How common is vocal doubling?

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 8:31 pm

I was thinking about doing some vocal doubling for my cd I'm recording. How common is this?

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:29 pm

like a harmony or double tracking? im sure its pretty common. listen to nickelback, theyre in love with it. pop music + making vocals impossible to sing in real life = hit songs

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:20 pm

ya a lot of people do it. doubling and harmonies.

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:07 am

Lots of doubling is done with digital delay (10-25ms) since doing it the old fashioned way isn't as easy as it seems. I've only encountered a few vocalists that have the phrasing and pitch control to do it really well.

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:13 am

jonyoung wrote:

Lots of doubling is done with digital delay (10-25ms) since doing it the old fashioned way isn't as easy as it seems. I've only encountered a few vocalists that have the phrasing and pitch control to do it really well.

As much as I can't stand listening to her...Natalie Merchant is a fine example.

Much of what's heard today is done via harmonizers, not vocal doubling. (Nickelback, Hillary Duff, Rihanna, etc...) It takes a pretty good musician to be able to do it without making it sound like a ripe pile of feces.

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:31 am

Cucco wrote:

jonyoung wrote:

Lots of doubling is done with digital delay (10-25ms) since doing it the old fashioned way isn't as easy as it seems. I've only encountered a few vocalists that have the phrasing and pitch control to do it really well.

As much as I can't stand listening to her...Natalie Merchant is a fine example.

Much of what's heard today is done via harmonizers, not vocal doubling. (Nickelback, Hillary Duff, Rihanna, etc...) It takes a pretty good musician to be able to do it without making it sound like a ripe pile of feces.

well, even with the harmonizers, they still sound like a ripe pile of feces. thats why i like punk rock cus i can relate. they cant sing and neither can i, its a beautiful thing

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:08 am

sarNz wrote:

pop music + making vocals impossible to sing in real life = hit songs

LOL

It is very sad that this is true, pop culture devours unrealistic music made by untalented individuals...

*sheds a tear*

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:22 am

Quote:

It is very sad that this is true, pop culture devours unrealistic music made by untalented individuals...

Precisely why engineers are more talented than the 'artists' Wink

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:26 am

fourone3 wrote:

Quote:

It is very sad that this is true, pop culture devours unrealistic music made by untalented individuals...

Precisely why engineers are more talented than the 'artists' Wink

hey, there still are SOME people that can actually play / sing. im just not one of them. nor am i a good engineer. dammit! but its fun anyways!

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:11 pm

That's the spirit! I'll autotune the very occasional word or phrase on a vocal track, but I've become a curmudgeon and will flame someone right out of the room if they want every damned word tuned. I think it was Roger Daltry who once said "A word sung out of pitch, but with feeling is always better than a word sung in perfect pitch without feeling. I like my music organic.....just not as organic as ripe feces, however.

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:15 pm

agreed, i wouldnt expect someone to sing perfectly, even a professional. as long as theyre better than me, i got respect!

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 4:56 pm

The doors used a lot of doubled vocal have a listen.

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:35 pm

Link555 wrote:

The doors used a lot of doubled vocal have a listen.

Really? I shall have a listen.

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:01 pm

Hey Jonnystevens,
Yes, double tracking vocals is a common technique back from
long time ago. You may check out DVD series "Classic Albums",
these are about making of well known records. A couple come to
mind: Machine Head by Deep Purple and Dark Side of the Moon
by Pink Floyd. Good examples of double tracking and harmonizing
vocals for real, not with plugs and boxes.
However, the post, it seems removed by moderators (about punk),
had a point - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. For example,
R. Plant in Zeppelin didn't use it much, neither Sir Mic in Stones. It's
like with classical music, a solo violin versus violin section. You got
to figure out what delivers your idea better.
Just an opinion.

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:39 pm

Oh heck, having a mediocre singer doubling their track makes them sound only half as mediocre. So I would say, there are numerous good reasons to do it and not with a digital delay device. You want all of their natural inconsistencies not computer created inconsistencies. Even if they are not good at doubling themselves, you can help to correct timing and pitch problems in software. You will still have enough variations to provide true realism and not a computer fake. So there are your reasons for cutting more than one lead vocal tract on more than a single channel. Always get at least two complete good takes out of them and then you have the workings for what you need to.

Double trouble
Ms. Remy Ann David

This topic sponsored by: