Hen's Teeth

            Multi-track hen teeth isn't something new that came with digital technology, but the digital revolution has taken this recording process to a whole new level. Since a multi-tracked recording that has been saved onto a computer disk is nothing more than a computer file, it can easily be moved through the Internet to multiple locations. The biggest advantage is that a musician can now literally e-mail his unfinished recording to another musician. Then the other musician can lay down a new track onto the original recording and then e-mail it back to the original guy. Basically, the recording can be made one track at a time without the musicians ever having to leave their homes. This isn't practical for large recording stars, but for small musicians it can be an incredible tool for creating and recording their own songs. .
             Computer-based recording's emergence in the music world has brought the cost of recording music down to a point where nearly every musician can afford to make his own quality musical recordings. In the early days of analog recording up until the early 1990's, hardly anyone without a huge record deal were able to make quality recordings of their own music. However, tape-based analog recorders began to become obsolete, analog 4-track recorders began to go down in price to where even the lowliest musician could afford them. This was of course due to the increased presence of available digital equipment, which was at the time still very expensive.
             Costs for digital recording equipment quickly began to go down as well. In 1991, Alesis introduced an ADAT machine (Advanced Digital Audio Tape) that provided eight tracks of digital recording ability for only $3995.00. One can currently purchase a sixteen-track digital recorder with its own built-in hard drive for around $1500.00. Thanks to this digital revolution in recording, people could now have their material on the street for less money and time.