- Joined
- Dec 31, 2017
- Messages
- 1,197
- Karma
- 1,346
- Gear owned
- DP-24/40-4MTR/M30
Howdy, been lurking here for a while and thought I'd introduce myself with a little "double tracking then and now" contribution. Hope y'all enjoy it.
Then:
In 1965, the Beatles were recording at EMI's Abbey Road studios. They often preferred to double track their vocals. The double tracking process at the time meant recording a vocal on one track; then rewinding the tape and making a second live recording of a second vocal. This was accomplished using either SI (superimposition, or sound-on-sound - adding a live second vocal on top of the first vocal); or overdubbing (recording the second vocal to a blank track, a still useful technique). Either way, the Beatles balked that the process was hard on their voices during long sessions and time/labor intensive, but very much liked the result: the two subtly different images created a thickening of the vocal sound. Ken Townsend, head of Abby Road's technical boffins, invented a way to do this electronically by sending the original vocal to a second recorder slowed slightly (2-4ms) using a variable speed oscillator. The slightly delayed second vocal was returned to the mixing console and added into the live recording in real time or recorded on a blank track for later mixdown. The slight delay in the returned tape vocal generated differences in the vocal character that simulated the subtle variances that occurred naturally in the SI and overdub process. The EMI techies named this invention "Automatic Double Tracking".
Now:
That trip down memory lane got me thinking about how the same might be accomplished on the DP-24, and came up with three ways: (1) The easiest but least flexible, blends the vocal track with a 2ms delay by using Send 1 to run the vocal through the on-board Delay Effect during mixdown. (2) Slightly more complex and a bit more flexible, involves bouncing the vocal track to an empty track, then using move/paste to offset the bounce track from the vocal track by 1 or 2 ms. (3) The most complex, but also providing the greatest flexibility, also uses the on-board Delay Effect. It involves assigning the source vocal to Send 1; patching the left stereo out buss to Input E and the right stereo out buss to Input F; assigning Inputs E/F to an "ADT" stereo-pair track (e.g. 23/24); arming the "ADT" track; and [~this is critical~] setting all physical faders except the master stereo fader all the way down/off. Do a final check, then press the record button. The result is a pure stereo "ADT" track that can be blended with the primary vocal and/or further processed with reverb, EQ, etc. while still leaving the on-board effects features available to other tracks during mixdown.
Then:
In 1965, the Beatles were recording at EMI's Abbey Road studios. They often preferred to double track their vocals. The double tracking process at the time meant recording a vocal on one track; then rewinding the tape and making a second live recording of a second vocal. This was accomplished using either SI (superimposition, or sound-on-sound - adding a live second vocal on top of the first vocal); or overdubbing (recording the second vocal to a blank track, a still useful technique). Either way, the Beatles balked that the process was hard on their voices during long sessions and time/labor intensive, but very much liked the result: the two subtly different images created a thickening of the vocal sound. Ken Townsend, head of Abby Road's technical boffins, invented a way to do this electronically by sending the original vocal to a second recorder slowed slightly (2-4ms) using a variable speed oscillator. The slightly delayed second vocal was returned to the mixing console and added into the live recording in real time or recorded on a blank track for later mixdown. The slight delay in the returned tape vocal generated differences in the vocal character that simulated the subtle variances that occurred naturally in the SI and overdub process. The EMI techies named this invention "Automatic Double Tracking".
Now:
That trip down memory lane got me thinking about how the same might be accomplished on the DP-24, and came up with three ways: (1) The easiest but least flexible, blends the vocal track with a 2ms delay by using Send 1 to run the vocal through the on-board Delay Effect during mixdown. (2) Slightly more complex and a bit more flexible, involves bouncing the vocal track to an empty track, then using move/paste to offset the bounce track from the vocal track by 1 or 2 ms. (3) The most complex, but also providing the greatest flexibility, also uses the on-board Delay Effect. It involves assigning the source vocal to Send 1; patching the left stereo out buss to Input E and the right stereo out buss to Input F; assigning Inputs E/F to an "ADT" stereo-pair track (e.g. 23/24); arming the "ADT" track; and [~this is critical~] setting all physical faders except the master stereo fader all the way down/off. Do a final check, then press the record button. The result is a pure stereo "ADT" track that can be blended with the primary vocal and/or further processed with reverb, EQ, etc. while still leaving the on-board effects features available to other tracks during mixdown.
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