DOUBLING A LEAD VOCAL

GTRNSAX

New member
I'm recording on a Tascam MSR 24 analog deck and have read about artificially doubling a vocal by copying it onto another track and delaying it by about 7 miliseconds. Can anyone tell me how this is done?
 
I don't really know how you would do it on your machine, you just need to record it on the second track a little faster or slower so it's just barely out of sinc with th other one - obviousely the vocal would sound no different if it were the same exact track. I do my double tracked vocals manually becuse I don't have any other way to do it. Just for your information - Artificial Double Tracking(ADT) was invented for John Lennon of the Beatles by I believe Geoff Emerick who was one of their engineers. I think they first used it on the song "Tomorrow Never Knows" - Just a little tid-bit of info.
 
Here is another thought. As you bounce the vocal track, pass it through a delay unit only passing the the effect making sure that you don't include any of the dry mix.
 
Here is another thought. As you bounce the vocal track, pass it through a delay unit only passing the the effect making sure that you don't include any of the dry mix.


Whats up with this, I can't submit my reply.
 
THANKS AGAIN

Thanks Kristian...it is a nice deck. I'm an old guy who's first recording experiences started as a musician on the other side of the glass. When I started buying my own gear a few years ago I just natutrally gravitated towards what I was familiar with. And....I still love the way a fresh roll of tape smells when you open it and spool it up for the first time.

Now...in answer to Darkhorse....are you really George Harrison? I wanted to try the ADT method because I had read about the invention of ADT for The Beatles and JL in particular. (I'm still a huge fan) Also...I'm working on a project for a songwriter who is not a great singer....so I really don't want to spend a lot of time trying to get her to double a performance that I spent several hours comping together anyway. I tried the method that you suggested...ie..recording to another track at a slightly different speed by VSOing the machine while I'm copying the track. But..when I return the machine to it's fixed speed to play it back...although the timbre of the new vocal is slightly different...it's still right in sync with the original. Not sure yet how to do this but I'm having a great time experimenting with it.

Thanks again to all who have replied. I'm still looking forward to playing around with some of the other suggestions. You have all been VERY HELPFUL. I LOVE THIS SITE.
 
You really don't need to copy and add delay to get a good voice doubling effect. Just record another vocal track and mix them together. The minute differences between the two tracks will create a natural delay.
 
7ms

Forget the 7ms... although it is a good guide. Route the output of the dry vocal to a delay unit with 0db feedback. Route the output to the monitors and have a listen to both at the same time. Adjust the delay unit from around 5ms upwards.... Get the sound you like and press the record button.... Record a few different takes and see which one works best in the final mix. Pan them off slightly as well... Try it with guitars hard panned or 10pm/2pm... My favourite...!



Steve...R
 
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