Doubling Vocals

[turtle_michael]

You just contradicted yourself earlier you said this to me "I think its done more than you think, Were not talking about who you record, were talking commercial recordings", so who do you want to talk to?

I was just asking a question about what sound were trying to get, so then I get attitude back about auto tune. For your information auto tune used in a certain way can sound like doubling, like back in the 80's when they used harmonisers to create a double tracked vocal by pitch shifting the vocal slightly and bringing it back to another track/channel.

Keep talking to people like this and you won't get any help here.

Alan.

How did I contradict myself, you answered me with the condescending " I dont think its done as often as you think it is" to which I answered "i think it is done more you think it is"

Not sure where the contradiction was? What I said was you telling me that you almost never do doubled vocals, does not indicate what the real world is doing.

Re read a bit

 

[Chili]

a doubled vocal is just a sound enhancer

Well, there ya go... gimmick.

EQ, compression, noise gates are to get the different tracks in a song to work together.

Actually, I only replied to this thread so I can keep an eye on it and see where it goes. I do that.

 

[witzendoz]

How did I contradict myself, you answered me with the condescending " I dont think its done as often as you think it is" to which I answered "i think it is done more you think it is"

Not sure where the contradiction was? What I said was you telling me that you almost never do doubled vocals, does not indicate what the real world is doing.

Re read a bit

This "Were not talking about who you record, were talking commercial recordings" followed by this "Im asking other home recording people, Im not asking somebody to talk to me like they are a top engineer for todays hits".

So you don't want to talk to me about who I record, but when I tell you that I do record commercial recordings you tell me you don't want to talk to a top engineer for todays hits? Who is it you want to talk too.

All I said at the beginning was that I did not think double tracking was used that much today, I believe that most double tracking effects are done with software, and that auto tune used in the right way can give a double tracking effect. In the 1960's John Lennon recording all of his vocals twice for double tracking effect, it used to drive him nuts, so the guys at Abbey Rd invented a device to make the vocals sound double tracked, so he only had to record them once.

I do sometimes record double tracked vocals, some singers can nail it others can't. If they can't I use an effect unit to create the double tracking effect. Good singers can do it.

Alan.

 

[turtle_michael]

Well, there ya go... gimmick.

EQ, compression, noise gates are to get the different tracks in a song to work together.

Actually, I only replied to this thread so I can keep an eye on it and see where it goes. I do that.

LOL, well you sure didnt reply because you had anything worthwhile to say.

Wiggle out of your comment some more.

Ok so compression and eq and noise gates, are not used for effect, just to seperate tracks. Well what about reverb and delay?

I guess pink floyds Hello, (Hello, Hello) was a gimmick and not an artistic statement

"singers should just sing" ok so we dont even need a mic then...keep wiggling...

 

[turtle_michael]

This "Were not talking about who you record, were talking commercial recordings" followed by this "Im asking other home recording people, Im not asking somebody to talk to me like they are a top engineer for todays hits".

So you don't want to talk to me about who I record, but when I tell you that I do record commercial recordings you tell me you don't want to talk to a top engineer for todays hits? Who is it you want to talk too.

All I said at the beginning was that I did not think double tracking was used that much today, I believe that most double tracking effects are done with software, and that auto tune used in the right way can give a double tracking effect. In the 1960's John Lennon recording all of his vocals twice for double tracking effect, it used to drive him nuts, so the guys at Abbey Rd invented a device to make the vocals sound double tracked, so he only had to record them once.

I do sometimes record double tracked vocals, some singers can nail it others can't. If they can't I use an effect unit to create the double tracking effect. Good singers can do it.

Alan.

I was asking how THEY do it, not how YOU do it. You dont record anybody who needs a bigger studio than what you have

 

[witzendoz]

LOL, well you sure didnt reply because you had anything worthwhile to say.

Wiggle out of your comment some more.

Ok so compression and eq and noise gates, are not used for effect, just to seperate tracks. Well what about reverb and delay?

I guess pink floyds Hello, (Hello, Hello) was a gimmick and not an artistic statement

"singers should just sing" ok so we dont even need a mic then...keep wiggling...

This is getting better all the time

 

[witzendoz]

I was asking how THEY do it, not how YOU do it. You dont record anybody who needs a bigger studio than what you have

So now the insults. Who are They? I suggest you go over to here and post your question if the advice on this forum is not up to your standard.

Alan.

 

[Seafroggys]

Yeah gearslutz are a much nicer community, they'd be really open to your approach.

I'm surprised no one asked this question yet. What are 5 popular tracks of the last year that have double tracking? If we have song examples, we may be able to figure out how they did it by listening to it.

 

[turtle_michael]

Yeah gearslutz are a much nicer community, they'd be really open to your approach.

I'm surprised no one asked this question yet. What are 5 popular tracks of the last year that have double tracking? If we have song examples, we may be able to figure out how they did it by listening to it.

Now where am I going to find those....

Taylor Swift we are never ever getting back together

Daft Punk Get Lucky

Lady Gaga Born This Way

Fall Out BOY my songs know what you did...

Carrie Underwood See You Again

Phillip Phillips Gone Gone Gone

The Lumineers Hey Ho


Zack Brown Band Jump Right In

 

[RAMI]

Funny things is, I agree with this guy about doubling vocals. It happens often, from the Beatles to Nirvana to many new pop songs. I have no issue with that. It's done all the time and probably more than most people notice.

I just don't get the aggression, regardless of whether people agree with something or not.

 

[Farview]

When I was recording Ripper Owens (ex-Judas Priest) he did the entire song in 3 part harmony, doubling all the parts. So that is six tracks of main vocal. All the inflections matched and all the vibrato lined up well enough...because he had the necessary control over his performance to pull it off.

The song is called Leave it Alone, featuring Ripper, Dave Elefson (megadeth), Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall), Tristan Grigsby (Daitribe ), and a bunch of guest soloists. I don't know if its on my site or not, but it should be easy enough to find.

Edit: Not as easy as I thought to find. The audio is horrible due to youtube down-conversion But you can hear the 6 vocal parts. It's octaves through most of the song, 3 octaves, all doubled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlLuaLCo_ng

 

[Greg_L]

Funny things is, I agree with this guy about doubling vocals. It happens often, from the Beatles to Nirvana to many new pop songs. I have no issue with that. It's done all the time and probably more than most people notice.

I just don't get the aggression, regardless of whether people agree with something or not.

Yeah, even technically bad singers have used a lot of double tracking. Johnny Rotten's vocals on Never Mind the Bollocks are multiple tracked. Joey Ramone used multiple vocal tracks on pretty much every Ramones album - and there were many. Kurt Cobain. If you listen closely to those albums you can hear a word or phrase begin or end a little differently. It's not uncommon, and it's not hard. The takes don't even have to be perfectly in unison. You don't have to be Pavarotti. Just sing it how you sing it, mix it properly, and it's all good.

 

[miroslav]

The question was doubling a lead vocal and how the subtlties of say the vibrato in ones voice can be different every time one opens their mouth. I do notice that most doubled passages are done without vibrato like big choruses. But Do you have recordings of you doubling a lead vocal, since you so thoroughly demonstrated how it is done?

Id like to hear this, mostly to see if I need to ask you

Well....you don't seem to want to know how anyone HERE does it, becuase you feel that no one here is pro-enough to answer you....and you instead want to know how THEY do it (Gaga, Swift, Underwood).....so then why do you keep asking everyone HERE and then gettingn pissy about our answers?

Go ask THEM.

 

[DM60]

Well....you don't seem to want to know how anyone HERE does it, becuase you feel that no one here is pro-enough to answer you....and you instead want to know how THEY do it (Gaga, Swift, Underwood).....so then why do you keep asking everyone HERE and then gettingn pissy about our answers?

Go ask THEM.

It is like the OP is sayin': "I am here to ask a question, if I like your answer"

 

[Steenamaroo]

This entire debate hinges on the idea that double tracking should be neat and tidy.

When did this happen? Go listen to some Bowie.


If you wanna be a pop star when you grow up then maybe that's different. Suck it up and work hard.
There's absolutely no room for guessing or improvising.

I work with a guy who never plays or sings the same thing twice. Drives me fucking mental.

 

[RAMI]

Some of the most classic tunes have doubled vocals and I bet many people don't realize it even after hearing the tune 1000 times.

The "faster" part of Stairway to Heaven is totally doubled and not very neatly either, but I'm sure that was deliberate. "And as we wind on down the road", etc.....

"Blackbird fly.....black bird fly....into the light of a....etc....."

It's done all the time.

 

[Seafroggys]

Yeah double-tracking works best when its not perfect.

 

[Rod Norman]

Try doing the doubled vocal with no starting consonents and loose flowing vowels. The double tracked vocal should always sit gently behind the main vocal. There is no way to perfectly double a great performance unless you are Paul McCartney.

 

[Greg_L]

Try doing the doubled vocal with no starting consonents and loose flowing vowels.

I've seen this weird advice parroted many times. I don't understand what it's supposed to achieve besides being difficult, unnatural, and confusing.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I have done that before. It wouldn't be a go to technique but once in a while I've been layering harmonies and I'll just drop the esses or Ts at the end of words.

We're literally talking about a phrase here or there, though, where I know I'm going to end up with cascading consonants.