clueless needs quick answer CLICK TRACK

[sanskrit]

Hi,

I am an amateur recorder. Basically I have a Midas Console, an Alesis HD24
and a bunch of mics. People call me a couple of times a month to go to their
homes or small live venues to record their performances.

Yesterday I received a call for a similar job, however, they asked if
I could record a "click track" for them because someone else will be
adding to the recording later on (this person lives outside the US and
will be sent the raw tracks as 16 bit wav files).

I am supposed to record 3 people here (singer, violin and percussion).
They have never used a click track before and don't really know what
the overseas person needs it for.

Having little knowledge myself, I figured out (by web surfing) that it's
basically a metronome recorded onto it's own separate tracks so that
everyone stays with the beat.

My question is:

1. Can I just buy a metronome and use the audio out to go into my
multitrack recorder ?
2. If the 3 people I am taping here haven't used one before, will it
mess them up if they need to hear the tracks through their headphones ?
3. What's a decent model to buy ? One that has a light and also some
variation of tone on the start of the beat cycle ?

I need an answer by Saturday night, otherwise I will have to refer them
to someone else.

Thanks.

P.S. wasn't sure where to post this so there is a duplicate listing
in the drums section.

[web01169]

for your first question if they are in anyway trained musician they already know how to play to a click track or metronome, same thing. and any metronome that has an 1/4 output will do...make sure the batteries are fresh and you get a nice signal.