Tips & Tricks

Simulating Doubled Parts

Looking for a way to thicken or accent a guitar or vocal track?

If you simply duplicate a track, it increases the overall volume, but does not add any nuances to simulate two separate takes. So the part sounds duplicated, not doubled, even when panned.

Try this. Use a software harmonizer or pitch shifter to slightly delay the signal, and minutely change the pitch. This will create just a subtle enough difference that the tracks will sound like two different takes when mixed together.

Here goes:

1. Duplicate a guitar or vocal track


2. Drop the new track pitch down 10-15 cents


3. Delay it 10-15 ms


4. Lower the volume significantly (so you don't hear any weird filtering effect)


5. Pan it to one side

Mess around with the settings. You still want the original track sound to be dominant, but just slightly nuanced by the duplicated track.

Try this technique, and it will breathe a lot of depth into your session.