Thanks very much, guys, lots of good advice. Jeff, if I lived near you I would very gladly take you up on that offer
I'm not really looking to get gigs. and I know someone who knows what they're doing and who has a good home studio, so I'm hoping I can arrange to work with him on this for something less than the cost of a full professional studio, but a much better result than anything I can do on my own! I'm not looking to market this in any professional way, I'm just looking at it as a way of sharing the music. Around where I live, there is a thriving acoustic music community, and lots of people I know through the local folk clubs and open mics have recoded CDs on this basis - and indeed if I've enjoyed their music, I've bought their CDs. So - assuming the outlay can be affordable - I'm seeing that as the cost of creating something I want to create and any money I get back on selling any copies of the CD would be a bonus!
I like the idea of trying to do it a track or two at a time and build it slowly. I wonder how much better the twelvth track would be than the first!
Fliss