Let's talk about Automatic Double Tracking

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nightlight

nightlight

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I know a few users have used this technique in the studio (and live?) to really fatten up their tone and create a wall of sound. This is particularly true of one-guitar bands like Pantera, where Dimebag Darrell used it to devastating effect.

I know about the history of the technology, which originates from Beatles records. But I'm curious to know if anyone nowadays is using ADT.

I used to own a TC Electronic Mimic and later a Strymon Deco, and they were really cool to add to the loop of two amplifiers to get a huge sound.

Of late, I've been tinkering with the ADT on the Neural DSP Quad Cortex, and I got to wonder: why don't more devices have this thing built in?

This is a dual tracked guitar sound, except it's not a dual tracked guitar. I used the automatic double tracker on the Neural DSP Quad Cortex to get a stereo guitar recording with minor variations in the second track so that it sounds like I double tracked.



Pardon the mix, there's minimal processing on this.

While of course, this is not a substitute for double tracking in the studio (I think, what's your verdict?), I can't wait to test this out in a band situation.
 
nightlight said:
I know a few users have used this technique in the studio (and live?) to really fatten up their tone and create a wall of sound. This is particularly true of one-guitar bands like Pantera, where Dimebag Darrell used it to devastating effect.

I know about the history of the technology, which originates from Beatles records. But I'm curious to know if anyone nowadays is using ADT.

I used to own a TC Electronic Mimic and later a Strymon Deco, and they were really cool to add to the loop of two amplifiers to get a huge sound.

Of late, I've been tinkering with the ADT on the Neural DSP Quad Cortex, and I got to wonder: why don't more devices have this thing built in?

This is a dual tracked guitar sound, except it's not a dual tracked guitar. I used the automatic double tracker on the Neural DSP Quad Cortex to get a stereo guitar recording with minor variations in the second track so that it sounds like I double tracked.



Pardon the mix, there's minimal processing on this.

While of course, this is not a substitute for double tracking in the studio (I think, what's your verdict?), I can't wait to test this out in a band situation.
Click to expand...

Ben Waylin said:
It's never as good as just recording two tracks and panning one hard-left and the other hard-right.

It's those slight imperfections between the two takes that make the magic.

Click to expand...


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Ben Waylin said:
It's never as good as just recording two tracks and panning one hard-left and the other hard-right.

It's those slight imperfections between the two takes that make the magic.

Click to expand...


Right, that's my thinking too, as indicated.

I really think this would sound great live though.

The ADT in the QC is much better quality than either the Mimiq or the Deco, that's for sure. I'm itching to run an amp through it and see what happens.
 
I like to just record two tracks when I'm doubling. Using a different amp/cab for each track also makes a difference.

Maybe I'm just not good at dialing in ADT, but I've always gotten better results by double tracking manually.
 
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I use a Mimiq in my live rig to separate two rigs, and it works great for that. Without it, putting a full stack on either side of the stage makes it sound like the guitar is coming from the middle (when they are balanced properly). Once I dial the Mimiq in, it creates separation between the two rigs. Much fuller for live use, and highly recommend.

Don't cheat on recording though. Record two tracks. The real thing is always going to beat the imitation.
 
BeZo said:
I use a Mimiq in my live rig to separate two rigs, and it works great for that. Without it, putting a full stack on either side of the stage makes it sound like the guitar is coming from the middle (when they are balanced properly). Once I dial the Mimiq in, it creates separation between the two rigs. Much fuller for live use, and highly recommend.

Don't cheat on recording though. Record two tracks. The real thing is always going to beat the imitation.
Click to expand...


That’s the way to do it live. I’d still do it the real way recording, but it can be cool for dialing in tones or quick demos
 
It can be a cool effect for leads I guess but it’s a pretty good way to kill a tight rhythm
 
Dan Gleesak said:
It can be a cool effect for leads I guess but it’s a pretty good way to kill a tight rhythm
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The exact opposite. For leads, I would rather kick it off and have one big fat mono lead coming down the middle. Havinh it on for rhythm parts, it widens the sound live and gives you a fatter sound without losing much of the tightness. It's a worthy trade off IMO.
 
BeZo said:
The exact opposite. For leads, I would rather kick it off and have one big fat mono lead coming down the middle. Havinh it on for rhythm parts, it widens the sound live and gives you a fatter sound without losing much of the tightness. It's a worthy trade off IMO.
Click to expand...
Yeah, 100% agree on this.

Pretty much how I have come to record stuff.
 
So, just to clarify, this is what I said in the OP:

"While of course, this is not a substitute for double tracking in the studio (I think, what's your verdict?), I can't wait to test this out in a band situation."

So please don't jump me en masse and start a controversy over nothing. I agree completely that it's not a substitute, emphasis *I THINK, what's your verdict?"

Also, it's actually a very cool effect. I appreciate how everyone double tracks, but have you tried an ADT device?

I think Wes Hauch has some kind of approximation of the effect for his rhythm tone on the Axe FXIII, which he shared on the Fractal forums.

And Dimebag used to use an MXR flanger/doubler to thicken his sound.

So go figure, it's been used and it's being used.

Personally, I think the effect is sick and a great way to record song ideas without double tracking. I did a Quad tracking video a few days ago, using the ADT effect on two recorded takes, and it was pretty good, I thought (my mixing skills notwithstanding, check out my recording room of horror thread):

Here it is:

 
What block or whatever are you using to accomplish this? The Doubler? Or is it a mixture of a number of blocks to obtain the effect? I don't think I've heard anyone mention an Automatic Double Tracker in the QC before.
 
Inearthed said:
What block or whatever are you using to accomplish this? The Doubler? Or is it a mixture of a number of blocks to obtain the effect? I don't think I've heard anyone mention an Automatic Double Tracker in the QC before.
Click to expand...
It’s in the utility section.
 
VESmedic said:
That doesn’t sound like double tracked guitars at all to me, sorry. Sounds like a seriously out of phase mono guitar in a weird way.
Click to expand...

Sadly, this has to be sad: I know that you don’t like my playing, my tones and my mixes, but shouldn’t you be spending more time feeding off Andy Snead/Colin Richardson/whoever’s teat right about now?

As opposed to constantly tearing me down, I mean.

Life’s too short, I acknowledge you have superior tones. But your writing sucks, so I think I have the edge. Can always hire a studio, hiring songwriter’s is crazy expensive

Can I back that statement up? Yes, I think I can:

https://on.soundcloud.com/9XWgvEpTyoU8tNTdA

https://on.soundcloud.com/u42HyWRMJZ48qBr5A

https://on.soundcloud.com/hk2cQ4mvgP6wyYKZ8

But hey, the mixes suck, eh?
 
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