It's here! Yes, Alesis' ADAT, the first digital multitrack recorder that is within the financial grasp of serious home studios, is available at last. Given the level of interest in ADAT, and its undoubted importance, we felt quite justified in devoting a full five pages to our review of the machine. In a departure from our usual reviewing style, we had two of our writers put ADAT through its paces and comment on the results. Paul White was responsible for the main review, and David Mellor also had an opportunity to test and comment on Alesis' new baby. Their conclusions? A major thumbs-up - ADAT proved to be a star performer in terms of both its audio performance and its facilities.

It's not so long ago that the arrival of affordable analogue multitracks revolutionised home recording. ADAT heralds a new era in which the widespread availability of digital recorders diminishes still further the gap between the audio quality of pro studios and that of personal studios. While ADAT is only the first affordable digital multitrack to appear - there will most certainly be others - it will remain one of the landmark products in the development of hi-tech music and recording.

This issue also looks at another form of digital recording, in our survey of the tapeless recording market. Rounding up all the tapeless systems necessarily means that details of specific products are minimal, but the overview that the survey provides is a valuable one, and you may be surprised at just how many systems are out there. Even those who aren't currently in the market for a tapeless recorder should at least be aware of how this particular area of technology is advancing; ultimately, even digital tape recorders will give way to random access systems, and it surely won't be all that long before we review a tapeless system that breaks the same price/performance barrier as ADAT.