there will be people screaming
... track the band as a band and get as much down as possible in one GOOD take
I get all that
but it does take good resources and good preparation

BUT to take the question at face value and remove any skill preparation or equipment latencies out of the equation ....
:roll:

I think that tracking any thing that can give the song it's timing/rhythm ... structure and feel
such that the musicians that follow get the essence of the song
should go down in the first run

This can be drums OR it can be hands feet dustbin lids guitars or banjos..... could even be voice ... sample loop
ANYTHING that has the guts of the song

I don't like the term click track cos I feel that a simple click, click, click
just doesn't carry the song with it

It takes real skill and experience to carry your song through a simple quarter note click ... some people can do it but it's rare

Getting the rhythm section down is pretty much standard, even if it is a scratch track. Begin with drums and bass (I usually track them at the same time with the bass cab in the iso booth.), then build on that. Kev has it right, many musicians can't follow a click track.

Recording the WHOLE band for use other than a scratch track may not be feasible due to the problems isolating bleed-through. (I don't know your setup, but I know it's not for me) Plus, you'll usually find that the dynamics and groove of the song will be more natural when tracking seperate parts. This will allow the musician to listen to his band-mates instead of looking and really "feel" what the song is like on tape.

Sometimes it's not, what instrument to track first but which musician can be tracked first. At least one individual out of the group will be the, backbone, and all the other band members will point them out if they don't step forward.

I absolutley puke profanity under my breath after 10 takes. And musicians don't perform well at gun point.

This is a no brainer. The most difficult and time consuming instrument IMO are drums. So you want have "keeper" drum sounds and performance. Go direct with guitars and bass for scratch tracks so the drummer has them to listen to in the cans. Then overdub the bass and guitar which ever way you want. If the song has a guitar intro or something have the drummer do drum stick clicks through it, dont forget a few measures ofcstick clicks before the intro starts as well.

stickers wrote: If the song has a guitar intro or something have the drummer do drum stick clicks through it, dont forget a few measures ofcstick clicks before the intro starts as well.

Also in interludes where drums cease and pick up again, unless you really want to stray there :wink:

When Rush recorded Power Windows with Peter Collins they recorded the whole band, but everyone knew that they targeted at the drums to be perfect. All else was redone later. The fact that they used a click also is not important. That was just because they wanted to add sequences later. This method lays a burden on the drummer, but most drummers are able to deal with it.

I know a band that wanted to record a song that started out with just vocals. They recorded nothing when the guide vocal was done in the first take. The consequence was that the vocals could not be redone and it was also difficult to redo anything else because there was no real cue but the guide vocals for the rest of the band.

Good luck.