Doubletracking
Encyclopedia
Double tracking is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or "bigger" sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. It is a form of overdubbing; the distinction comes from the doubling of a part, as opposed to recording a different part to go with the first. The effect can be further enhanced by panning one of the performances hard left and the other hard right in the stereo field.
Artificial or automatic double tracking
, also known as ADT, was developed at Abbey Road Studios
by engineers recording The Beatles
in the 1960s. It used variable speed tape recorders connected in such a way as to mimic the effect created by double tracking. ADT produced a unique sound which could be imitated but not precisely duplicated by later analog and digital delay devices, which are capable of producing an effect called doubling echo.
John Lennon
, who particularly enjoyed using the technique for his vocals while in the Beatles, also referred to his home-studio overdubbing technique as "double tracking", but this usage isn't technically correct, since he recorded new parts. Lennon's post-Beatles albums frequently employed doubling echo on his vocals in place of the ADT. Some critics complained that the effect gave the impression that Lennon recorded all his vocals in a bathroom, but some performers, like Black Francis and Paul Simon
, value the rich echo chamber
sound that it produces.
Artificial or automatic double tracking
Automatic double tracking
Automatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking was an analogue recording technique designed to enhance the sound of voices or instruments during the recording process. It used tape delay to create a delayed copy of an audio signal which was then combined with the original...
, also known as ADT, was developed at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
by engineers recording The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
in the 1960s. It used variable speed tape recorders connected in such a way as to mimic the effect created by double tracking. ADT produced a unique sound which could be imitated but not precisely duplicated by later analog and digital delay devices, which are capable of producing an effect called doubling echo.
John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, who particularly enjoyed using the technique for his vocals while in the Beatles, also referred to his home-studio overdubbing technique as "double tracking", but this usage isn't technically correct, since he recorded new parts. Lennon's post-Beatles albums frequently employed doubling echo on his vocals in place of the ADT. Some critics complained that the effect gave the impression that Lennon recorded all his vocals in a bathroom, but some performers, like Black Francis and Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, value the rich echo chamber
Echo chamber
thumb|right|Echo chamber of the Dresden University of Technologythumb|right|Hamilton Mausoleum has a spectacularly long lasting unplanned echoAn echo chamber is a hollow enclosure used to produce echoing sounds, usually for recording purposes...
sound that it produces.
See also
- Multitrack recordingMultitrack recordingMultitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
- OverdubbingOverdubbingOverdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
- Doubling echo
- Automatic double trackingAutomatic double trackingAutomatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking was an analogue recording technique designed to enhance the sound of voices or instruments during the recording process. It used tape delay to create a delayed copy of an audio signal which was then combined with the original...
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