My local music store...

[Jack Rabbit]

...is awful.

I feel very lucky that my computer just happens to work with Mbox. After reading this group and seeing how many people have compatibility issues, I am (not really, I guess) surprised that no one at the store mentioned the finickiness of PTLE when I purchased it. They know me as a total (sucker, I guess) amateur, so I would have expected some leeway on the whole caveat emptor thing. As for PTLE compatibility issues, they either

(1) Don't know
(2) Don't care
(3) Don't have the time or patience to shepherd novices into home recording

If it's (3), so be it. I didn't have to learn the hard way. But it's not like I walked in saying "I want an Mbox. Hey, sell me a freakin' Mbox." And I'm sure Digidesign reps aren't instructing local vendors: "Hey look, uh, when you're pushing this stuff, don't mention that Pro Tools only works with certain computer hardware, okay? Heh heh. No really, man, I'm serious."

Thanks, all, for letting me vent. I'm going to go write a song now about the gloomy, snobbish, desperate culture at a local music store. Actually, I think spending time in this group (home?) is fostering serious solipsism in my music. I penned the following lyric yesterday:

It had such a mundane sound
So I cranked up the reverb
To give that veneer of the profound
But it didn't quite deceive her