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And that image represents a slice of the sky about as wide as a quarter placed in front of your face.

The odds of life *not* being out there somewhere are astounding.

Roland has an entire line of MIDI guitars.  No idea on cost or quality, but I've seen them played well, and they're pretty cool.

Lucille is many guitars.  Just as Air Force One is whatever aircraft the President is in, regardless of type and who is flying it, Lucille is whatever guitar BB King is playing.   It's been everything from a Telecaster to the current ES-335.

Which is kind of cool.

It's meant to be when you love her more than all the $#!* she does that bugs you.

Did you make this up yourself?

Not as rare as you think.  I just fake it really well. 

Selling it has never even crossed my mind.  It's a one of-a-kind, built specifically for Wintergrass by Nechville who is also a festival sponsor.    My next step is actually to call my insurance agent and add a rider for it to my homeowner's policy.

In other news, the wife is going across the pond for a week, so I'm home alone for a week with a brand new banjo.

I have 99 problems....  Wait, no I don't.  Life is pretty dang good! 

Flight of the Chonchords was a great act.

In Seattle, though, the list of impact bands is long and distinguished.

How far back do you want to go?  50s?  How about the Whalers (of Louie Louie fame) or the Ventures?  60s?  Hendrix, duh.   70s?  Heart. Robert Cray got started in Eugene Oregon, even though he didn't grow up out here.   80s?  How about Queensryche?  I don't think a bigger impact band than Mother Love Bone ever existed.   Out of that sprouted a whole lot of 90s bands including Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney.  And then there's the others, Nirvana and Alice in Chains, amongst others not so huge like Candlebox, The Melvins,  and the Posies.   In the new century, we're responsible for a whole lot of music, including the Presidents of the United States of America,  Death Cab for Cutie, Neko Case, Brandie Carslile (who grew up about a mile from me) and a bunch of up-and-comer alt-country acts, including Zoe Muth and The Swearengins.

It's a good place to be if you like music. 

I would be remis if I didn't mention Reaper, the free as you want it to be DAW....

http://www.reaper.fm/

You know, this by rights, should be a sticky thread where we can post up all the bargains we find.

Here is a site dedicated to free (as in gratis) VST plugins for your DAW of choice.

http://www.vst4free.com/

That kind of money will buy you way more than you could ever use for your needs right now.

Obviously you'll need mics, but like any tool, you'll want to get the right one's for the job.   Consider the job in two parts.  1) Recording really loud stuff, like an amplifier, and 2) Recording high fidelity stuff, like your vocals and everything else.  For #1 stuff, dynamic mics like the Shure SM58 Russell mentioned are ideal.  They are also great stage mics.     The drawback to them is that you will lose some lower frequencies when you record.    For more controlled studio use, you want condenser mics.  These are a lot more sensitive and require phantom power to run, but you will get much more accurate images from them than you will a dynamic mic.   They care consequently more expensive, but you can get really good ones for not much money.  MXL and AKG both produce good large diaphragm condensers at good price points.   And get two of them, as you'll want to record in stereo when you mic up your acoustic guitar.

For recording, you can use your computer if you have an audio interface, or you can buy a dedicated recording appliance.   I have and use both, and they each have some pros and cons.   For the audio interface you get the bennefit of using whatever diigital audio workstation (DAW) suits your fancy.  I prefer Reaper, but a lot of people here use Audacity.   Cubebase comes with almost every audio interface on Earth these days, and most top end studio guys use Protools.    The interface also allows you to upgrade if you want, so you can go from your first budget interface to a top of the line tube driven pre-amp model if you want.   The drawback is portability.   You are basically tied to your workstation, although you can set up a laptop for portability if you want.

Dedicated production appliances provide a nice answer if you need "quick and easy."   I use a Fostex MR-8 regularly for recording jam circles at music festivals and it is ideal for that.   The drawback is that the only way to upgrade is to get a new box, so if there is something I don't like about it (and there is) I'm basically stuck with it.

The most important thing about recording, though, isn't equipment, it's the space in which you do the recording.  If you are recording in an acoustically poor room with the best equipment money can buy, all you will end up with is a great recording of a crappy room.  So find a good spot to record, and treat your recording space as best you can with panelling and bass traps.

And as Russ notes, don't forget things like mic stands and cables.  Don't cheap out on the cables, either, as you'll just end up buying them twice.

That's one of those light bulb moments!  I always tell new players that until you stop saying "My fingers hurt!" and start saying "My fingers don't hurt enough!"  that you'll never get anywhere.