First, Mary, start your own thread on the newbies forum instead of jumping into ongoing threads and trying to change the subject. The discussuin here is entry level recording equipment, particularly used analog equipment vs. a standalone digital recorder. These guys are trying to steer you in various directions without even an approximate budget. I would argue against analog recording in your situation for a wide variety of reasons. First, cassette generally sucks, because the tape is too narrow for stereo, let alone multi-tracking, and the tape speed is too low. So if you go analog, you're talking open reel. Tape is expensive, and offers limited post-production and editing options. It is also the wave of the past. The next generation of analog decks simply aren't being designed as we speak. The real cool open reel machines (Studer, 2" tape, 30"/second, etc.) are maintenance intensive and expensive as hell to operate. They are very cool for mixing down, and there are many reasons why analog equipment still has a valid place in the recording industry, but it is simply not a low budget option.
Standalones have many desireable features, but some wicked weak points as well. In general, they tend to come up short on preamp quality and analog-digital conversion. They don't really upgrade, but they are portable and comprehensive.
Computer recording offers the most performance per pound sterling or Euro or whatever, but are large, often noisy, involve a complex learning curve. It all depends on your budget and your intentions. You *can* get professional results from a standalone, but it requires a pretty high end standalone and a bunch of outboard gear to feed it. The machine that does it all probably doesn't do it all that well. Sure, you can plug guitars into most standalones, but you'll get better results putting a mic in front of an amp.
The point here is that no matter which way you go, in the end, making *good* recordings will involve a lot of work *and* a bunch of money. There is no magic bullet that's going to give you professional sound cheap. I'd say, if you're on a budget, buy a cheap standalone like the Fostex MR-8. If nothing else, it's a good learning tool and may be useful later as a remote recorder.
For more money, something with a hard drive and a CDR drive like
BR1180CD is more useful. Get a cheap mic preamp, such as M Audio DMP-3 or Studio Projects VTB-1. Get a decent dynamic mic, if you don't already have one, say AKG D770 (cheaper than Shure in the UK), and an inexpensive condenser. In the US, it would be Studio Projects B-1 or Marshall MXL V67. In the UK, it might be Rode NT1-A or AKG C2000B (my choice for cheap and versatile). For the guitar, if you really need to go direct, consider a cheap modeler such as Behringer VAMPII.
In the beginning, you can use the preamps, A-D converter, and effects of the standalone, and add better outboard gear over time. Eventually, if you stick with it, you *will* wind up using a DAW and a computer. I use 2 standalones. One is
a Roland VS1824CD, which is the main recorder, but I use outboard gear to bypass its pres, and A-D conversion, and all effects are outboard. The other is KORG PXR4 Pandora, a palm top 4-tracker which I love. No one takes it seriously because it is so small, but that's why I love it. And I have made really good recordings with it using a couple of cheap Russian condensers and a DMP3. I wish you the best of luck.-Richie
) too often.
