A Vote for Double Tracking

  • Thread starter Thread starter dachay2tnr
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Thanks for the advice on the vocals everyone. I can see where hard panning the double tracks would not work with vocals. I also like the idea of lowering the vol. on one of the tracks to make it less obvious but still get the beef. Based on my life-altering experience with doubling the guitar, this has me excited to see what happens with vocals. :)

PS - To those who still seem to want to copy and paste tracks, please take my advice and just one time try playing/singing the track twice. As Alchemist said, it's the nuanced differences between the two tracks that makes this work.
 
Robert D said:
Hi - I double track lead vocals all the time, but the approach is different from guitar. ... On vocals though this will usually sound wrong. Try instead putting the lead vox track up at the level you want it at, and just slightly off center. Then bring the dubVox track in at a much lower level, almost undetectable, and panned just slightly opposite the lead vox.
Regards, RD
Click to expand...

Since I go for a "natural" vocal sound I don't do too many gimmichks, but I do use this technique to emphasize certain phrases often, and it works really well.

Also, for backgrounds, I sing each line twice and pan them to create a nice, full bed for the lead to do its thing over it. Example: Lo-note harmony vocal, panned at 9 and 3 o'clock; Hi-note harmony vocal, panned at 10 and 2 o'clock ... or somethin', depending on the song. It's pretty common to do this.

Oh, and I DO listen to previous tracks I'm trying to match up with ... I can get it very close to exact, and performance variances still give it that human touch of doing two takes rather than just copy, pasting, and nudging one to make it sound like two.
 
I love to double track to get a fuller sound. You MUST record what you are double tracking twice. Meaning play it and record it to one track and then play it a second time and record it to a different track, you cant just duplicate the same track. The subtle differences are the key to the full sound. I also like to record a track and then do it a second time playing the same chords at a different location on the guitar neck, you know in a higher key. This always works out great.
 
Robert D said:
Hi - I double track lead vocals all the time, but the approach is different from guitar. With guitar, panning hard left and right, equal in level, gives it a sort of super stereo image that's fat and exciting. On vocals though this will usually sound wrong. Try instead putting the lead vox track up at the level you want it at, and just slightly off center. Then bring the dubVox track in at a much lower level, almost undetectable, and panned just slightly opposite the lead vox...
Regards, RD
Click to expand...

I've never double-tracked anything before so I tried it last night with vocals. I didn't know what to do so I tried panning both tracks equally off-center with equal levels. It definitely sounded unnatural and I didn't like it. I ended up putting the first track center full level and the double a little to one side and at a very low level and it sounded good. It's good to know this is pretty much how it's done. Cool! :D Can't wait to try it on guitar!
 
using a room mic some 5 ft away along with your main mic does wonders for amps, accoustic instuments. but be sure that the instrument you do it on is the main one because you dont want to use it with all the instruments.
 
If you play along with a click track, and the song has a definite repeating "verse/chorus/bridge" type structure, then do this:

Copy and paste from another section of the song where you played the same thing, and line them up :D Ahhhh! Now the light is going on, isn't it?

Dachay, I'll bet it did sound really full. I've never tried that with a 12-string before, but I imagine it would be huge. That's 24 strings at the same time! (or 4 guitar players) :D
 
Hi!

In a song I'm mixing right now, what I do is double track recording the part twice and then put the main vox about 2:00 right and the 2nd vox hard panned left, then applied some extreme FX in the 2nd one (distortion, extreme EQing leaving only mid freqs) and a touch of chorus in the 1st.

To my ears it sounds great. Maybe next week when I'm done with it, I will upload it to the clinic.

Cheers!
 
That's actually a very different technique altogether - - a little similar to the New York technique (or whatever), in a way.
 
i double track my rhythm guitar and triple track my lead vocals.

once i've got a good lead vocal take, i record what i call ghost tracks while listening to the actual lead. sometimes the ghost tracks are singing exactly the same as the lead, sometimes they are slightly different or drag a word or two differently, but because i'm listening to the lead while recording the ghost tracks are just ever so slightly behind the lead. sounds great when mixed right.

if you want to hear an interesting use of doubled vocals listen to "golden boys" by RES. she has some really interesting double tracked semi-lead vocals on the chorus that are panned 25% left and 25% right. then the real lead vocal comes in but only in sputters right down the center. pretty interesting stuff.
 
chessrock said:
If you play along with a click track, and the song has a definite repeating "verse/chorus/bridge" type structure, then do this:

Copy and paste from another section of the song where you played the same thing, and line them up :D Ahhhh! Now the light is going on, isn't it?
Click to expand...


Wouldja just play it twice fer cryin out loud?!?!

:D :p ;)

heylow



(edit: typing too fast kills)
 
...technically, that is playing it twice (sort of). It's a good idea if everything you want to double has a mirror part somewhere in the song. You'd be hosed for one-time bridges or breakdowns though.
 
When you double track guitars, you might want to try and delay one of the tracks by a couple of miliseconds, which generally will give you a fuller, more 'polished' sound.
(all, of couse, depending on the accuracy of doubling)
 
darrin_h2000 said:
using a room mic some 5 ft away along with your main mic does wonders for amps, accoustic instuments. but be sure that the instrument you do it on is the main one because you dont want to use it with all the instruments.
Click to expand...

After recording with this process do you pan the 2 mics hard left and right ? And this tech can be considered a way to save time and doubling a guitar track without playing it twice?
Thanx
 
There seems to be some missunderstanding here.

Double tracking is understood to mean tracking a performance twice - in other words two performances in total.
It does not mean copying the track - nor does it mean capturing a recording with microphones in different positions (or one mic and one direct). All those do is EFFECT THE SOUND - NOT THE PERFORMANCE.

The type of sound you can achieve with a double tracked performance cannot be simulated by copying a track and inserting it again with, for instance, a delay. At best that would sound exactly the same, or as an inserted very short delay, at worse it would mean the sound 'disappearing' due to phase cancellation.

A good double tracked performance creates a different ambiance.
 
Dont pan them hard but widen putting one at ten and one at two.


Not the exact same technique, but I also like double tracking
 
chessrock said:
Dachay, I'll bet it did sound really full. I've never tried that with a 12-string before, but I imagine it would be huge. That's 24 strings at the same time! (or 4 guitar players) :D
Click to expand...
Chessman - check it out. I posted it in the .mp3 clinic.
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1084&alid=-1 (Can't Find The Time)

What continues to amaze me is that the essential foundation of this song is just the 12-string together with bass and drums. Yet it sounds very full. This would have never had this fullness with only a single guitar track. But the second track is for the most part just duplicating the first track. Go figure.
 
Well well well... Sjoko is around... welcome back man. Always valued your thoughts and opinions, hope you stick around.
How is the new getup? Send me some pictures...

As for double tracking, there is no excuse to NOT double/triple some things, its just sounds fuller, bigger, better. Been using that trick since I was like 12 years old... cant believe some of you are just now doing it! :)
 
Well, tube. Some of these guys ARE 12 years old...

(I'm not, though) :D :D
 
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