The cost of a digital 8-track has become affordable. I got a Fostex MR-8 for $300, and I love the thing. Undestructive editing with undo, redo, and basic reverbs and delay. It has automatic punch-ins and outs and an amp simulator for straight in recording. These effects aren't the highest studio quality by any means, but with practice and polish, one could easily record a cd-quality demo or just hit record for practice ideas. As far as drawbacks though, the onboard memory is limited, especially with the included flash card it records to. So I resulted in getting mixing software for my computer (Guitar Tracks Pro), then I can dump my tracks to my hard drive upon need, freeing up my memory card. If I need that track to record with again later, I can put it back. Another cool feature is it can run on batteries similar to those tape multitrackers. Boss also makes an even nicer version of the same concept, but for a lil' more.