Maybe I'm out of date here (what are this mini-disc thingy?) but I think a decent 4-track cassette recorder--ideally one that can run at either regular or double speed, but if that's not available, double speed is better sound quality is still an essential tool for pre-production--roughing out arrangements, and learning some of the basic techniques of multi-tracking--you __don't__ want to go into a studio at $50/hr or more with no idea what you're doing. My Tascam 244, if I could find a used one now, would probably go for $350-400 and its money well spent. I think prices have bottomed out on these because of their utility to musicians.

Get at least one decent mike--if you can't afford a $1000 AKG condenser mike, at least one or two SM57 or SM58--standard performing mikes--will be way lots better than those junkie little tape recorder mikes. The motto GIGO (garbage in garbage out) is very true here. You need to learn the tricks of getting a clean sound, and sycnhronizing your various tracks--using click tracks and ghost tracks. (And simple things like counting in and not making extraneous noises--both simple things that really are learned skills.

It's a lot of fun, really. You don't need to worry about effects when you're recording the tracks, that stuff comes later. First you get the sound clean, then you can mess it up.

If you just want to critique your own sound, or tape tunes to learn, a built-in mike is acceptable--but I would _never_ use one on a tape I wanted someone else to listen to and enjoy. Built-ins ALWAYS pick up motor noise from the cassette machine, and you are 100% guaranteed an ugly background noise when it is played on a decent stereo.

When you want to do a recording for release or serious promotion, a good producer/engineer is a godsend. But you can use the 4-track to learn the basics on your on time before you start paying him or her.

Good luck!

Bill