Double tracking vocals

DM60 said:
Be brave. Yes, you will take some hits, and yes, the responses will hurt your feelings at first, but you will take those and learn from them. At some point, you have to throw it out there!
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RAMI said:
Yes. Post them. I'm still getting my feelings hurt after all these years. :D
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Ok you've opened yourself for some ear-drum abuse ! :facepalm:

https://soundcloud.com/tim-summers/please-please-please-let-me

I do agree that the (bad) vocals do sound a bit fuller - I don't actually know if you can hear the other takes, I've kinda hidden them at 'the back' and if you single out that specific vocal you can only just hear it, but I do think that it's plumped it out a bit.

I know the vocals aren't good, but this was just an experiment - Also, it was done at 07:30 this morning whilst drinking a cup a coffee before work.

Oh, and the rhythm guitar - This song was origionally supposed only for me messing around with my amp setting one Saturday afternoon when I was bored. I purposely tried to get the 80's jingley-jangly sound with the bass all the way down, the mids cranked up, and the treble all the way up as well. I also used my hardeset plectrum as well.
 
I didn't hear any vocal issues. You have some mixing issues, but after some work, posting in the MP3 clinic, it is just a mater of time. Good recording and mixing is a skill and requires some learning.

I think you have a decent start. I really suggest, record as much as possible. Listen to your stuff, listen to others in the MP3 clinic, post and get feedback and watch your improvement as time goes on.

Once again, the vocals sounded pretty good, but the other areas (as you mentioned) will need some work. Then you can hear it from the whole mix, not just focusing on the vocals.
 
What David said ^^^^. I didn't hear any major vocal problems, but really could not hear any doubling either. SOunded like you were holding back - sometimes youv'e got to put your gut into it! :thumbs up:
 
DM60 said:
I didn't hear any vocal issues. You have some mixing issues, but after some work, posting in the MP3 clinic, it is just a mater of time. Good recording and mixing is a skill and requires some learning.

I think you have a decent start. I really suggest, record as much as possible. Listen to your stuff, listen to others in the MP3 clinic, post and get feedback and watch your improvement as time goes on.

Once again, the vocals sounded pretty good, but the other areas (as you mentioned) will need some work. Then you can hear it from the whole mix, not just focusing on the vocals.
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Mixing ?!?! Well that's a whole new kettle of fish lol

Record 1: Guitar rhythm - boooom done
Record 2: Any jangly bits - boooom done
Record 3: Vocals - boooom done
Song ....... done

Simple as it gets, 10 minutes, 1 song done lol

But I'll take your advice and have a look on the MP3 clinic and have a nose around there.

Thanks
 
mjbphotos said:
What David said ^^^^. I didn't hear any major vocal problems, but really could not hear any doubling either. SOunded like you were holding back - sometimes youv'e got to put your gut into it! :thumbs up:
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Holding back, yeah definitely. I'm really embarrassed about singing (even when the Mrs is in the house) so when I did the vocals for that it was early and I was conceous of my neighbours hearing me as they'd not left for work :)

One day when the Mrs is out and I know both sides neighbours are out I'll try and let rip ;)
 
Witm8, your voice really isn't bad at all. You can sing on key, and your voice has a musical quality about it (which I suppose covers a lot of territory, since Joe Cocker's voice also had a "musical quality", at least to me). I'm also kind of shy about singing in public, unless other people are singing with me.

When I'm in my studio, I can exercise more control over "amplitude", which actually results in more control over my voice while singing. I know, it's hard to sing like no one is listening when it seems like everyone is listening, so I do relate to your wanting to wait for a deserted apartment and departed neighbors before really pushing it.

But I agree with other comments here -- Check out the MP3 clinic, and post some things. I haven't posted much yet (one song, I think), but the feedback was very valuable, on every level. The critiques on others' songs are just as helpful, because you'll hear some of the same techniques that you may be using, and you can apply that to your own work.

In short, you're better than you think -- keep pursuing! :cool:
 
Yeah, technically, you did "double" them. But not in the sense that we're talking about in this thread. What you did, in essence, is sing a harmony. That harmony just happens to be an 8th(?), which is an octave.
 
I also do a lot of multi tracking to get harmonies sounding full. I also pan and in some instances lower the volumes of some of the harmonies to put them in the background. This is especially true of high harmony parts. Because of the dynamics involved it is a necessity to think foreground/background when multi tracking. Another crucial concern when multi tracking is making sure that the phrasing and pitch is pleasant sounding. Panning is important and the use of reverbs and delays can help add some production value. It is a more difficult endeavor than most people think to multi track vocals but the results are satisfying.
 
I double track about 90% of the time with a clean version and a copied and pasted "phaser cab" version, with easy settings. For heavier parts, I add a third layer with slight dist and minimal delay. I'll boost that dist track @ 1khz if I want a "megaphone" effect, along w/ extreme HPF/LPF. I record modern alternative style though, so not sure about other genres.
 
Used to double track when I used the old Studio 8 and I also used the mentioned technique of putting the second track about 6 down from the original and then stereo delay it. In those days Alesis made a MidiFx unit and their Stereogen presets really worked well. But with digital, it all became too detailed and it stood out too much.

Now I will add the main vocal to the Background Voc track mixed way back but it gives a more realistic double track.


TKeefe | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
I tend to not use the technique unless I really think it needs it. That's partly because I think a little goes a long way with it, but also because it's kind of like a drug. Hearing yourself doubled almost always sounds better than a single take because it's a much thicker sound. If someone has kind of a weak voice still, double-tracking can certainly improve that. (I'm not implying that anyone here uses it in this way.)

I basically taught myself to sing by listening to the Beatles. And once I started recording myself, I quickly started double-tracking because I knew they did it often. But eventually I realized that it was becoming a crutch for me, and I was settling for less-than-stellar vocal performances because I knew it would sound bigger once I double-tracked it. So I started focusing on trying to sound good and full just with a single vocal, and that helped improve as a vocalist (which is an ongoing thing).

So now I just use it as an effect when I want the sound. You can still hear it on the radio quite a bit if you listen closely. A common move is to single track during the verses and maybe double during the pre-chorus or chorus.
 
famous beagle said:
I tend to not use the technique unless I really think it needs it. That's partly because I think a little goes a long way with it, but also because it's kind of like a drug. Hearing yourself doubled almost always sounds better than a single take because it's a much thicker sound. If someone has kind of a weak voice still, double-tracking can certainly improve that. (I'm not implying that anyone here uses it in this way.)

I basically taught myself to sing by listening to the Beatles. And once I started recording myself, I quickly started double-tracking because I knew they did it often. But eventually I realized that it was becoming a crutch for me, and I was settling for less-than-stellar vocal performances because I knew it would sound bigger once I double-tracked it. So I started focusing on trying to sound good and full just with a single vocal, and that helped improve as a vocalist (which is an ongoing thing).

So now I just use it as an effect when I want the sound. You can still hear it on the radio quite a bit if you listen closely. A common move is to single track during the verses and maybe double during the pre-chorus or chorus.
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I almost always multi-track my vocals because my voice sounds really weak without it, just terrible really. But once i got the hang of doing it, I do it all the time. And like you, it was the Beatles that turned me onto the practice. I especially like on the earlier albums when they did it for real, and not the ADT they used later. To "sweeten" my vocals, I do what I call the "john Lennon"----multi-track vocals with some slap echo. Note: The big difference between the Beatles and i is that they sounded good naturally. I even think Ringo is a good singer. He isn't John or Paul, but he has a charm.
 
New here, first post.
Wondering if you sing along to the first track while recording the second?
I got my wife to do a vocal to a scratch guitar track and played back for her. Was pretty good. Asked her to do another but kept the first muted so she again sang only to the scratch guitar. When played back with all three tracks it sounded really good, and her two takes lined up just right with just enough deviation to blend really well. I will be experimenting more, but just wondered how other approach this.

I did a search on "double track vocals" and this thread showed up. In post #36 mjb says "Monitor the last take you did that was good, and try to copy it when recording another take". That's the only indication i see regarding monitoring the first track while recording the second.

Maybe others will respond?

Thanks!
 
I can see two ways you can see this. One is you're trying to get a tight match with a good keeper track.
Other though, sometimes (often enough) like laying on harmonies for example but things are.. let's say pitchy'. Then I'd keep the other tracks out of there so all they hear is good solid pitch centers- of the original, or the instruments.
 
Yeah, no good monitoring a pitchy track, it'll just throw your new track off. If your wife can hit the same phrasing, pauses and notes without monitoring her original track, she's a keeper!
 
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