The Art of Double-Tracking Vocals in Music

What Is Double Tracking, and Why Should You Try It?

Double-tracking vocals can be the biggest key to adding that je-ne-sais-quoi to your new song. So why should you add this effect to your next track?

Because it will make it have a bigger impact. 

Popular genres often rely on minimalistic composition alongside powerful production techniques in order to achieve “The Sound” that we all so know and love. A large part of that mysteriously crisp and oddly satisfying result is double-tracked vocals.

In most pop and pop-rock songs you hear on the radio, the artist has gone in and recorded the same vocal line multiple times. These layers are stacked on top of one another, typically, in order to create a hard-hitting chorus. 

Double tracking works because each time a singer redoes the track, it will have a slightly different pitch and timing. Live choruses sound so big for the same reasons: having many voices at once (which are a few cents off) leads to a beautiful wide sound. 

So, want to learn how to achieve this thick vocal sound?

 Here’s how. 

How to Double-Track 

First, I will walk you through the standard steps for basic double-tracking. Then, I’ll show you a quick way to get a similar sound without having to spend as much time. First things first, where to double: In a typical song, verses are single tracks (or lightly doubled), and choruses are heavily doubled. 

Step 1: Record the regular track

Step 2: Record it again…

Step 3: Record it one more time

Now, you have three takes of the same track. 

Step 4: Pan one vocal take to the left

Step 5: Pan the other vocal take to the right

Your main vocal take (the one you like the best) should stay centered in the mix, which means this one does not get panned. This one should be the loudest. The other two are panned in each direction and should come down a bit in volume. In many songs keep in mind that this process is done twice, meaning that there are two sets of doubles. This brings us to the next question…

Lining Them Up

How well the doubles should be lined up will somewhat depend on the type of sound you want to achieve. Some artists enjoy the slight delay doubled vocals can give when they aren’t spot-on, while others prefer a crisp sound that is simply thicker/ more powerful than a single take.

In most DAWs, you can manually align your takes and fade out consonants that don’t quite line up with your main tale. And while certain tools from Vocalign or Isotope can be used to make doubles more crisp, and near identical, subscriptions like this can get pretty expensive for beginners.

Luckily, you can also achieve a doubled sound with other stereo widening techniques and panning. You can also get that double-track sound in the DAW Soundtrap without having to re-record at all.

How to Get a Double-Tracked Effect in Soundtrap Fast

Soundtrap has a vocal doubler feature that allows you to get the rich effect of double-tracking without actually having to record every line twice. 

This premium music production tool allows you to adjust three main parameters: Strength, modulation, and boost. The tool doubles the take and ever so slightly changes the pitch so that it becomes wider. If you want more, simply turn up the boost a bit!

So how exactly does strength vs boost work?

• Strength is the amount of modulation of the duplicated signals

• Boost is a slight time delay between the original and duplicated signals

Two other tools you may want to check out in order to widen your mix and create a ‘faux double’ are the stereo chorus tool and mod delay from the DAW.

Famous Artists Whose Songs That Are Double-Tracked

When I was first leaning to double track, I told a family friend about a new song I was working on. I showed him the tune, and his first reaction was “Oh, there are layers of you singing? That’s so weird, I’ve never heard of that before…”  My colleague from the University of Toledo laughed at him immediately, stating “Well… everyone does it! Here, listen to this song by Stevie Nicks, she is singing harmonies with herself!” 

• “Elanor Rigby” by The Beatles/John Lennon (Double Tracked)

• “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by The Beatles (ADT)

• “Feather” by Sabrina Carpenter

• “Love From the Other Side” Fall Out Boy

John Lennon was a huge fan of a doubled sound as it made him feel stronger in his craft. So much so that Abbey Road became known for their vocal double sound… but much of it was actually ADT- Automatic Double Tracking. ADT was developed upon the request form the Beatles and has been used since the ’60s. 

From modern signs like pop star Sabrina Carpenter to FOB’s latest hit, double tracking is all around around you…

When to Use It (And When Not To) 

Like with all other production methods, this technique only needs to be done with a purpose. It’s all too easy to go overboard with layers and end up with a muddy mix (especially if your arrangement is already dense). Some places in your song will need just one track, whereas others might need tracks upon tracks.

Do Use Vocal Doubling When…

• When you want a broader/wider sound

• To create an ethereal effect

• Contrast compositional elements (hook vs verse)

• In order to create strength in a mix

Doubling can come in handy if you’ve already sung something in a weaker area of your range. 

Overall, the best time to use doubling is during a chorus. And as for the final chorus? The more doubles the better! Many artists create a sort of gang vocal for the end of their tune to make the composition close with a bang.

Avoid Vocal Doubling When…

• Rapping or performing spoken word

• If the lyrics are too quick to recreate precisely

• Creating a delicate or intimate sound 

Multiple takes of speaking can end up sounding a bit… Halloweeny. By that I mean if you speak in a different pitch and layer and layer it you might sound like Professor Trelawney in her prophecy scene…yikes. 

Keep in mind that doubling throughout an entire song may take away from intimate sonic moments. Raw single-take vocals have their time and place. Emotional intros that have shaky solo vocals often lure listeners in better than a crisply-produced, large-doubled sound. 

Just like anything else- Don’t overdo it. 

Processing Vocal Takes: How Much Is Too Much?

• Assess the pitch

• Lightly correct if needed

• Timing: Decide if you value delay or a crisp but thick sound

Speaking of overdoing it- How is one supposed to know how much tuning and editing is too much? After all, the reason why a band or choir sounds so large and lush is because of the slight variations in pitch. So, you don’t want to tune your layers of vocal doubles to ‘0’ if you’re looking for that big, ethereal sound. But if they’re wildly out of tune, either re-record or apply some tuning. 

So the final verdict? If the takes sound a bit crunchy to your ears, add light vocal tuning. As for timing the takes, it is a bit of a matter of vocal preference. If you enjoy something along the lines of All Time Low’s new album, The Forever Sessions, then lining up the tracks as cleanly as possible will help achieve that sound. For acoustic indie-folk or other ethereal sounds, a slight delay in takes could be the key to a wabi-sabi recording.

In Different Genres

Here are three popular sounds which you can achieve in vocal doubles:

• The Ethereal Double- Think of artists like Aurora 

• The Close-Up- A double that is barely there but thickens the mix

• The Gritty- A rockish sound that’s trippy yet full

Yep, you can still achieve intimacy with doubling. Here’s how to get each of these sounds.For an ethereal sound, pan your doubles harder and add much reverb. For a close-up and intimate sound: Pan the vocals every so slightly

For an indie-type psychedelic doubled effect: Double your vocals, and slap on a warbleing effect or delay overtop of it all.

Production Tips: How to Make Doubles Blend

• Use a de-esser

• Try cutting out the lows if they’re too much (EQ)

• Don’t pan the takes all the way right or left 

• Don’t clean up the doubles too much (or you’ll lose some wideness)

A vocal de-esser can soften the doubles, and make them feel more blended in the mix. Even if your sibilance sounds good in the original, once you start layering S’s and T’s it can get messy, fast. This tool is an excellent way to soften and smooth those consonants.

It’s also possible for the low end to make the mix sound messy. Just in case, do a bit of light Eqing.

 Also, remember panning too hard can make the double feel unnatural- or even worse, unattached- from the main lead. Panned doesn’t usually mean all the way right or left. So start with doubles dialed the halfway point, and see what it sounds like.

On Adding and Producing Vocal Harmonies

Oftentimes we don’t think of it this way, but harmonies are technically double-tracked vocals as well! Here are some quick tips:

• Singing a harmony of a 5th is usually a safe bet

• Upper harmonies should always be significantly softer than the main vocal

• Harmonies can generally take a bit more FX- like reverb- than the lead

Layers Upon Layers: The Secret Sauce for Pop Music

Vocal comping can take quite a lot of time when you do a standard choral-pop stack: Lead Vocal, two sets of doubles, panned (LRLR), harmonies stacked above that quietly, with two sets of doubles as well (LRLR).

Having Trouble Doubling? 

Fair warning to you fellow singers…Doubling the traditional way can be frustrating, and time-consuming. The more accurate you can re-sign your parts from the get-go, the better it will sound. But if you’re hours in and still can’t get it right, try this:

• Turn up the click (metronome) while recording

• Strip back the mix and try again (Remove all the ornamental instruments)

• Use compression heavily on the doubles 

• Try softening the consonants and S’s in real-time as you are tracking

• Use a second microphone with a different timbre 

By singing to just the bare bones mix with a solid click in the background, it can be a lot easier to sing a more accurate double and to hear what you’re singing in real time. If you have too much going on, you can get distracted. After all, the difference between a good vocal double and a bad one is just a few milliseconds…

Another small hack is to record the other takes with a new microphone. This new tone color the mic can impact may make the vocals sound better in tandem.

Interested in checking out some other doubling ideas? Check out this video.

Vocal Doubling: It’s A Labor of Love

In the end, we hate to break it to you, but turning up the volume is not a good substitution for vocal doubling. Since double tracks are wide the vocalists sound from micro-differences in pitch and timing, It’s a labor of love. Recording doubled vocals the old-school way can be grueling, but it’s worth it. 

Luckily, inside Soundtrap, it’s easy to navigate vocal recording. Whether you want to create takes of tracks individually or use our quick and easy doubling tool, you should check out Soundtrap for free today.

About the author

Aleah Fitzwater is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, music journalist, and blogger from Temperance, United States. Aleah holds a Pk-12 instrumental music education degree. Her main instruments are flute, piano, drums, bass, and guitar.