Best/cheapest programs to record a whole band with?

[Mild_child]

Yeah what should I use to record some of my bands song ideas? I have audacity, what do you guys think recording all the instruments in one take with a mic into audacity? Any other suggestions? What's the best placement of a mic If I was to record all the bands in one track? If I was to record each instrument, but play at the same time, what methods would you use/gear would you use?

[Mild_child]

hmmm...

[Moseph]

To record multiple channels, you'll need multiple channels. You can purchase a mixer to handle the inputs and mix it realtime, feeding the line in of your soundcard.

You could also spend more and get discrete channel recording in your software, to be mixed later. This is best accomplished with a Firewire or USB 2.0 device. Fortunately, most of these devices come with an OEM version of recording software well suited to the task (like Cubase LE, or Ableton Live).