Let me rephrase the question -- now that I've done a little research -- or maybe even answer my own question. How are the pros, that is folk-oriented acoustic pros, doing this?

My guess is they've got nice little four- or eight-track coffee table DAT machines, or direct-to-drive infinity-channel machines, and don't screw around with all this make-one-home-PC-work-for-everything garbage.

Would this be a better way to go? Again, I just want an electronic notebook that I can play and sing into by wire or by microphone -- kind of a musical diary.

All this MIDI stuff sounds REALLY confusing, and -- reading between the lines -- like the technology isn't really there yet.

Love to you all, Tony