Multi-Track Recorders

Multitrack recording ('multitracking' or just 'tracking' for short) is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole. This is the most common method of recording popular music. more...

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Multitracking can be achieved with analogue, tape based, equipment (from simple cassette based 4/8 trackers to 2" reel to reel 24 track machines), digital equipment that relies on tape storage of recorded digital data (such as ADAT 8 track machines) and hard disk based systems, often employing a computer and multitrack audio recording software. Multitrack recording devices vary in their specifications, such as the number of simultaneous tracks available for recording at any one time; in the case of tape based systems this is limited by, among other factors, the physical size of the tape employed. For computer based systems the trend is towards unlimited numbers of record/playback tracks, although issues such as memory and CPU available will in fact limit this from machine to machine. It has to be noted though that on computer based systems the number of simultaneously available recording tracks is limited by the sound card discrete analogue or digital inputs.

When recording, audio engineers can select which track (or tracks) on the device will be used for each instrument.

Each of the tracks on the recording device can be set to record or to play back at any time. For example, a musician might record onto track 2 and listen on track 1 at the same time, allowing him to sing or to play a duet in harmony with a performance already recorded on track 1. He might then record on track 3 while listening to track 2. All three performances can then be played back perfectly synchronised, as if they had originally been played and recorded together. This can be repeated until all of the available tracks have been used.

When recording is completed, the many tracks are "mixed down" through a mixing console to a two-track stereo recorder in a format which can then be duplicated and distributed. Most of the records, CDs and cassettes commercially available in a music store are recordings that were originally recorded on multiple tracks, and then mixed down to stereo.

Flexibility of multitrack recording

During multitracking, multiple musical instruments (and vocals) can be recorded, either one at a time or simultaneously, onto individual tracks, so that the sounds thus recorded can be accessed, processed and manipulated individually to produce the desired results. For example, after recording some parts of a song, an artist might listen to only the guitar part, by 'muting' all the tracks except the one on which the guitar was recorded. If he then wanted to listen to the vocals in isolation, he would do so by muting all the tracks apart from the vocals track. If he wanted to listen to the entire song, he could do so by unmuting all the tracks. If he did not like the guitar part, or found a mistake in it, and wanted to replace it, he could do so by re-recording only the guitar part, rather than re-recording the entire song. This kind of editing freedom is one of the biggest benefits of multitracking.

Read more at Wikipedia.org