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Double tracking ordoubling is anaudio 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 ofoverdubbing; 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 bypanning one of the performances hard left and the other hard right in the stereo field.
Artificial orautomatic double tracking, also known as ADT, was developed atAbbey Road Studios by engineers recordingThe Beatles in the 1960s. It used variable speedtape recorders connected in such a way as to mimic the effect created by double tracking. ADT produced a unique sound that could be imitated but not precisely duplicated by lateranalog anddigital delay devices, which are capable of producing an effect calleddoubling echo. The effect is used to give one singer a fuller sound.
Double tracking was pioneered byBuddy Holly.[citation needed]John Lennon particularly enjoyed using the technique for his vocals while in the Beatles. 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, likeBlack Francis andPaul Simon, value the richecho chamber sound that it produces.[citation needed]Paul McCartney also commonly used this technique for his vocals while in the Beatles. Another notable example of double tracking can be seen in the 1991 hit albumNevermind, where producerButch Vig would often double the vocals of lead singerKurt Cobain and several electric guitars to create a "sound big enough" as Vig once put it in an interview.[1]
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