Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

One of the most effective aspects of The Beatles' vocals is the use of the doubled tracked lead vocal. This was often done with John Lennon and to my ear provides a depth to his voice that captivates the listener immediately.

While this is easy to do with recording, I am wondering what some performers do live, if anything, to capture this same effect?

I think a slight delay works well, kind of like the ADT thing, auto double track.

Yep, we use delays and doublers. And multiple monitor mixes helps a lot with the vocals.

Ronn,
What would you recommend as a doubler in a live situation?
I know Lennon was a big fan of the ADT.

As I was reading this thread I heard "Not a second time" in my head.

"All I've Gotta Do" is hook up the delay I guess.

.....groan.....

:^)

Hey, it's good to read some of your good puns again Peter. I'm just not very punny.

Punny Lane there is a barber showing photographs...

I believe the unit we use for vocal doubling is an Alesis Midiverb. Haven't been out to the board lately but I think that's right.

fwiw, I prefer the tandem doubling where John would back Paul, word for word, but the level was lower for the backup. The tails were often sloppy and I prefer that to the perfection you get with ADT. I don't have it here to check, but I believe Things We Said Today is done as I've described.

James: I too prefer this, however, the ADT would certainly seem to have its application.

Is the ADT an actual effect unit, or just a studio technique that was done? Please explain as I've heard the term ADT, and know what it means, but don't know how to achieve it. Thanks!

To my knowledge, which is sorely lacking, ADT is simply a delay effect. If you shorten the delay interval to about 20-30 msec, you create an effect of a fuller voice, almost if you are singing in unison with yourself. This capability is available on many rack mount processors of which the Roland SDE 1000 or Alesis Microverb II arebut two examples.

It is indeed a studio technique and not a unit, per se.

Guys, the question that I have about this sort of thing is "what did THEY do live?" Quite often, from what I can tell, comparison of live versions with studio versions yields some significant differences. The live versions of "I Feel Fine" and "Ticket to Ride" (Ed Sullivan Show) are quite a bit different from the studio versions. "Live" you find them sticking to their "roles" (Paul = bass, George = lead guitar, etc.) moreso. Did they use vocal doubling live?

This is an issue for me because I do "John" in a Beatles thing, and (like John himself) I seem to feel that "live" Beatles songs are more true to form done in "Live" form rather than "studio" form.