Lowden,

You can get perfectly good results from a Roland multitrack - I've been using a VS1680 for over 5 years for lots of projects, my own and others. It has limitations compared to other options: I prefer to use a computer setup now, much more flexibility editing and mixing.

A lot depends what you want to do. Producing a vocal/ guitar demo
with a few overdubs is easy enough to do yourself, while recording a 6-piece band all at once to 24 tracks, with enough acoustic separation to "drop in" and replace parts requires a dedicated space and lots of specialist gear which you're only likely to get in a "proper" studio. you get what you pay for, but it's not the studio that makes the recording, it's the people inside.

The quality of a recording will depend on lots of things though- room acoustics, choice and positioning of mics, equipment used, monitoring, and - most crucially - the producer's ears. A chain is as strong as its weakest link.

If you are doing everything with just the 8-track, consider getting a mixer, however cheap or small, because it will probably have better mic preamps than the Roland. Mind out, once you start buying more gear it's a slippery slope...