I'll want to say up front that before I start recording I have a very good idea of all the parts to the song I'm writing. I don't write or make it up as I go. I did try that but I didn't finish one song that way.
 
 
Method 1 - I record the rhythm section to the tune. I usually start with the bass part.The reason I do this is for consistency of the tone etc. I've discovered,for me, if I record another instrument when I go back to the bass part I can't find the exact same sound I had before. 
After bass I usually put the drum part in. Again staying with it till I'm finished. Then the rhythm/fill guitar parts. 
Then comes the melody and instruments like vocals, strings etc.
 
Method 2 - I do the intro/ verse(2 bars at a time mostly)/chorus (again 2 bars at a time mostly) till finished. This takes longer but I get a more intricate recording than method 1. 
Method 2 is how I did Autumn Leaves
 
What do you guys think? What's your method? Input is welcome. Do you know a better way?

My method(s) vary with the song.
 
Last three or four songs have started with rhythm guitar foundation. Then add drums. Then add bass. Sometomes I switch the drums and bass order). Then scratch vocals. Then (if needed) get other singer(s). Then get lead guitar players. Then (if I'm singing lead) redo the vocal part until it's just slightly above the sux level.
 
And if I can remember to, add an honorable bayoubill mention.

Hmmm... I can't help with this one, as my recording/composition process is all over the place. It really depends on what gets me going first, and I generally make stuff up as I go along. I wish I could sit down and compose a piece straight to paper, but I can't
 
And as Bapu said, it can pretty much depend on the piece I am working on.

My creative process nearly always starts with one sentence or lyric idea which almost creates its own melody.
When I start with SONAR I usually have the whole song sketched with acoustic guitar.
 
The thing I especially struggle with are the arrangements. I'm not at all satisfied with them. I'm trying to find a
workflow which helps me to get distance from the basic strumming and create more interesting comp patterns and other elements.

Mine is an iterative process, one that attempts to replicate the experience of writing and arranging with a band, all on my lonesome.
 
When you develop a song with a band, it usually starts with a more-or-less finished song that was written by one person on guitar or piano. It usually has a generic verse-verse-chorus kind of arrangement, but that's just the foundation from which each player contributes his own specialty to flesh it out.
 
It's an iterative process - you play the song as a band, over and over, and each musician gradually develops his part with each pass. The bass player won't know what he's going to do with it until he plays with the drummer, and the two of them play off one another. Keyboards and guitars develop a dialog, each creating space for the other, each modifying their part in response to what the other's doing.
 
This is a natural organic process that leads to interesting music. It's also the hardest thing to recreate when you're a one-man-band. You can't feed off others' creativity, can't try out complementary counterpoints, can't experiment as you play.
 
But you can do something similar. Start with a drum track that more or less follows the rhythm you imagined while you composed the song. Don't worry if it's dull and repetitive; you'll fix that later. Next, add a guitar or piano to lay out the chord progression and song arrangement. Don't worry if it's dull and repetitive; you'll fix that later. I usually add bass next; again, don't worry if it's not spectacular at this point.
 
I'll keep building up a song like that until I've got a bunch of dull, repetitive and disconnected tracks that lay out the arrangement. Then I'm ready to pretend to be multiple players, starting with drum fills and cues. Then think about how the bass should interact with those cues, then the other instruments until I come back around to the drums again. Now I've got some changes in the rhythm guitars and keyboards that a real drummer would react to, such as pausing when they pause or reinforcing their accents, advances and ritards. Bounce back and forth, letting each lay back or create holes for the other to fill. 
 
It's not a quick process. An arrangement that might take a few hours' time with a real band could take days or weeks in solo. But at least there are rarely any arguments between the musicians.
 

Bit has summarized exactly how I work as a solo artist or working on a collaboration. Parts may have to be retracted as the song matures and the parts are flushed out to be more finished. It's really important for all of the instruments to work cohesively with one another to sound like a tight rhythm section.

My approach varies depending on what kind of inspiration I may feel and what my actual ability to capture  this inspiration might be on any given day……
 
Conceptually everything that I hear is already complete in my head … it has always been that way …
It comes to me as one large complete flash of light containing every possible musical Idea I will ever have ….
it's all just one big song and it is up to me to decode it and try my absolute best to express it …
 
Practicing my guitar or putting in the time learning how to capture my music using a DAW is just the price I have to pay to actualize my musical expression in a tangible form where it can be shared…
After doing a personal inventory , the weakest link I have is I need to bone up my engineer skills ….
That I feel is the one thing that is holding me back the most at this point of my journey w music and SONAR …..
 
Kenny
 
 

bitflipper
Start with a drum track that more or less follows the rhythm you imagined while you composed the song. Don't worry if it's dull and repetitive; you'll fix that later. Next, add a guitar or piano to lay out the chord progression and song arrangement. Don't worry if it's dull and repetitive; you'll fix that later. I usually add bass next; again, don't worry if it's not spectacular at this point.
 
I'll keep building up a song like that until I've got a bunch of dull, repetitive and disconnected tracks that lay out the arrangement. Then I'm ready to pretend to be multiple players, starting with drum fills and cues. Then think about how the bass should interact with those cues, then the other instruments until I come back around to the drums again. Now I've got some changes in the rhythm guitars and keyboards that a real drummer would react to, such as pausing when they pause or reinforcing their accents, advances and ritards. Bounce back and forth, letting each lay back or create holes for the other to fill.

+1.... This describes my workflow for recording. Start simple and build on it.
 
One caveat. It's really easy to over do this and end up blowing past the best parts and start down a path of diminishing returns.  Know when to stop! (that's where the producer hat comes in really handy)

 Know when to stop! 

Still working on that part...
 

what the hell is wrong with the forum software and win 10?  This is the second time I've tried to reply on this subject but if it just disappears.  Not funny.