It is fun to get out in the studio and jam and record. Very good therapy. What DAW are you using for your stuff. I started with Tracktion 2, then Tracktion 3. Now I use a combination of Tracktion 3, Reaper, and Protools 10. Just learning to use Reaper and ProTools. This month Protools 11 comes out and Im eligable for a free upgrade to it. Cant wait.
I use Alesis drum machine and Guitar tracks pro 2.0 very inexpensive but gets the job done. Traction, Reaper, Protools are beyond my budget but I can see they turn out some nice stuff. Are they easy to use? Maybe I should reconsider dropping some serious $ on some fresh software.
Reaper is a full blown DAW and only costs $60 for the individual license. You can download the trial version, which is the full blown version !!! Its not limited. Just has a "splash screen" asking you to pay if you enjoy and use it. Once you pay the $60, the splash screen when starting up the program disappears. DAW's take some reading and usage to learn. But it will open up a whole new world. Tracktion 4 is out now, but is still "buggy". Its less than Reaper, but still in its infancy and crashes on certain systems. Reaper is the way to go. http://www.reaper.fm/ Download it and play with it. Like I said the trial version is the full blown version. Many just put up with the startup screen asking you to pay if you enjoy it. Later