Yo SEVEN of BRENT:
Hey, man, four tracks means that you have to bounce; and, when you bounce, you lose control of tweaking each individual track; thus, you bounce, say, bass and chords down to one track; you put on the FX; however, the FX AFFECTS BOTH BASS AND CHORDS. And, that may not work in many instances, not to mention bouncing strings and vibes and voice to one track which will give you GAZZUMZITTZ.
I agree that many boxes should have digital in/outs but, then, there wouldn't be so many choices; or, the world would be very smooth for we who record and the manufacturers want to keep us guessing....just check out the faGGOZZLING manuals they keep putting out.
Green Hornet