Started in 1987 with a Tascam Porta 05(still got it :))
Then got a Tascam Porta 564 4 track mini disc recorder in the mid 90s
In '98 I got my first computer system running Vegas Audio 1a with an Aardvark Audio Aark 20/20 interface
Then updated to Sonar PE 6 in '05 with a Delta 1010 rackmount interface
Now I'm running Sonar Platinum with an Audient iD22 interface
(There have been computer changes over the years too)

1994
Tascam 688 Midi Studio

With the effects returns I had 24 inputs.
7 audio tracks, smpte on track 8.
With a MOTU Midi Express and Cakewalk Pro 3.0,
I had all most unlimited control of external synths.
I was in heaven!
 
T

Great idea for a thread. And hilarious that I can copy and paste from most of the pictures above to show my first two as well.  I bought the Sony r-r as part of our home stereo system and only recorded a few things of me playing. I was disappointed that it didn't do sound on sound without a 250 ms delay.  
 
The Yamaha 4 track was I guess my first serious machine. I had borrowed a Tascam Porta studio before that. I bought the Yamaha because it was one of the few that could do all 4 tracks at a time.It used a weird noise reduction that resulted in artifacts on female vocals. 
 
Then that picture above of the Tascam midi studio 8 track, not sure if that was the exact model, but I rented something like that in the mid 80's and a Tascam 2 track reel to reel to do an album of Russian kids songs. It was my first 8 track recording and yes we used track 8 to sync up my Atari running KCS and a Roland MT 32 and GR 50 for sounds. I had to keep renting the 2 track so I bought it out in the end. 
 

 

 

Cake Pro 8 w/Delta66 Omni combo
A number of interfaces along the way.  Went to Reaper for 2 or 3 years at S8.5.  Back to SONAR late in the X3 cycle.
 
I also have the LE/AI versions of Tracktion and Cubase 8.5 I keep for working thru collabs with folks that use them.  I have a license for S1-3 Artist, but it didn't stay on my machine long.  It only takes one or two crashes for me to uninstall something.
 
Overall SONAR is the best fit for me.  There are a few things Reaper does that I could make a SONAR wish list out of though
 
 
 
 

1. Fostex B-16 Reel to Reel - given to me by a trust fund kid that was trying to learn how to record. He never could get the cables right. Took me 15 minutes to get it hooked up and going - took that long mainly because the cables were tangled. And it was FREE!
2. Fostex XR-7 4 track cassette - made traveling with it and set up much easier. Then I added a Boss DR-660 drum machine and it helped me beef up my chops because it was my metronome.
3. Fostex VF160 16 track digital stand alone recorder - opened up an entire new world of recording for me.
4. Then in February 2016, I made the jump to Sonar SPLAT.
All of my Fostexs still work too - just need to get the pots cleaned out to stop pops and crackles when turning some of the knobs. Hell, I still have my Commodore 64 with every game they made for it and it still works too.
Told you guys I am an old fart!


Al

I had a TEAC system back similar to Nate's in '78 or 9 - 4 track.  About '85 or so upgraded to a TASCAM 8 track and Ramsa board that I still have in storage.  Much better song.  Used it on lots of small projects, and a few national releases and one major-release film.  I got my first music computer a few years later - a Yamaha system which used cartridges for program or storage.  It had a built-in FM synth or you could run a sequencer, so I bought a second computer to sequence the synth with and I'd lay that and a drum machine down to tape for the rhythm tracks and use the other 4 tracks to finish a song.
 
My first digital recording system was a pc with a Soundblaster and Plasma by Cakewalk (their loop DAW).
 
@

My first recording experiences were in pro studios. In the early 80's I had a bandmate/roommate that had a Tascam portastudio that we recorded on. Right around Y2k I met a guy in Denver that had a computer with an old Cakewalk version on it. I was smitten and went out and bought a Roland Studio Pack and Sonar when Mars music was having a going out of business sale.
 
Rocky

My first recorder (for home recording) was a dual cassette deck that could dub from one side to the other. I then got a Roland TR-505 drum machine and not long after got into guitar synths - a Roland GM-70 & MKS-50 that allowed me to add bass lines and of course synths. Next was a Roland S-550 sampler that had sequencing software - very cool.
 
I updated the recorder to a Tascam Porta Two 4 track cassette recorder. Later I got a PC and Cakewalk 1 and synced the Cakewalk sequencer with the Porta Two using a Tascam MTS-30. My next recorder was a Korg D8 - an 8 track digital recorder. Since then it's been all in the box.
 

My first recording set up was a BR-600 to record and Guitar Tracks 3 to mix back in 2007.  I was actually able to mix with on-board sound pretty well back then on a DIY PC (not necessarily built for audio).

I started with a Tascam Porta Two 4-track cassette machine around 1990.  Kept that until around 2000, 2001 ish.
From there I went up to a digital Fostex 8-track recorder, which I used for a couple of years until I finally bought a PC strong enough to use as a DAW.
Then, after about 15 minutes of investigation I bought Cakewalk HomeStudio, and sold the Fostex for more than HS cost.