Me and Ian are trying to revive the old "recording in the living room" method of making records/now CDs. I tired to find an old wire spool recorded like they used to do but was told that they don't make them anymore. McGrath is right... you don't need 8 tracks, unless you're planning to add harmonies. I'm recording a gospel quartet with a four track machine... that means that the guitar gets a track, the lead gets a track, the bass gets a track and the other two harmonies sing into the same mike. If John and Paul could do it, why can't we. CDs are the currency of choice now, so you're wise to go ahead and record at home. Mixing down on a portable machine is more limited than a professional studio, but there are a lot of people around who have poured a ton of money into a home studio, and then don't have any business, so you could probably get a good master mied down at a very reasonable price. That's what I'm going to do. Then, you can burn them on your computer, if you have a CD burner..
Most of all, have fun! And you'll discover that once you start taping yourself and listening back, you'll be able to tighten up your music better. The first time I heard a tape of myself singing, I swore that I'd never sing in front of anyone again. So much for vows.
Jerry