Stand-alone CD recorder is best for a simple one-box solution, with everything already designed to work a certain way (which can be good or bad). Disadvantages are slow burning, and very limited editing capability . . . and usually you have to use special "CD-R music" discs, rather than "CD-R data" discs.
The computer route is far fussier for acheiving high sound quality, as you have to personally take responsibility for finding a good audio interface ("sound card"), setting up the software, making sure the drivers or OS doesn't screw things up, organising and taging the music files in a way that preserves the audio quality and makes them easy to find, using a reliable cd burner drive, etc. A real pain, but if you want to easily edit the contents or quickly burn multiple copies, it's very much worth it.
These days, I use a computer for live recording . . . but sometimes the editing still seems like more of a hassle than in the days when I could simply cut and splice analog tape. But I definately don't miss having to quickly swap reels between pieces, or the cost of the tape itself.
The computer route is far fussier for acheiving high sound quality, as you have to personally take responsibility for finding a good audio interface ("sound card"), setting up the software, making sure the drivers or OS doesn't screw things up, organising and taging the music files in a way that preserves the audio quality and makes them easy to find, using a reliable cd burner drive, etc. A real pain, but if you want to easily edit the contents or quickly burn multiple copies, it's very much worth it.
These days, I use a computer for live recording . . . but sometimes the editing still seems like more of a hassle than in the days when I could simply cut and splice analog tape. But I definately don't miss having to quickly swap reels between pieces, or the cost of the tape itself.
