What Audio Interfaces Would You Recommend?

Hey guys, i'm looking into getting a "real" audio interface.
Budget is at about 300 Euro, but don't be afraid if you can recommend something really nice a bit above that.

I will be recording my guitar and bass with the interface. I want to be able to do 3 things:
Record straight from my POD X3
Record with a microphone (micing up my amp)
Record with software modellers (ReValver)

I mostly use my PC today, but it would be great with an interface that also supports Mac because I have a macbook aswell.

The most important things ofcourse are audio quality and low low low latency monitoring.
I will be monitoring with just headphones at first but will be buying monitors later.

Any input?

Trying To Figure Out Tattooed Dancer Riff

Hey guys, think I need some input. I'm trying to learn the song Tattooed Dancer (Ozzy) by ear. I wanna learn it because the opening riff is one of the coolest i've ever heard. I have figured out the notes and chords and I can understand how Zakk plays the riff, but I can get the correct sound of my guitar. To me it sounds like Zakk basicly "squals" out harmonics from the first powerchord (or perfect 4th I guess) and then bends quickly and pulls off to the "chords" following that first harmonic hit so it affects the whole run. I hope i've explained my thoughts correctly. I could be mistaken but I think he plays it like that. I'm talking about the very first riff here.

So how would I go about getting a similar effect? I'm trying to hit both strings when I strum the ackord the same way I would when I do pinch harmonics which i'm pretty comfortable with. But I get a very different kind of sound, no matter how I strum the strings.

Any ideas??

Been Damaged By To Many Tabs?

I had an irritating revelation today. Tabs have ruined my guitar playing. I started playing with tabs and then kept playing to them (guitarpro) because it was easy to retune songs so I could play along. My skills have developed and also my ear, I can learn songs by ear (tho not as easy or fast as I would like). But now I wonder if anyone has any pointers/tips on where to basicly start over. Should I just start playing to songs "for real" and try to learn more songs by ear? I need a way to develop my confidence in my playing. I can play some very hard stuff but I sometimes get stuck when I try to improvise or come up with own ideas. I know some theory but not enough I think.

What would you guys say are the most important areas to develop a good basic tone, feel and creativity?
I can play some fast things, but I have played with other people and been like "man, that guy can strum the most wicked, evil G chord i've ever heard. And he does the same things as me!"

Dean Build-quality And Input On Getting Low-end Guitar

So, i'm looking into getting a cheaper guitar because I need a guitar without a floyd so I can tune to dropped quickly when I need to. I've been looking into the Dean ML 79, Dean Vendetta 4.0, LTD EC 500 (used) and the LTD MH/H models.

As I said it will be used as an "off" guitar and mostly used for practice and maybe some idea recording.

I would very much like the Dean ML 79 but i've heard so many bad things about Dean the last 2-3 years. Is the quality of their lower-ends really bad?

Right now the most interesting are the Vendetta and the EC 500 simply because they have 24 frets, and the Vendetta is even 25.5 scale which I prefer.

Any opinions about dean quality or any of these guitars?
I would also like suggestion about other guitars that I could look into. I can spend around 7-8 euro.

Whammy "schirrp" Lesson?

Just throwing the idea out, I think it's mostly used by a few metal guitarists.
Basicly what you do is hit a note and then either pull the whammy bar _up_ very quicky and let go so it quickly vibrates a short moment or you could lock your whammy bar to the back of the guitar and hit it quickly.

Would like a lesson on how to play simple melodies with this technique. I can make the basic sound easily, but I have problem getting clean "schirrps" when playing short melodies. I guess a lot of muting of strings and good legato is required.

Any tips or maybe a lesson coming up? =)