recording vocals and guitar

I'd do them separately - guitar on one track and singing on another. That way, if you blow the singing, you can always redo it without having to re-record the guitar - and vice versa, of course.

true indeed, thanks. does the result sound different though? i tried recording them separately, but the vocals sound a little isolated even though im on beat with the guitar track. is this where a mixer comes in?

I'm not an expert on voice recording - I can't sing for toffee. Try panning the guitar a little to one channel and the voice to the other.

After you've mixed down, you should consider adding a little echo or reverb, to "soften the edges".

thanks again greybeard.... will keep playing at it.... err, not that i can sing either :P

What kind of mic are you using? I always recomend, if you can, dragging the mic to the nearest closet. This will give you a good deadspace. It will also boost your percieved volume. Unless your room is full of hardwood and high ceilings it probably doesn't sound too great as far as rooms go. YOu can add a little delay to the vocals and guitar if you like but try to make it sound good dry first. If it doesn't sound good dry, it's not going to sound good when you ad 'verb. If you want to tweak the eq, check this site out: http://www.digitalprosound.com/2002/03_mar/tutorials/mixing_excerpt1.htm

thanks for the tips and link hueseph. i'm using a regular pc mic (i think by altec lansing) and recording in the den of my apartment - yep, i'm starting to think the quality of my equipment and recording area needs an upgrade before i can expect anything good.