In traditional studio sessions tracking each sound was done in mono. If you were recording a power trio, the mic set-up for a kit would be at least 12-20 (Kick, Sn (Up/lower), T1, T2, T3, HH, Crash 1, Crash 2, Crash 3, two over heads for room ambience etc.) individual channels. You would probably have DI for the GTR and Bass and possibly mic both amps to capture the analogue ambience. Then the lead vox and any extra takes. Conservatively speaking, that's roughly 18 tracks. All dynamics are inserted directly in the channel. That leaves time-based effects ie. reverb, delay, tremolo, chorus, etc. Each time based effect should have it's own channel, especially if you want to print to track, which would bring you out of the realm of Aux tracks to print directly to an audio track, when it's all said and done, you'ld have double what you started with, because everything should have Dynamics and time-based to mold the sound to you're liking, even if it's hardly detectable. Remember, some of the best music is extremely minimal, Drum, Gtr, Bass, and vox. Take "The Beatles" for example. They had 2 voices, 2 guitars, a bass and a kit and they wrote awesome music. Making good music isn't about tracks, it's about the emotion your music carries that makes it great.
