Talk:Automatic double tracking

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[edit] Not so complicated

The article makes the process sound inordinately complicated. All you really need is a stereo analogue tape deck that has separate record and playback heads. The playback heads will be offset to the right of the record heads, so that they can play back the sound a split-second after it has been recorded. Feed the output from the left channel into the right channel and the sound will be delayed a second time. Mix the left and right outputs together and presto - ADT. Alternatively the left and right channels can be assigned separate positions in the stereo field. I've tried to show this in the following diagram. Maybe I'll produce a proper and possibly more understandable graphic at some stage.

INPUT ----> LEFT RECORD HEAD --(DELAY)--> LEFT PLAYBACK HEAD-->MIXER------> OUTPUT
       |                                                 |      ^
       |                                                 V      |
       |<-----------------------<-------------------------      |
       |                                                        |
       V                                                        | 
       --> RIGHT RECORD HEAD -(DELAY)--> RIGHT PLAYBACK HEAD--->|

Lee M 03:25, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Explanation is incorrect

There seems to be a mistake in the article. George Martin's explanation of the ADT system in his autobiography is very different from what is explained in this article. According to George Martin, the ADT was applied during mixing, not during recording. As the 4-track tape was run through the 4-track machine, the vocal track was read by the record-head, which wired appropriately for that purpose, and taken to another tape machine which delayed the signal using a loop. The signal then went to the mixer were it was combined with the 4 tracks coming out of the playback head of the 4 track machine.

Because the record-head is before the playback-head, the vocal track lifted from the record-head was ahead of the other 4 tracks read by the playback head. That is where the delay adjustment from the tape loop was necessary to make the lifted vocal match the other 4 tracks, leaving a small difference to produce the ADT effect.

George Martin further explains that he once received a phone call from John Lennon who was trying to reproduce the ADT system during recording of one of his solo albums, and that it wasn't working well. It turns out he was trying to do it while he was recording, and George Martin explained to him that it had to be done during mixing, after the vocals had been recorded.

I hope this can help you correct the article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 200.14.108.1 (talk • contribs) 15:03, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Do you have a specific cite for this information? If you do, you can fix the article yourself. I suggest that you add it as an alternate explanation, and review WP:CITE on how to give citations ("George Martin's autobiography" isn't quite the detail needed, it needs to be a title, author, publisher, year (and hopefully page number))... thanks! ++Lar: t/c 04:33, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Merge with Doubling echo?

Do NOT merge these articles; it will be a disservice. Doubling echo is a relatively common studio technique; ADT was more or less exclusive to the Beatles recordings. Doubling echo is still in use; ADT is obsolete with the end of reel-to-reel tape recording. Zephyrad 01:10, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re: "universal practice"

ADT was essentially exclusive to Abbey Road Studios, and something of a trade secret for years. Other studios used forms of doubling echo, or true doubletracking. Zephyrad 03:38, 28 September 2006 (UTC)