Does anyone know how to get this sound?

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Ray J

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It's a vocal effect or technique. I've heard it in Everlasts' "Ends" and "What it's like" and also in a lot of rap songs. It's sounds like two voices by the same singer, but not harmony or octave just unison. Is it one performance on two different tracks with some kind of phase reverse, or is it two performances of the same vocal, panned, or is it some kind of delay or chorus? Or something else? I hear it in the beginning of the song "Ends" and I think during the chorus and also through most of the song "What it's like". Do you guys know what I'm talking about? Or how to do it? ..........Ray J
 
All of the techniques you mention could be possibilities,sorry I can't speak to the specific songs you mentioned 'cause I don't have recordings of them.In the past it was not uncommon to have the singer sing the song twice on 2 tracks to thicken and strengthen the vocal in the mix,the idea being that he would not sing the song exactly the same way twice and the small differences would make it sound "bigger".Digitech is one company that makes vocal processors that have a doubling feature as well as algorithms to create harmony vocals from the original.Cheers!
 
it could also be a modulating delay of around 20ms. As the delay modulates out from 0 - 20 it has a doppler effect that changes the pitch (like a train does as it comes towards and away from you) and as it mods in 20 - 0 it does the same - its called ADT (automatic double tracking. Because the second vocal is pitchchanging relative to the first vocal it sounds like a double track. panning them into different spaces increases the effect in stereo.

see ya
 
It's very common to double-track rap "vocals". I was just listening to Eminem's "Slim Shady" or whatever on the radio yesterday and noticing that his whole sound is based on multi-tracking his rap several times.

You can usually tell the difference between actual double-tracking and using some kind of delay or modulation to create the effect of double-tracking by listening carefully.

Nobody is perfect, and usually you'll hear one word ending too soon or one word's pitch being slightly different than another to give away actual double-tracking. Pseudo-double-tracking is always consistant because there's only one source track.

It's a really common technique that has been around since the dawn of multitrack recording. Works just as well for guitars, too! :)

Just sing your part (or rap it), then select another track and sing (or rap along to yourself). You'll hear that familiar sound immediately.

CT
 
Thanks guys, Yeah, I played around with singing it on 2 tracks yesterday, I'm not a rapper, but I, too, have noticed it in the Eminen songs and that latest Juvenille song, and I think it is applicable on the song I'm working on now. Looks like I'll have to do it the poor man's way by singing the track twice. Thanks again.......Ray J
 
I first REALLY heard that doubled vocal when listening to M.Manson "Antichrist superstar". He does it ALL over the place on that CD, and it sounds GREAT. I love that effect. I then told my singer we were going to try it, and it made the vocals in one of our songs just shine like we've never heard before. We do lots of vocal harmony in our band, so the vocal doubling can work for that too. When the harmony comes, the second vocal does the harmony and it flows great. We even tried doing it three times. One down the middle, one slightly to the left, and one slightly to the right, then three part harmonies are amazing.
On the song, What it's like", Everlast did just sing it twice, I can tell.
Red Hot Chili Peppers use that doubling a lot too.
 
Thanks Brian, I have a couple of Red Hot CHili Peppers CDs, and never noticed it. I'm gonna have to go back and check it out. Like I said, I've been playing around with it the last couple of days. On the song I'm doing now, so far, what's sounding the best is singing it twice and panning it around 9:30 and 2:30 and adding Chorus/Rooms 2 to it. But when I go into the harmony I've been putting the pan back to the center, because there is a drop off after the doubling. I do have an extra track I may double the melody and add one harmony and see how that sounds. But yeah it is a really cool sound on certain songs.
 
Originally posted by Ray J:
Looks like I'll have to do it the poor man's way by singing the track twice.

...Well I wouldn't call that the poor man's way! :> To my ears, the sound of a naturally doubled track is much richer and vibrant than one that's doubled/pitch shifted/delayed by effects. It's a bigger, more interesting sound too... You should also try doubling in octaves. It's more obvious and not used as much but it's also really cool. Think of the chorus of "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry.
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I think you're right about singing the track twice Saxman. I've been playing around with it and it's sounding pretty good. I was skeptical at first because when two different people sing in unison it usually sounds like crap, but after doing it I realized if it's the same person it changes the whole dynamics and sounds more like an effect. Also, it's interesting you should mention singing in octaves because I do this on one of my songs as well, it makes this particular part of the song sound kinda Ozzyesque. I hear this a lot in Steve Miller songs too.
 
in fact..its the rich mans way cuz he has the expendable trax to workwith. I dont believe that harmonizers and pitch shifters are really even considered "doubling" because no matter how hard they try ,,they cant reproduce the imperfections of the human voice. I think of harmonizers as just an effect and use them as such. also,,ten years ago it seemed everybody doubled and now nobody does. go figer.
 
Phil Spector made really cool use of doubling on Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" record. Great record too.
 
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