard disk and solid state recorders. Then again, DAT is likely to be around for a few years yet because of market penetration. These contain consumer grade mic-preamps like the minidisc recorders. This means increased noise in your recordings, but tends not to be noticeable unless you are recording quiet sources. ($300)

Then you have portable MP3/WMA/wave recorders with HDDs like Creative''s Nomad Jukebox series. Cheapo mic-pres again. ($200-$500)

Next up is the portaDAT. Big leap in price. These have better quality mic pre''s, XLR sockets and phantom power built in. ($1000/$2000)

The ultimate are multitrack hard disk recorders like the Deva, or removable media recorders like the Nagra V [Drool] ($10,000)

You can spend a lot more on the mic(s!), and buy a wind shield if you want superior outside recordings. One way to get excellent results and save some cash is to use a high quality portable preamp ($1000-$3000) which will supply phantom power and convert to digital for output to a cheaper device with digital in.

I love gadgets. [Kenbar sucks his thumb, and rocks himself to his mantra]