3 Ways Doubling Can Improve a Mix

If you’ve ever had any interest at all, whatsoever, in music production, you’re probably familiar with vocal doubling, the process of recording two or more (I suppose you’d call it vocal tripling or quadrupling if you took it that far) takes of the same performance and layering them in a mix.

But have you ever considered the use of doubling outside of vocals?

It’s pretty common in the world of rock music, for instance, to record and layer multiple takes of a guitar performance, sometimes using various amplifiers, cabinets, or guitars.

Legendary 90s post-hardcore band Fugazi even experimented with drum kit doubling on their last album, The Argument.

But what is the purpose of doubling an instrument?

1. To smooth out the performance.

First of all, you might be tempted to copy/paste the clip in question to a new track, but that won’t work.

Why? Because it will only make the performance sound louder, something you can accomplish by simply pulling up the volume fader on the original track. Then, you might be tempted to drag the copied clip slightly left or right, so that it’s a bit offset from the original clip, but that also won’t work.

Why? Because it will create the same effect as a delay, something you can accomplish with a delay plug-in.

You actually need to record an additional take of the same performance to achieve a true doubling effect.

But no two performances will ever be exactly the same. The tuning, timing, and levels will vary, even if slightly, which tends to make the performance sound more focused and accurate, due to a sort of “averaging” caused by the listener’s perception of both performances as one.

2. To add texture.

It’s that same slight variation in performance that adds texture to your mix with the use of a double.

Remember, texture is the described quality of layered sounds, similar to tone or timbre, but typically more complex.

Doubling an instrument will add textural elements to a perceived singular performance that an actual singular performance wouldn’t have. This is often described as “thickness.”

Even if the timbre doesn’t vary between performances, the increase in texture can help the instrument find its place in the mix.

3. To add stereo width.

If you only have one take of a performance, your panning options are limited to hard left, hard right, center, or anywhere in between.

The moment you have an additional take of the same performance, you have the option to pan both hard left and hard right, which spreads out the stereo field as wide as it can go, without the need to write in additional instruments, use cheap stereo widening tools, or worry too much about the stereo balance.

This works particularly well for me with rhythm guitar parts and backing vocals, but it’s a good idea to have additional takes of everything, because you never know when and where you might want to create some stereo contrast as the song unfolds.

Remember, due to the “phantom center,” you can’t achieve this effect by simply copy/pasting the clip to a new track and panning them to the sides. The instrument will sound louder, but there will be no additional texture, and it will be perceived as coming from the center of the mix.

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Doubling is an important technique for a bedroom producer to keep in his wheelhouse. In addition to the 3 benefits we discussed, doubles add a level of professionalism to a mix that can make or break a good song.