Individual Or All-at-once Recording?, record rhythm tracks together or separat Options

[nachojoker]

a big thing in my life is choosing weather to record a band's rhythm tracks together....or individually. i record rhythm tracks together, and first....always. but a lot of people think its better to record drums first, then everything individually on top of that. i don't agree, because you get a much better recording in unison as far as timing and tighness goes. you feed off eachother, and stay with eachother when you record together, and just overdub solos, vocals, etc. what are your thoughts? don't like 99% of all studios record rhythm tracks together?

[jamester]

As is always the case, the best recording method depends on the results desired...

Having said that, I STRONGLY feel that the ONLY way to truly record a band is live, all at once. Like you said, the timing and feel comes from the members playing off one another in real time. Most music shouldn't be perfectly on the beat. Music ebbs and flows in an organic way when people are vibing off one another.

My mantra is: I'm recording the performance first and foremost. As long as the material is decent, it's the performance that's going to make or break the recording. Equipment and techniques are always second to the overall feel.

The best bands, imo, always record the basics live together. Then feel free to overdub and add onto it. The studio is an instrument too. But the foundation needs to have that feel, or you ain't got sh*t!