Software and stuff...

I use Ableton Live software, which I think is great. It's a very intuitive interface. I learned to mix on PA boards and in the studio on a Tascam board, the difference between these and Live is that "a track" in Live is a stereo track, more like a DJ board (which where their initial usage started, for loops mixing).

For the tracks on Utenzil's Garageband site, Live Delta 2.1.2 and Live 3.04 were used. I have recently upgraded to Live 4.0, which incorporates MIDI sequencing as well. The easy way to get a mono track to happen in order set out the image is to use the "Utility" effect as the first effect in the chain, set it to the mono preset. You can also add some separation to elements by dropping the Utility effect into the Master track and widening out towards 120 degrees of pan.

I also use the Tascam US-122 USB interface and M-Audio MobilePre USB interface. Yes, I know that Firewire is better, and I'll be going that route eventually, but this is what I felt I could afford starting out.

The MobilePre is cool because it has a stereo mic input as well as XLR and 1/4 jacks. I have a small Sony stereo condenser (battery powered) that I can plug into this and capture ambient sound wherever whenever, recording with Live. The MobilePre came with a really nice bundle of starter software products, and the Tascam came with Cubasis.