In general, I think the MBox Mini is a bargain.
At this point, I record exclusively rock instrumentals and I have neither the guitar equipment, facilities, mics nor know-how to mic live amps so I record completely direct using amp modeling. I use Amplitube 2 heavily and think it is fantastic.
An earlier or "LE" version of Amplitube is included with MBox Mini (as well as a bunch of other plug-ins). I was disappointed by that version, but based on some Internet reviews; I learned that Amplitube 2 is much improved. Fortunately, the bundled Amplitube LE qualifies you for upgrade pricing. If you intend to use an amp modeling plug-in, I recommend budgeting for that upgrade. I found it well worth it. Although, there are numerous amp modeling products on the market, Amplitube 2 is ranked high on the list (closely comparable but less expensive to Guitar Rig), and I find the user interface natural in every way. It also fully simulates the look-and-feel of amps, which is a selling point for me.
I will caution that amp modeling is processor intensive. You'll need a PC with some horsepower to keep latency at bay. I can offer some tips on that topic when you get to that point.
If you want to add percussion to your compositions, you'll need to decide what is best for you. There is a midi sequencing plug-in included with the Accelerator Pack bundled with the MBox, but I haven’t used it. I used Acid Pro 4.x and drum-loops with my prior recording setup, so I have continued that approach and I am very satisfied with that approach. You can use loops with Pro-Tools, but my version lacked the ability to automatically sync the loops to my project tempo, at least not in the way Acid seamlessly does it. Furthermore the limited track count (32) of Pro-Tools makes it less effective as a loop sequencer. I hear newer versions of Pro-Tools handles Acid format loops, but that still doesn’t full solve the issues. You have a broad range of choices on the drums topic so some research is warranted. I do have some info on how I use Acid here:
http://darenwoodall.com/misc.htm
If your goals are to mic amps and acoustic guitars and such, the single input (mono/stereo) of the MBox Mini will be a serious bottleneck. This is not a limitation for me therefore this setup could not be a better fit.
There are various DAW choices on the market, but $295 for the interface, Pro-Tools and bundled products makes for a bargain in my view, provided the input limitations are not a problem for ya.
Hope this helps, Daren
Edit: If you want to hear a sample done with the above setup, you can check my see my MySpace link below, but note only "The Way Through" was recorded with the MBox. All other tunes were done using a Zoom MRS-8, which is a simpler, much more portable option that can give some satisfying results. This is another option you can consider.
