my intro to the world of analog was the otari 5050 8 track. you can find theme in good condition for fairly cheap, maybe $500. buy an old 8 channel mixer with a couple of buss options (i had an old soundcraft 200 series, also fairly affordable). grab a couple of pieces of outboard effects, a pair of decent monitors, build a few snakes, etc. You'll also need an MRL tape (another several hundred dollars), cleaner and supplies, a couple of tweakers, possibly a degausser, a manual, a tone generator, an oscilloscope, a good multimeter, and of course, tape. Be willing to get used to the ins and outs of a real tape machin, aligning it, maintaining it, etc. you could improve the quality by stepping up to a 1" 8 track, or larger machine, but the price goes up substantially. hope this helps!