Double Trackin'

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Okay, so it's no secret I'm terrible with mixin' but I wanna know something.

Recording distorted guitars, double tracking them and panning them left and right is pretty much standard right? Well, I do that, but I usually use the same guitar tone for both takes. Last night someone told me that it's far more effective if you use two completely different tones?

In your experience, is that true or false?

[Rozovian]

I don't work enough with guitar so I can't say, but the principle behind it all is this:

Identical signals left and right turn into a centered mono signal. Using different sounds on two identical signals still have the distortion and any effects different in each channel. Using different takes means that the timing of waveforms (phase), fret and pick noise (higher frequencies) will be different on each side, so you get a wider sound. If you want, you can use different amp sounds and effects to further distinguish the sounds. If the effect you want is to separate the two signals more, then yes, using a different tone means a different sound, thereby a more distinct left and right sound. if the effect you want is just a really wide guitar, maybe using the same tone is better.

There's also the possibility, for those who (like me) aren't _that_ good at guitar, to use different tones on a single take instead. Phase will be the same, but the distortions and effects will be different. You could experiment with all of these techniques, see what sound you find the most fitting for the tracks you have.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I don't work enough with guitar so I can't say, but the principle behind it all is this:

Identical signals left and right turn into a centered mono signal. Using different sounds on two identical signals still have the distortion and any effects different in each channel. Using different takes means that the timing of waveforms (phase), fret and pick noise (higher frequencies) will be different on each side, so you get a wider sound. If you want, you can use different amp sounds and effects to further distinguish the sounds. If the effect you want is to separate the two signals more, then yes, using a different tone means a different sound, thereby a more distinct left and right sound. if the effect you want is just a really wide guitar, maybe using the same tone is better.

There's also the possibility, for those who (like me) aren't _that_ good at guitar, to use different tones on that instead. Phase will be the same, but the distortions and effects will be different. You could experiment with all of these techniques, see what sound you find the most fitting for the tracks you have.

Thanks Rozovian! I shall keep experimenting.

[Fishy]

From a guitarist, here's what they probably meant:

You record the same part twice with the same tone and pan them hard left and right. This makes a nice image if your timing and articulation is tight. This is the minimum I do every time and is the basic standard. Some people go further and do this:

Then you record the exact same thing two more times with a different tone and pan them differently, maybe 75% left and right.

People will argue about the panning though. Some people prefer no fully hard panning, some people like all 4 takes to be hard panned. Some people record everything 8 times, I think thats a bit ott. Try it, see what works for you.

[Frederic Petitpas]

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