You'll need some mics to record the drums, depending on the guitar and bass you can use something like a POD/Sansamp or just mic your amps, for vocals you'll need a decent mic preferably with a nice sounding preamp and possibly a compressor, and then you'll need a computer with a soundcard capable of accepting all your audio inputs (MIDI for keys) in real time and some software (with effects) to record and mix it all. This can be done anywhere from "fairly cheaply" to "very expensive" depending on which gear you choose. In the case of software there's tons of great *free* high quality stuff around if you're on a PC. Audacity, Fish Filets, Slim Slow Slider, FAsoft Para3 EQ, S1R convolution reverb, etc.

It's going to be difficult at times getting it all setup and running smoothly to the point that you're turning out high quality mixes but don't get discouraged, it's worthwhile and you'll be happy once you have your rig together. Rock on.

Oh yeah also, if you don't want to record to a computer you can also look into one of the many "all in one" standalone digital recording devices out these days, there's lots of them from people like Roland, Yamaha, Fostex, etc. You can run mics staright into these things usually and they often contain onboard effects/EQs, etc. Not a bad way to get started depending on your situation, some folks prefer using standalone boxes to working on a computer. 8-)

Calgary wrote: You'll need some mics to record the drums, depending on the guitar and bass you can use something like a POD/Sansamp or just mic your amps, for vocals you'll need a decent mic preferably with a nice sounding preamp and possibly a compressor, and then you'll need a computer with a soundcard capable of accepting all your audio inputs (MIDI for keys) in real time and some software (with effects) to record and mix it all. This can be done anywhere from "fairly cheaply" to "very expensive" depending on which gear you choose. In the case of software there's tons of great *free* high quality stuff around if you're on a PC. Audacity, Fish Filets, Slim Slow Slider, FAsoft Para3 EQ, S1R convolution reverb, etc.

It's going to be difficult at times getting it all setup and running smoothly to the point that you're turning out high quality mixes but don't get discouraged, it's worthwhile and you'll be happy once you have your rig together. Rock on.

Oh yeah also, if you don't want to record to a computer you can also look into one of the many "all in one" standalone digital recording devices out these days, there's lots of them from people like Roland, Yamaha, Fostex, etc. You can run mics staright into these things usually and they often contain onboard effects/EQs, etc. Not a bad way to get started depending on your situation, some folks prefer using standalone boxes to working on a computer. 8-)

Audacity is quality huh? Thats cool I though it sucked and wouldnt use it cause I thought I needed better. Cool man thanks

Audacity is cool for the price(free) but, no real time effects, no midi, no realtime editing. There are quite a few programs that are entry level for cheap. $100.00 and up. I would look into Cakewalk Home Studio although I think it's limited to 8 simultaneous tracks to record on. Cubase SE is a great program. I'm a huge Cubase fan. http://steinbergcanada.com they are blowing out Cubase VST 5.0 Standard for $100 Canadian. There is no upgrade path to SE/SL/SX and it doesn't work well on XP but it is a great program. I run it on Win2K along with Acid Music Studio for time-stretching/beatmatching/looping. If you need portability, an all in one recorder is the way to go. You still might want to invest in an External mixer if you plan on doing extensive micing with the drums. Otherwise a 16 channel unit would work for you. Check for some of the recording packages. Good deals there.