Any reccomendations for a CD burner?

Alesis 9600, about $1000 with everything you need. Nothing else compares!

I too have the above mentioned Pioneer and it fine for the money.2 years now and no problems,Bob

A few things to consider:
- the analog to digital converter chip
- cd error correction and burn quality

The stand-alone unit would be simpler, but a computer allows for software processing the audio to remove unwanted noise. For a computer you would need a quality sound card (e.g. RME Audio or Lynx) and a better than average cd burner. For example, the Plextor Premium allows to specify the laser strength to create deeper pits when burning. One more thing, don't cheap out on cd blanks for the final recording. As you may know these scratch easily. I use MaxellPro. They use a triple-coated scratch resistant surface.

I have nothing to add for stand alone units. I don't have one.

-O

Plextor is the most popular among highest quality options, I also heard some Teacs are about the same level...
I wouldn't care about most standalone units, as A/D converter quality is usually isn't clear, using SPDIF introduces more jitter, etc. Using PC, and thus being entirely in digital data domain, burner of high quality, and a good software, one could minimize those problems, IMO.

Another interesting option for the PC route is the M-audio Transit. This is an A/D convertor in with a USB interface for only $100. It performs up to 24/96 conversion and acts as an A/D or a D/A.

That said I would imagine a standalone to be much simpler to use. Many studios use TASCAM or HHB. Check on www.musiciansfriend.com.