Thirty-five years ago, when I was a humble rock and roller recording for Columbia Records, all I wanted to do was make some really cool music, just like I did at a club or in my living room. It couldn't be done. So, I dropped all my money into the first high-tech, 12-track recording studio that did everything I wanted. It took up four years of my life, all of my money (by today's standards, millions of dollars), and I wound up on the street. The clients who passed through my studio, like Frank Zappa, went on to become stars.

When the nineties arrived, it looked like you could do the same thing I had done, right at home, for a fraction of the price. It was all done digitally on the computer, with tracks to spare, and every kind of sophisticated special effects. But, you were still talking about dropping $20,000 on software alone. As in the old days, a home "project" studio had the potential to eat your wallet for breakfast. It was still cheaper to pay big bucks by the hour at a pro recording studio than to try to do it all yourself.

As the Millennium races to our rear, a new option is arising. Microsoft and other companies are racing to reposition themselves from software sellers to online software providers, as the center of focus shifts from what's inside your individual computer to what it can access on the Internet. Why buy expensive software to install when you can access it when you need it, from the Net, for a fraction of the cost? Why buy Office, when you can rent a virtual "Office" when you need it? Or, in the recording biz, why buy all that software, when you can rent time on a virtual recording studio and have it at your fingertips for a song?

Gee, I wish I had thought of that. Actually, I did, quite a while back, but someone else has taken the time and energy to make it come true. That someone is the folks at mH2O.com, who are offering the first step in what will become a full-fledged "virtual recording studio" online. And they're doing it for a song, dirt cheap.

It's important to understand, however, that this is not yet the walk-into-the-studio-roll-tape traditional studio folks might want. Its roots are more in the fragmented Lego-style production method developed by hip-hop producers wherein individual sets of repeating sampled or synthetic rhythm/melody loops are laid on top of each other until something resembling a real recording is achieved. It's easy to do - just drag and drop one track on top of another, add some lead vocals and guitar or synth and you've got a new record. The digital pioneers of this are at Sound Forge, and that's the software you get to rent online when you sign up with mH2O. Plus, you get all kinds of interaction with loops other members and contributing stars have contributed, opportunities to market your work, and so on.

So, before I wax on about how important this step in streaming recording is, let's first take a look at what they they are offering. They call their community model "open source" and here's what it does in detail.