Focusing on the important stuff

There's no denying it. Computers have drastically changed home recording. Today's DAWs and interfaces don't cost much, and they offer amazing audio quality. Plus, you have countless plugins and virtual instruments at your fingertips.

So why would anyone want to step back in time and work with inferior equipment? There's probably a thousand different answers to that question but, for me the answer is all about focusing on what's important.

When I have an idea for a song, I want to get that idea recorded as quickly as possible. Then, listen to the playback and decide if I like it.
Maybe I'll add another part, and then listen again. If the idea turns out to be a good one, I'll spend some time on the lyrics and arrangement until I'm happy with it and it feels complete. Then, finally, I'll focus on creating a more polished final recording.

That's my personal process. It's a very basic one, and of course I could easily do all that with a computer.

But if you've ever sat down at your workstation with the intent to record something, only to get distracted by hundreds of reverb plugins and then later realize you just wasted three hours and your song is no closer to being finished, then you probably understand the appeal of simplicity.

Many songwriters stick with a simple four-track for this reason alone. Less distractions means more focusing on the music.