When you record something from an external device (studio-in-a-box, tape cassette, ADT, whatever), you must realize that when you send that recording through your interface to your computer for editing, mixing, mastering, it won't be what you think. All those separate tracks you recorded for your separate instruments/vocals on will NOT appear in your computer as the same separate tracks to edit. It will show up as a file that COMBINED all your separate tracks from before. In other words, you can't call the imported file into your software recording program (Reaper, Cubase, whatever) and expect separate tracks to work with like you had in the beginning. It will be one file that combined everything (almost like a "bounced" feature when you combine every track to a single, stereo file). So anything you do EQ-wise, effects-wise, will affect the ENTIRE recording.
If I'm wrong, please correct me on this, anyone. Maybe there is a way to send each track separately to your computer from an external recording device to import into your program as separate tracks. I've never been successful with this. I guess unless you record one instrument/vocal at a time in your external recording device, send that track via your interface to your computer program, save it as a file, do the same thing for each track your record, then import each recorded file from your hard drive into separate tracks in your program to work on separately. Then you could bounce them all together after mixing. But that WILL NOT work if you record your 3-piece band all at once and expect to send that data to your computer as separate tracks to work on. You are stuck wit one, combined file.
Mike Freze