I've done many cd's and soundtracks that way... it's cool but i'd rather be playing with a good band any day.... the sex/masturbation analogy is pretty much right on. And also i miss the talking and joking around too...
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The first record i did like this "Onomatopea" was recorded and mixed/mastered by myself in 2001 and it was quick.. I was at a band at that time and delays and frustrations made me record it. I wanted it to finish quickly (unlike my band's cd which was taking a lot of time.) just to prove that it could happen. And it sounded fine and i got a lot of work from it.
Now, most of the times i choose to have at least one musical partner to bounce ideas back and forth... most of the times it's a drummer or percussionist and sometimes a lyrics writer/singer...
I am currently recording a Jimi Hendrix tribute cd and while i am originally playing all instruments and singing, i get a real drummer to overdub my original drum programming... It's been great so far and we have had a great band feel to the recording... I am also taking it to another engineer for mastering to guarantee the quality ( i am much too involved in it to master it...)
I am also making a cd with clarinet maestro/virtuoso
Paulo Moura where i play all instruments in the backing track, correct them with the help of mr.moura and then overdub them with other musicians. While that takes a bit of time and effort, i've gotten the exact results i want as a producer and it's a lot easier to convince a musician to do something when he knows you can do it too.