How do you record?

So my band is ready to go "into the studio", which for us means that we bring our drummer's computer into my basement and record on to Acid Pro via miking the various instruments.

My question is: How do you record? Which part do you lay down first - bass, drums, guitar, what? Do you use a click track (my understanding of this is that it is a clicking sound that keeps consistent time that everything else is played in time with and that is not included in the finished song)?

We tried recording some stuff a couple weeks ago, but all the tracks were out of time with each other, just slightly here and there, but I'm a perfectionist, esp. if we are going to record this.

Do you guys have any tips?

Thanks again for your help, guys!

I'm a "one man band" and do all my tracks (except bass, I really suck at it).

I first lay down the guitar tracks. Then I figure out the drum.

Let say I was in a band, I would play the song while only recording the drum. Then lay down the rhythm guitar, bass and lead. Vocale would come last for me.

In that order but since I record everything myself I don't really know if it would be good that way. I never experienced it.

LalimaceFolle is a pro so his input would be better. As I heard, he knows his way around a studio.

Azrael also spend time in studio, you could ask him. He moderates the songwriting section.

there are several ways to do this.

You record all in the same room. Miking's a nightmare, leaking is even worse, no editing can be done without an engineer or two trying to kill themselves. Works with bands like Aerosmith. The energy is without peer. Much like recording a concert.

Another way is to record the first track with a click track all of you guys together, then each one records with this track in his headphones, one after another, in this order: Drum/Bass/guitar/vocals. So the singer only has the real tracks in his headphones, not the first one you have recorded together. Works like this with most bands. BB king does it but with midi files. He sends them around, then he gets back every guys' parts, then the engineer mixes then together...Voila, you have a disc... That's also 'the hellecasters' way, except they send written out charts, and also cues to where they have to solo over.

Joe Satriani used to do like Benoit. Guitars first, then the drums. But you have to be real tight on the rhythm.

Choose your way :)

Hey Eggdude
I got a couple of suggestions for you however the more kit you have access to the better your finished product will sound !

The cheapest way is to persuade a friend to come along and, with a pair of head phones running out of the computer and a mike hooked up to the same computer, find the optimal spot for the mike in the room whilst you are all playing together and then record stuff.

The next quantum leap is to get each instrument assigned to its own tracks and then edit / mix them down.

This is difficult with out the right kit.

Do you know how to DI stuff ? This is where you plug an amp or a guitar straight into the desk / computer interface without a mike. This is especially cool, as you do not have the problem of bleed through (that is drums getting onto bass / vocal / guitar tracks).

If you can DI the guitars and bass (things like Line 6s POD are great for this) all you really need is a headphone preamp, enough headphones for everyone and you are set !

You can then record the drums live using a set of mikes with the guitars and bass plugged into a desk (maybe via and effects unit or two) or the computer audio interface.

This way everyone can play at once and everyone is in time.

I would then lay down the vocal tracks after the backline is sorted

Equivalently you can opt to overdub and tighten up one track or another later