I just bought the Boss BR 600. I love that thing! It needs a bigger sound card, but if you want to lay down songs here and there, I would at least take a look a stand alone recorder..

What do you guys think about this? Fostex MR-8mkII 8-Track Digital Recorder about the same price as a Micro BR

I also found a program called Audacity for free its really good! I edited my crappy MP3 recordings with it pretty cool

all this boils down to what you want to spend. and how much time you want to invest in learning software and "the process" in general. i know people that have spent years learning to utilize some of these programs. it IS a painstaking process. but essentially any of these programs will allow to record something quickly without a lot of learning. it's the editing process that really takes time to learn. of the many programs out there, the one i like is SONAR from CAKEWALK. very,very powerful and relatively easy to get started up with quickly. but it too has many many editing features that take time to learn and operate. the latest sonar(7) has an excellent drum program(session drummer) that is about the easiest one to operate that i have seen. and sonar comes with a plethora of effects and plug ins. but......to really take advantage of sonar and similiar programs requires several things such as a good soundcard preferably with a breakout box of some kind or comparable hardware interface. audigy makes several good cards with these features. MARK OF THE UNICORN(MOTU) makes some pretty high end interfaces as well. but pretty pricey too. and of course you'll want as much memory in your computer that it will take to ensure smooth error free operation. so you can see where it can run you some bucks to really get into computer recording. but with the price of studio time you can re coup your investment if you plan on doing a lot of recording. for just putting down riffs on the fly or putting together something small and simple, then i would advise the stand alone units like the Boss unit mentioned.

It's really funny how people think it's all about the software. It's not... It's STILL about the hardware and that's not going to change any time soon!

The "software" of which you speak is just your recording/editing system. It doesn't include ANY of the NECESSARY hardware you NEED to make a QUALITY recording. There is little difference between the quality of most of these software packages, as far as recording of the signal, storage and editing capabilities. Most of the difference here is what you feel best with.

What software does NOT provide, however, is where your recording starts.

If you make that recording with an SM57, it's going to sound like it was recorded on an SM57. If you have a crappy little pre, it's going to sound like a crappy little pre. What I'm saying is that your recorder/software is the last piece of equipment in your signal chain and if your signal chain is questionable, then so will be your recording.

A studio stlll has it all over most home recordists, not just because they're a studio, but because there are many things a studio takes into account and addresses that the home recordist just can't afford to do, or doesn't think to do.

I have a fully isolated ground system, to eliminate hum and ground loops. I have a fully power conditioned space to eliminate any problems with power fluctuations. I have an isolated space that is virtually sound proof. I have thousands of dollars worth of tube pres, solid state pres and custom made pres. I have a closet full of mics to choose from. In fact, the gear that's used in the signal chain cost a lot more than the recording system itself. (I have single mics that cost more than the recording system.)

This is not to say that you can't do a LOT more than was possible before the digital world. Home recording is a good thing, if you want to be an engineer more than a player. Like anything else, the phrase "jack of all trades master of none" applies. You can split your time between playing and recording, but you'll be far better if you concentrate on one or the other.

Home recording is great for working out songs, developing songs and parts, multi-tracking so you can play and record other parts, instant gratification.

Studios are great for getting that final recording quickly and professionally.

Don't think for a minute that the recording industry is worried that home recording will eliminate the studio. Unless you're planning on spending a LOT of money, you will still just have a home setup and when it comes to nuts and bolts, the studio is still head and shoulders above doing it yourself. I've got over $20,000 in microphones alone and I'm just getting started in the over $2000 range. I've got over $10,000 in mic pres and once again, I'm just getting started in the over $2000 range. I spent about $15,000, (would have been more but I also provided all the labor,) on studio construction.

From the studio standpoint we look at things a bit differently, because it's our business. When a client comes in, 50% of the project belongs to them. Of what remains, here's the studios take on what's important:

50% of our job is in the room. If you have a crappy sounding room, or a room with acoustic problems, (standing waves, flutter echo, bass buildup, etc.,) it will adversely affect your recording. 10% is mic placement. A poorly placed mic will result in a poor recording. 10% is your signal chain. This can be affected by electrical lines, flourescent lighting, dimmers, dirty power and a multitude of other issues or problems depending on cables, connectors, patchbays, other gear, etc... The last 30% is the engineer. If you know exactly what you're doing then you can get it done quickly, correctly, with high quality. A trained engineer can make things happen that you might spend days or weeks trying to figure out.

On top of that, I HATE emulation of ANY kind. There's a certain random error quality to tubes and other gear that is only guessed at with emulation. No longer having tape means that the random erros, wow and flutter, natural compression, are all missing from digital recordings. I have yet to see ANY emulator that actually lives up to the gear it claims to emulate. Sure we emulate different guitar amps but we do that by blending different amps together in the recording process. I just hate "fake" sounds.

Not putting down home recording in the least here, just remember that simply buying a piece of software is no guarantee that you're going to end up with sounds like the studios get. I've seen lots of people get lucky and make something great. I've seen a few who are able to repeat the effort. I know a couple who can do it every time and those couple are on the verge of becoming recording engineers. I know a LOT more who simply get frustrated and realize they're in a LOT deeper than they ever wanted to be.

And thus, Xark has spoken.... ;)