Track limits as freedom or . . . ?

[Shane Sanders]

For producers and composers: do you feel like 64 tracks is realistically enough for most serious productions, or do you often find yourself needing more? Could you live well if you only had 16 stereo tracks to work with? Wax philosophical for me, as I want to encounter many perspectives.

I know The Beatles made world-changing records under technical limitations that would seem almost absurd now, so I’m not pretending more tracks automatically equal better music. At the same time, many would argue that there’s no problem with wanting options, especially when modern arrangements, layering, sound design, routing, and mixing can get complex if you drop in a lot of incidental sounds and fancy timbral coloration.

[pough]

... not. At least, freedom isn't the word that I would choose. I would choose words like constraint, focus, or pressure. Some musicians need a straight jacket; some just need a sock.