Squeak, are you going to be recording tightly constructed radio hits or do you want to jam? If you compose, in what style? Three minutes is a serious limitation for many uses. I checked my songs and they range from 2:20 to one that ran over six minutes which included more guitar solos than needed, but I was having fun, and sometimes that's the point. The question is ,what are you wanting to accomplish? By the way, you can maximize track-minutes by sequencing all your keyboard parts and just recording a two-track stereo mix. Then it's down to how many guitar and vocal parts you want or need to add.However, you may find that guitars and some vocals sound better double-tracked, and unless you are a gifted singer,you may want to record several vocals and keep just the best parts. If $299 is the limit then you can't beat it, but a hard disc recorder with virtual tracks and much more recording time is very nice and not TOO much more money. Good luck and have fun.
Bill