i reckon, anything goes
recording is not live, like film isn't theatre
one of the best things i discovered (by accident), while making the last record, was that you can comp not only different takes and different instrument setups, but entire recording sessions
i had the basic tracks tracks for a song, which changed between the tango and the waltz during the chorus, and the drummer, although great with the waltz, just couldn't get the tango right
by the time i had accepted that it wasn't good enough, i was in another country, so rerecording the session was out of the question
so, i found a great spanish gypsy guitar player and we cut the verses together
then it was just a simple case of adding the two, and now it's the track most people seem to like listening to
for the next record, i plan to do more of it, but this time, with preparation
imo, tape flattens performane, so any tricks that prick up the interest are fair go
as long as they don't simultaneously prick the ballon of suspension of disbelief
which, is what, i guess you (dave) are talking about
another question, is would it be the same if you didn't have engineers ears?
ps i just reread the post, and realised how naive i am, of course, people must have cut between sessions before, it's just that i never had thought it before