New to audio recording

ive only gotten into recording on a pc in the last six months, and ive only been exposed to cakewalk home studio xl so ive nothing to compare it to. i can say that im very happy with my purchase (albiet a tad frustrated at times with the inital learning curve), and im making musical product that would cost tons more to create using a 'normal' studio set up. i wish that this technology was available when i was gigging and recording. the package comes with a great deal of bells and whistles (lots of soft-syths, effects, and plenty more very good ones out there for free with a little searching on google), and is upgradeable to higher end versions of cakewalk if you end up needing more power under the hood.

word of caution: no matter which software route you go, youll need a better than average computer. 2gb of cpu power (minimum!), a huge hard drive, a mixer or preamp, and a sound card built for recording (not a soundblaster or realtek, or anything that might come factory installed). again, this goes for any software set up you choose, so be prepared to shell out extra money if your pc isnt up to par. again, compaired to the cost of using physical equivilants, its a hell of a lot cheaper...although daunting to the wallett noone the less. also, if youre relatively new to recording in general, i would suggest researching technique (theres been a lot of great posts on this board about the subject...a good place to start is by searching out posts by a forum member named 'yep'.) and the do's and donts of processing sound properly (in addition to this sites forums, there is a site called 'kvr' that has a ton of info, and links to another ton of info).

again, as ive only used the home studion xl product, i simply cannot compare different brands of packages, but, like i said, if youre looking for a nice starter package that offers all the tools you'll need right out of the box (besides hardware) than i can reccomend home studio xl.

wjhatever you buy, you will need atleast a month to learn the software and soundcard settings for optimal performance. do not rush your recording once you get your software. Learn it real good before you start or you will be re-recording it again
cj

can we get away with plugging guitars and mics into my mic port on my laptop?

no!! if you buy nothing else you need a proper soundcard!! if you're on xp you can pick up an m-audio fast track dirt cheap to use, which will do for now, but it's up to you - can you each put in $100 to buy a better card??!!! a mixer is only $70 anyway for an 8 in/2 out behringer xenyx if that's the way you want to go...

Audiotrak MAYA EX5 External USB 5.1 Surround Sound Card is this a good card to think about?

can i just plug the guitars straight into the laptop?

You don't wan to do that, wrong impedance.

http://psbg.emusician.com/ar/emusic_going_direct/index.htm

Audiotrak MAYA EX5

no, think semi pro musician's card not dvd/gamer's card. try searching the forums for some threads, look up m-audio fast track, edirol ua 1, edirol ua 4, edirol ua5, emu 0202 usb and 0404usb, line 6 ux2, echo audiofire 2 and 4 etc etc. and don't bloody well buy a sb audigy ex thinganajig...!!

I am on vista

actually i think all the cards i mentioned will now. if i remember the fast track has vista drivers but the fast track pro hasn't...check out www.cakewalk.com/vista the emu cards have beta drivers, edirol and echo totally ready to go.

so I just bought MC3 just for something to mess around with but i dont know if it will work with Vista

why? we've all said check whatever you buy is vista compatible - AFAIK MC3 isn't . try Reaper.

now you've got a CW product, assuming it's registered, you can get the upgrade price for HS6, which will prob be only a few dollars. i know for poor students it's tough - apparently some people have got music maker to work in vista, give it a go. it'll either work or it won't.