how to get the best quality?
What equipment to use?

 

Kine It depends what quality you want ,what do you have available or how much you want to spend.I find that for a quick fix there's some mp3 recorders out there that make crisp and clear recordings if the actual exterior sound is adequate.Then you can work down to more complicated stuff like a board with mikes running out to Recorder,PC.etc...There's also multitracks that you could use.Anyway think about what type of recording you want,how many instruments,etc Then post your goal and a how to get there I'm sure will give you some ideas.
Peace out.
Good luck playing your song at school!

Zoom has recently release a recorder call the H4
It's a "porta studio" with integrated stereo condenser mics
It cost £249 in the UK and the review are good
May be it's worth a look

Before you go out and spend money on things you'll just want to trade in later (I'm guilty). The best thing to do is research all about recording and recording processes.

  Get a solid understanding of what each thing does. pros and cons of each style of recording device.
There is ton of different types of recorders  analog tape, digital tape, digital hardrive (stand alone) DAW
Digital Audio Workstation ......PC, MAC. and stand alone DAW's.  with computer based recording you need audio interfaces .....Way too many to list, and there are a bunch of them that are good,, and inexpensive.

 mho is to research and research some more.
here is a link to a good start just read as much as you can stomach . I've read  through quite a bit of this and they know what they are talking about.  You'll find that even industry leaders in the recording field can't even agree on what the best way to do anything is.  there are multiple applications to achieve things .

So now that you're completely confused  here is the link
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

Thanks. 

I have an mp3-recorder, but it's not that good...

If you don't have the tequnical expertise, you could purchase a book. I purchased a book from amazon for a few pounds which is called 'recording & production tequniques' by Paul White. It's very easy to follow. Aside that I would check on the reviews of your current equipment before you write it off.

I got a lot hiss from my digital work station and went on the net to get some helpful tips on how to cure it. Do you have a condensor mic? I purchased an AKG that works without phantom power. It cost £100.00 and has dramatically improved the quality of my live recordings. I could help you with acoustic guitar, most people have made positive comments from my acoustic recordings.

I think the first thing is to purchase good mics, not necessarily expensive, but the correct type for your instrument [the shure web site has a tutorial section which is superb]. If your recording Electric guitar or bass straight into your recorder you must have HI-Z imput [can handle the frequencies better], if you don't the sound will be muffelled. You could always record these instruments from  an amplifier. I found that you have to reduce the bass considerably when doing so, it depends on the volume and eq settings you have set up. but your ears are your best judge. above all most engineers find thier way by pure practice.

Hope this helps.

Denis

BOSS BR 1600 HAS 8 HOOKUPS FOR A BAND.THAT SHOULD WORK FOR A BAND.

Well, first you have to get their permission:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_(band)
http://www.friendsoflive.com/

  Then you need to get a decent multitrack recorder, and they can usually hook it up to their board...

 
   ok ok... sorry, couldn't help it... hehehe.... 

                  JimK