Double Tracking Guitars - What Methods Do You Use

[cGoEcYk]

I've been getting into recording guitars lately. Just rhythm stuff to sketch out ideas in modern metal styles. I am still trying to get the best sound possible based on what I've got. I have a two guitars, two high gain heads, and a few different speakers.

What kinds of techniques do you guys use when double tracking straighforward rhythm guitar parts? I typicall use a L/R sweep (the degree depends on the intended effect but generally around 60%). Here are a few things I've thought of:

- Different guitars
- Different speakers
- Different Amps
- Different gain levels (or with or w/out tubescreamer for example) or amp settings
- Same rig, different mic or mic placement
- Mix/combination of any of the above
- A zillion other options

I am sure it all comes down to taste and intended purpose, just wondering what others who have experimented a lot with this stuff have found that they like. Right now I am liking same guitar, same amp, same settings, different/complementary speakers.

 

[warhead]

Seems like each time I record, I use different combination of things I have on disposal only the guitar is always the same.....

 

[noUser01]

I keep everything pretty much the same, with a hard pan L/R (as far as they can go). Doing things like adjusting EQ and gain levels are... delicate. As soon as you change either of these things one guitar will be louder than the other and you'll have to compensate. Anything too drastic and your mix will feel unbalanced, heavily weighted on one side (unless you can compensate for that somehow).

 

[Gram negative]

hard pan ( 70%) two separate settings. With two different guitars, if I can. Its hard to pull off sometimes, with the panning so extreme. One slip up, and you notice it. No slip ups, and it sounds like a wall of sound.

 

[goldsteinat0r]

Typically two hard panned tracks with very little gain on each, basically the same tone. I just keep doing passes until they're tight and sound as much like one guitar as possible. Then I will run a "first take" up the middle (usually adding a boost and some additional mids) to make it sound a little more "dangerous."

 

[Scattered Messiah]

Depends on the stuff to be tracked and the desired effect, honestly:

If I want a wall of sound that's still somehow controllable and am able to really hammer he part with consistency, I'll use up to 4 tracks per side [each track on each side always a few cents apart] with really low gain and each side with a different amp / different guitar.
One track per side will cover the lowmids, one the higher mids, one the highend and one the oomph - each tone more or less a tweak of a basis-sound.
you can do this by playing two per side and two mics, or playing all four seperately [if the riff is easyer, I'll really quadtrack it].
The trick is really to use a very low gain level, and letting it stack

 

[knifefightintheor]

I'll generally keep the amp the same, and accentuate different things on the settings, and possibly use a similar guitar with a different pickup, just to separate the sounds a bit.

If we're talking two different guitarists, then this is usually covered, and we'll see what kind of a blend we can get of both guitarists rigs, and mix and match different panning options.

 

[CarrotStickles]

I usually have two tracks hard panned to the left and right but my sound seems pretty weak compared to what I'm trying to achieve. I keep the mic placement and all of that stuff the same though.

 

[Rap Hat]

For most things now I run two ~80-95% panned tracks using one guitar with the same settings for each pass. If I want more variance I'll use a different guitar for one track, and since it's a different scale or different pickups I may need to adjust settings some for proper balance. I generally reserve center and quad tracking (with some volume automation) for dramatic moments where a boost is needed.
Four tracks is great when you want to have a unison part shift into a stereo rhythm track and a stereo (or dual) harmony on top. It avoids the boost you would encounter when adding two tracks on top of the rhythm, and with some EQ shaping/tight playing you can create the illusion of a perspective change (can't really find words to describe it).

That's all for progressive stuff. Doing doom/sludge, it's one guitar into two wildly different sounding yet complimentary amps with a mid size pan. Maybe some sort of effect to widen the stereo field, but it's usually not much beyond that.

I used to go crazy, 8-12 tracks per part with every tone I could hit (yes, I was influenced by the Smashing Pumpkins), but it was a nightmare to mix and time consuming just to track. Found that a simple double track led to the tightest sound I've gotten, and stuck with that.

 

[GSingleton]

I always try new things and different combos like doubling each track aka 4 tracks at different pans.

Honestly, it a neverending battle. I am never happy haha.

 

[LoculusDM]

100% the same on both sides or it just sounds weird.

 

[sear]

I use identical guitars and settings on both tracks (I rarely quad track unless the arrangement requires it), and use EQ to add variance. Sometimes this can sound a little one-dimensional but usually bringing bass and vocals into the equation changes the story quite a bit.

 

[K4RM4]

I sometimes quad track - 2 tracks 100% L/R, 2 tracks 40% L/R with reduced volume. When i dual track I use 80 - 100% L/R (depends on how much "space" i want to leave in the mix). If i am dual tracking something that is say, 8 bars long, i will hit record and play it twice making 16 bars, then cut half and paste it on another track. This way if im in the "zone" there are no breaks in between and essentially have the same feel on both tracks while still getting those minor variations that make all the difference when it comes to L/R dual tracking. Any sort of clean layers/melodies will also be panned hard left and hard right and recorded the same way. This ensures that the mix envelops you rather than comes right at you, which sounds more dynamic than panning 40-60% L/R. Just my method.

 

[Force]

The latest album i'm doing I have quad rhythm. The initial sound was a little thin no matter how it was eq'd, so I doubled up with a different sound & even a different guitar, both Jacksons, one with actives, the other passives.

Tuning wasn't an issue so that makes it easy. The 2nd dose of rhythm is set at about 30% volume of the 1st rhythms. 90% L/R. Both L & R eq'd the same.
Made a huge difference & also opens up more options for sound/tone.

The ideal way is do a DI track at the same time you do the initial track then re-amp it but ive always had problems getting a strong enough signal that is still clean enough. Same story here, working with what I have.

 

[Seanthesheep]

I've been getting into recording guitars lately. Just rhythm stuff to sketch out ideas in modern metal styles. I am still trying to get the best sound possible based on what I've got. I have a two guitars, two high gain heads, and a few different speakers.

What kinds of techniques do you guys use when double tracking straighforward rhythm guitar parts? I typicall use a L/R sweep (the degree depends on the intended effect but generally around 60%). Here are a few things I've thought of:

- Different guitars
- Different speakers
- Different Amps
- Different gain levels (or with or w/out tubescreamer for example) or amp settings
- Same rig, different mic or mic placement
- Mix/combination of any of the above
- A zillion other options

I am sure it all comes down to taste and intended purpose, just wondering what others who have experimented a lot with this stuff have found that they like. Right now I am liking same guitar, same amp, same settings, different/complementary speakers.

the way my band is doing our album for the most part is double tracked panned left and right with a third track thats essentially a triple track running right up the middle. some songs, we have 2 hard pans, 2 soft pans and then leads up the middle