Vocal "Auto double tracker" method or plugin exist?

[pure.fusion]

Hi all,

If this topic has been done to death, apologies. (Please separate this question from the "How do I get my vocals to sound like M&M" posts.)

Recently I discovered the wonder of double tracking vocals, with the obvious benefit being that shimmery and full chorused effect you get from having almost the same note sung and almost the same time as the original.

I have spent some time trying to fake this by copying and modifying the vocal track then running it along side the original but achieved an epic fail in comparison to an actual double tracked vocal.

So now over to you guys, I need the method or plugin that takes the vocal track and changes the pitch and timing slightly, in a liquid and random fashion as if another part had been sung (he asks as if no one has thought of or requested this before!)

I do remember reading something about this and John Lennon, where they took the vocal track, ran it back into another tape machine and then into the original onto another track and the delay and inaccuracy of the speed of the tape added this exact effect. Was this the early 70's? I figure there must be a modern equivalent out there now.

Cheers,
FM

 

[RAMI]

In my opinion, there is nothing that sounds better than singing it twice. I know people will suggest using a short delay, copying the track and de-tuning them away from each other a few cents....etc......

Just double track it.

 

[heatmiser]

Never heard that about Lennon. Seems odd he wouldn't have just sung it twice since that's generally regarded as the best way to get that double tracked sound.
There probably is a plug for that, but I'm afraid I don't know...

 

[pure.fusion]

In my opinion, there is nothing that sounds better than singing it twice. I know people will suggest using a short delay, copying the track and de-tuning them away from each other a few cents....etc......

Just double track it.

Yup. The detune and deley gives a constant doubles vocal, but it's the minor variation in both of these that's needed - I think.

Sometimes you can't, double track. Like when family visit from overseas, sing a track, then take off and you're left making a mix with a single vocal track... just as a random example...

FM

 

[pure.fusion]

Never heard that about Lennon. Seems odd he wouldn't have just sung it twice since that's generally regarded as the best way to get that double tracked sound.
There probably is a plug for that, but I'm afraid I don't know...

Found it.

"Townsend realised that, if two identical performances were played back with one of them slightly out of sync, the sound image would alter and widen, similarly to double tracking. There was no reliable way that this effect could be achieved by simply copying a vocal track on to another deck and then playing it back with the master slightly out of sync; at the time, there was no technique for synchronising two different tape machines. The end result would be that the second tape deck would gradually drift further and further from the first."

Automatic double tracking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FM

 

[Bristol Posse]

This can work in a pinch

Waves Doubler

It changes pitch and delay on the fly for up to four "voices" that can also be panned and EQ'd individually
However it's nothing like as good as simply double tracking the vocal

You could spend an hour messing with plugs to get a kind of OK sound or you could spend an extra ten minutes when tracking to record another couple of passes of the vocal and get a real double tracked result

YMMV

 

[mjbphotos]

In Reaper: JS Ozzifier. You can set the number of 'doublings' as well as the pitch and timing shifts.

 

[witzendoz]

Run the vocal through a stereo chorus, with a good set up of depth and time etc, you can get a pseudo double effect, It is not as good as the real double track vocal, but it is a useful effect in its own right.

Alan.

 

[pure.fusion]

Run the vocal through a stereo chorus, with a good set up of depth and time etc, you can get a pseudo double effect, It is not as good as the real double track vocal, but it is a useful effect in its own right.

Alan.

Cheers. Yes, I reached for this first up when I experimented. It did change the sound, couldn't really get anything that I'd stick with
There could be user error here, I'm not that familiar with adjusting chorus rates and types.

FM

 

[witzendoz]

Cheers. Yes, I reached for this first up when I experimented. It did change the sound, couldn't really get anything that I'd stick with
There could be user error here, I'm not that familiar with adjusting chorus rates and types.

FM

You need to have a chorus that does not take the tuning too far away from the original, the speed depends on the song tempo but don't make it too fast, the depth again needs to sound in keeping with the song. This may take time but it could do the trick. Also how much of the effect is in the mix compared to the original vocal, keep soloing the vocal/effect mix then listen in the mix, in the mix you want it to be just noticeable so it sounds like a double vocal track not over the top (like the dreadful auto tune effect that's on everything nowadays but thats another topic).

Try using the original vocal in the centre and use the chorus effect stereo hard left and right panning, see if this works for you.

Cheers
Alan.

 

[pure.fusion]

like the dreadful auto tune effect that's on everything nowadays but thats another topic).

Yup, I'm hearing your noise.

Yes, even with my real double tracked vocal tracks, the doubled track is substantially lower in volume - it's not 50/50.

Thanks for the quick chorus lesson. I'll add it to the list of things to try.

Cheers.

 

[grimtraveller]

The thing that Ken Townsend created in the studio was ADT - artificial double tracking. You can hear it on most of the Lennon and Harrison vocals of '66 and '67. "Love you to" has perhaps the most striking example of it.
I used to have a Zoom effects unit that had a reverb setting that, depending on where you set it, gave you ADT. I kind of liked it at first but I grew to hate it.
I'm all for experimentation but honestly, none of the alternatives I've come across sound better than actual double tracking.