Audio interface or Sound card is a prerequisite for any computer-based home studio setup. Today's computers come with built in audio hardware, but for true CD quality or better results you will want to upgrade to a higher quality soundcard or audio interface - either a PCI plug-in card or a PCMCIA, USB or FireWire interface. There are transferable digital mixers that can double as a control surface for your computer's digital audio software and provide multiple digital audio and MIDI I/O options. While standards for pro audio and music production such as ASIO, VST, KS/WDM and GSIF have reached maturity, Intel and Microsoft have been more interested in the development of tools for the delivery of 'multimedia' audio for games and the Internet, such as AC '97 and DirectSound. Apple Computer has built-in Core Audio into its OS X operating system, making it easier than ever to connect audio hardware to your Mac, from consumer multimedia add-ons to pro audio/MIDI interfaces.

Few years ago there was a revolution in recording technology. As computers became more powerful, they started to reinstate traditional tape recorders that were the heart of most recording studios. Computers designed for home use are powerful enough to imitate a complete recording studio, and can be used for everything from multitrack recording to audio editing and scoring music for videos. This democratizing of recording techniques has opened up the entire recording industry to anyone with the proper software and hardware. Virtual instruments are computer-generated sounds that can be played by means of MIDI and was used to send music data to hardware devices like keyboards and sound modules traditionally but computers are now powerful enough to emulate sound modules. Virtual instruments can be loaded into the computers memory to play any type of sound instead of hooking up cables to an external device to play MIDI tracks.

MIDI tracks can be united with audio tracks and all of it played back in perfect synchronization. All tracks can be processed with effects like reverb and chorus, and the intact mix can be condensed for a professional sounding result. Although professional sound recording packages can be quite posh, you can get your feet drenched by trying out one of the shareware programs. They will allow you to see the capabilities of digital recording, and if you want to develop your interests further you can later buy one of the professional programs.