software though Stienberg, Cubase are also good. Good recording software comes with a standard virtual mixing board so you don't really need a hardware board. It has advantages because it gives more interactive control over mixes but is becoming less and less necessary. The less expensive way is to use the software with and interface like Avid, or Mbox. I use Mbox Pro. You need an interface to plug in your mics and instruments and most have an intergrated preamp for mics that need one..

The reason I use Pro Tools is because I do recording sessions here in Nashville and the majority of the Studios use it which makes it more compatible when I do overdubs at home. You should choose a software that meets more of your personal needs.

Oh, on edit, I'm using an IMAC. MACs opperate the same across the board except you need a good battery for your Macbook Pro

... at a company I worked for.

But we've been told there are a lot of people using Logic now.

So many decisions, so few funds!

need. Logic is alos doing a big PR push right now. It's a good software but the standard in Nashville NY and LA major recording studios is still Protools. I use Protools 9 and about to upgrade. The quality of the sound is fantastic.

...is to simply get a Blue Snowball, or other USB microphone, and use GarageBand.

It can really be that easy!

... my wife got the Free Lessons For a Year thing from Apple so they're going to teach her to use Garage Band and then upgrade her to Logic.

I use Logic for a lot of mixdown work.

For the kind of work you're looking at doing you'll need 3 things

Microphone
Mic Preamp
ADC (analog to digital converter)

The Mic preamp and ADC may be combined in one unit like aforementioned MBox etc.

As for selecting a microphone, it's a personal choice to find one that best fits your voice and style. Professional quality microphones can run from around $99 for a Shure SM57 into many thousands of dollars for some large diaphragm condensors like the Neumann U87 etc. There are many economical choices on the market today so a bit of research at a local music store trying out mics can be helpful.

A mic I'd recommend looking at would be the Sennheiser MD421. I've got a few in my mic locker and I've used them on a lot of sources including male voiceover work as well as female vocals with good results on both

After the mic and a quality mic cable, the quality of the recorded signal rests mostly on the quality of the mic preamp and the quality of the ADC. The better they are, the better the signal quality you're going to get. Again, prices can run form a couple hundred bucks into many thousands depending on your budget and expectations.

In the "bang for the buck" preamp/interface category, I like some of the stuff Focusrite makes. For around $200-300 you can get a Focusrite Scarlett that doesn't sound bad at all. For around $700 you can get a Focusrite ISA One digital that IMO does a really nice impression of a high dollar mice pre.

Good luck!

She's very excited about finally getting all this up and running.

Anything you need help with just let me know, I've been running my own studio for about 20 years now off and on...if I don't know the answer I bet I know somebody who does

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you'll need headphones and a pair of studio monitor speakers. For headphones I highly reccomend the Sennheiser HD280 Pro, I've seen them for as cheap as $89 a pair online. As far as monitor speakers go, there's a menagerie of low to modestly priced powered monitor speakers on the market these days.

I'll definitely hit you and this thread up for further advice. Thanks.

MOTU audio interfaces, even the low end $400 one, work flawlessly with macs. Just read the manual.

. . . . I'm not sure of all of it. I just looked at her area and she has a Kurzweil keyboard as her main input device, an M-Audio interface, monitor speakers, some sort of fancy mic that is suspended on springs or bungees or something. She uses the mic solely for recording narrations over videos and music.