Multitrack recording began after the invention of the tape recorder in Germany during World War II. In 1955, guitarist Les Paul invented an eight-track recorder of his design, which became universally adopted. By the 1990s, most of the functions once performed by tape were done on computer, using specialized software.
Mixing software is available for all computer platforms. Indeed, while some companies specialize in one platform or another, many manufacture software for both Macintosh and Windows systems.
Digidesign's Pro Tools is reputedly the most widely used music recording software in the world. Pro Tools LE comes bundled with many of the company's hardware interfaces. (Pro Tools LE can be bought separately but still requires a Digidesign hardware interface.) A downside is that it is not compatible with many third-party effect and instrument programs, most of which use Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology (VST), which Pro Tools does not recognize.
Cakewalk's Sonar is another extremely popular recording program. Unlike Pro Tools, Sonar does not require a specific brand of interface; indeed, it can be run using a computer's native sound card (although superior results can be had by using a dedicated hardware interface). Sonar includes high-quality effects and instruments, the number of which vary with price. A top-of-the-line version is fairly expensive, but a number of cheaper alternatives are available, including the entry-level Cakewalk Home Studio.
Steinberg's Cubase is the third of the big three Windows recording programs. At one time the most popular, Cubase has lost considerable market share to Sonar and Pro Tools but remains a powerful program. Cubase runs on virtually all Windows systems and sound cards and can utilize any of the thousands of available VST effects and instrument plug-ins. Like Pro Tools and Sonar, Cubase has a low-cost alternative to its flagship version.
A variety of other programs are avilable, many of them cheap, some of them free and almost all of them available for download.
Pro Tools and Cubase run on Macintosh as well as Windows; Sonar does not. There are major programs dedicated to Mac, however. Logic once ran on both platforms, but was bought by Apple and converted to a Mac-only product. Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer is also a powerful Mac-only program. Like the computers they run on, both Logic and Digital Performer are a bit pricier than their Windows counterparts. A cheaper alternative to both is Garage Band, which is included in the price of a new Macintosh computer.
In addition to the above programs. most of which mimic the characteristics of hardware mixers and recorders, a number of applications lend themselves to musical experimentation. Programs such as AudioMulch (Windows only) and Bidule (Mac and Windows) allow the artist to mix and generate live performances in an infinite number of ways. Ableton Live lends itself to the live manipulation of prerecorded loops and songs, and Sony's Acid gives a musician great power over the mixing and remixing of loops, while combining them with live instruments.