Okay.
First off, you have to decide exactly how "professional" you want your music to sound, and at what point you compromise that sound for lack of monetary resources.
I've been making/producing/recording techno (as a sub-genre, not a genre) since the mid-90s, and when I started out, we didn't have softsynths or "all-in-one" programs. The influx of these things has led to a bunch of changes within the recording/music industry, but the main two are: LOTS and LOTS of crap music being put out, and a really easy way to learn the ins and outs of music production. All of these software "all-in-one" programs would serve a very useful purpose in helping someone learn MIDI functions, CC messages, sysex, etc - without making a full commitment by buying a truckload of gear. My advice is to find a crack of Reason, and see if you like it - then make a decision whether or not you want to start making dance music. If you do - then you'll have to decide whether you want to purchase Reason, and learn more about the structure of sequencing and recording, or if you want to have good sounding tracks - which will likely result in you having to buy higher end soundcards/recording interfaces/sequencers/synths/samplers etc. I've had a studio full of gear for many years, so I'm quite biased when it comes to the actual "sound" of any recording, because, when done correctly (and using the proper tools), gear is much more mallable - and can produce a much broader range of sounds (of course the cost is quite a bit higher).
In any case, you'll need a proper sequencer to control whatever you use by midi - and record the end result. I started out using cakewalk, and quickly switched to Cubase 3.5 and upgraded to 3.7 when it came out. I then found Logic audio - which I LOVE (even though the learning curve is VERY steep, and they've discontinued support for PC). I used that for over 4 years, and now I've begun using ProTools - which is amazing in the ease of use for someone that understands the process of sequencing and recording.
If you use any form of outboard gear, you're going to need a decent interface, and a MIDI interface (alot of times these are included in the same unit now). You'll also need to pick a platform (mac or pc). I had been a PC guy for a LONG time - based simply on money, and the fact that OS9 for mac was just as unstable as any windows platform of similar comparison. Then WinXP came out, and I was a supporter of XP as "THE" platform for music production, as it was more stable than os9 and it had several great improvements for audio production (over win2k), inlcuding audio+bulk+midi support over USB, and native legacy support, as well as driver rollback. Until very recently, I'd been all over xp - but then I found mac OSX 10.2 (jaguar), and its use of core audio and core midi is unrivaled in the PC world. OSX has a BSD foundation, and is THE most stable platform for audio production. The downside, as always with quality, is the cost.
I hope this can clear up some of the things that you're toying with, but if you have any further questions, you can email me directly. I've been running music production mailinglists and forums for years, and can probably at least steer you in the right direction - with as objective of an opinion as you'll ever see in this industry where everyone is very subjective about gear vs. software, and mac vs. pc etc. etc. etc.
Dennis Donohue
mercenary01@hotmail.com
