HUGE Guitar Tones With Double-Tracking

What’s the simplest way to fatten a recorded guitar tone? Record it again!
Today we’re looking at 5 tips to get you all inspired to try double-tracking guitar parts.
Life too short for long KZbin videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below.
Gear In This episode
1965 Fender Telecaster
1961 Gibson Les Paul Jr
Taylor Academy 10C acoustic guitar
Mallard 18-watt Marshall clone
Plosive Electronics May Treble Booster
Boss GE7 Graphic Equalizer
Keeley 30ms Double Tracker
Interesting bits and go-to sections
0:00 Intro - “I Am Iron Dan”
0:27 Mallard 18 Watt Marshall Clone
0:28 Plosive May Treble Booster
0:50 Welcome
1:07 What Is Double-Tracking?
1:41 5 Favourite Double Tracking Techniques
1:48 1. Play It The Same
2:37 We’re after the small differences in performances
2:45 2. Play It A Bit Different
3:33 3. Nashville Tuning Explained
4:20 Sounds Like a 12 String Guitar
4:53 Using A Capo
5:42 Using EQ
5:50 Jon Stockman from Karnivool
7:20 Using The Techniques In A Track
9:35 Can I Do This With A Pedal?
10:25 Keeley 30ms Double Tracker
11:10 Does Phase Matter?
12:15 What About Panning?
12:45 Thanks for watching
We hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to our channel.
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[@colonelangus1248]

"I Am Iron Dan" t-shirt is a must. You can have all my money.

[@AlGorham23]

Seconded - I'd buy that for (more than) a dollar!

[@carljenkins7354]

+1 on I am Iron Dad TShirt.

[@dsan3516]

Thanks for reminding us that what we hear on tracks is usually full of tricks to make things sound better!

[@ThatPedalShow]

Totally!

[@super-v900email8]

Exactly, I hate sometimes when you going for that sound of a song you like and it is hard to nail it. I found it is best to find a live version so I get a better idea of what it really sounds like assuming there is no trickery on stage, but that is getting harder. I can tell how much you love music the pain you are willing to endure for your craft Dan. 😁

[@jamesthompson8965]

@@super-v900email8 Some artists hire sidemen to play the double triple or quad tracks live...

[@rikpt]

The way you explain it is like listening to an old friend giving you some life advice! Excellent video! Thank you!

[@nickangelo3283]

Also, one recording tip, when doubling or layering guitars: Even if you use a different guitar or pedal, try switching speaker cabs, mic preamps, and especially microphones. Mics and pres have very specific frequency and transient responses, and if you layer several of them, it can all start to sound the same, even if using a different guitar... sometimes using the exact same setup with a different mic can sound more different than a different rig with the same mic.

[@jonathan0488]

Dan, I’d just like to say the effort and detail that goes into these videos that you and Mick do is insane. Rather than just show the detail of what you are talking about you have written a killer tune, recorded it to professional standards and made the video fun and interesting. Thanks so much for the work you (both) put in.

[@ThatPedalShow]

Cheers J, we try 🤓👍

[@rahzark]

One track with a single coil and another with a P90 😙👌*chef's kiss*

[@dinger7608]

Dan's playing has clearly matured with his beard.

[@davidf8749]

@13:25 - Fans and beards - a winning combination :) :)

[@anssimakinen9501]

There might be gig next december...

[@edwardjons8684]

Yeah, he’s a little slower for sure :-D

[@marcellinden7305]

As a final exam for my SAE Audio Engineering Diploma way back in 1985 I had to record 2 song tracks of a multi piece band. We had 16 track 1" tape, yay !!... The 1st song went down sweet with 7mics on drums, 3 guitar parts on a Fender Deluxe Reverb plus a bass track, a DX7 keyboard part, a Sax track and a few vocals. On the 2nd song we laid down a number of tracks, and the control room suddenly burst into discussion that the lead guitar part wasn't quite right. Calming the disaster I said we could just re-lay the lead guitar part again, and easy peasy 4 minutes later I hit stop and rewind on the 16 track recorder. Silly me didn't drop the fader of the first lead guitar part, and despite being panned hard left and right thankfully nobody noticed the near identical verse rhythm playing on both guitar parts. That was fine until the lead solo where the guitarist played a near totes diff accented solo. Everybody was stunned as the lead solo guitar swirled around the control room only to disappear back into rhythm sweetness at the end of the solo. My Brisbane instructors were so impressed they gave me a teaching job at the Perth school, and the 1" multitrack master was taken to the UK.

[@RoloTomasie]

Dan, please, please, please make more recording/production videos like this. Fantastic!

[@commentingpausedtoprotectus]

Wow, that's a fantastic ending at 9:16 Dan

[@ThatPedalShow]

Cheers mate 🤓👍

[@enriquedelima396]

This is great, I was just planning on doing a cool Brian May double tracking solo for a school project when you uploaded this. Simply Amazing.

[@simonmastromatteo5692]

Omg I laughed so much at the fan effect hahahaha Great stuff !!

[@kevinlt143]

Reminded me of Tommy Boy :)

[@weschilton]

When I was a kid that's how with did the Cylon voices from Battlestar Galactica! BY YOUR COMMAND! hahaha!

[@VintageRadius]

As a long time guitar player but recording novice this episode just blew me away. Never even heard of Nashville tuning. All of this, just fantastic.

[@justinmarrington8039]

Bloody brilliant video, Dan. It’s so TPS to start by reminding us of how good something so simple can be (of course it is, every Beatles record can’t be wrong) then to kick it up eight notches. I have been arsing about in my bedroom studio for a decade and never thought about simple and obvious stuff like double tracking multiple chord voicings. There’s so much practical value on this channel.

[@alanredversangel]

Put your money where your mouth is, double track an entire episode of TPS.

[@ThatPedalShow]

🤣

[@ThatPedalShow]

Hahahahhahah

[@onenotesolo256]

You just know that, apart from the logistics giving him nightmares, Mick is thinking, “I wonder if we could do a sneaky 30-second double track of the guitars when we are playing with a new pedal on the show, and see if anyone notices...”

[@neoaureus]

Hahaha....wicked !

[@lukehenderson436]

Dan and Mick saying the exact same thing, one panned left and one panned right?

[@commentingpausedtoprotectus]

I've always been a huge fan of using a capo to spread an acoustic track out a bit, really gives it colour and depth, love it!

[@jrchanning]

What a fantastic episode and really eye opening in what a fantastic effect on recording a double tracked guitar can be, top notch stuff, cheers Dan :)

[@Aleph_Null_Audio]

I used six acoustic takes, each tuned two cents away (A 434Hz , 436, 438, 440, 442, and 444) and panned those across a mix. It made the deepest, most lush chorus I've ever heard,. Yet some how it was still subtle enough that it didn't dominate everything else.

[@vitaliistep]

Nice, need to try out. Thanks!

[@ThatPedalShow]

Very 👍

[@doughoughton5952]

Some of the most useful content I’ve seen,delivered in a great way . Thanks Daniel

[@victor2510]

Great tips Dan, for someone starting to record our band demos this is gold.

[@erickaymusic]

Awesome video Dan!! Although you hear a lot of people talking about these techniques, I don't think they've ever been demonstrated so clearly!

[@ianholder2001]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to produce some excellent examples of how to use the different techniques. Really useful!!!

[@no_torrs]

I love these recording tecnique videos! Very interesting and useful! Would love to see more like this.

[@chevalking]

Great ideas that really get me wanting to record and check this out for myself. Thank you guys for making such well though out videos!

[@danielchavez85]

This was a fantastic and well thought out demonstration of the concept, Dan!

[@LeighWesleyMusic]

I love double tracking when I record and these are fantastic tips to do it. The best part about this video is that it is beautifully presented, concise and has excellent audio examples showing exactly what's going on. Man you guys are so good at this.

[@ThatPedalShow]

Cheers mate 🤓🙏

[@nedim_guitar]

Excellent video! I've basically known all of this already, but having it all put together in one video is very helpful!

[@tonybrooks476]

So I have double tracked ambient pads by reversing the original and hard panning it with both of them put through massive reverb. Worked really well through the whole song. More recently I used the same ambient pad but put them each through a different effect. Worked really well and created great movement especially in the verses. Unbelievable amounts of fun was had.

[@satamique]

i juste learned your riff at 0:17 so fun to play! Thank you! And the double tracking lesson is much more large than i was thinking at first! Nice!

[@Russell_Optics]

Great idea & great explanation on the various ways to do it. Plus, you don't need a bunch of exotic gear to accomplish it. Love it !

[@sejrec56]

Very very cool demonstration. I’ve done quite a bit over the years but you even gave me some fresh ideas ..,

[@jasonkerepesi]

if your EP sounds anything like this song i'll buy 15 copies. that was incredible Dan.

[@ThatPedalShow]

Cheers Jason 🤓🙏

[@KingfieldGuitarCo]

Great tips! I knew some of these, but it's awesome you're putting them out here for everyone.

[@paultwiselton1996]

Totally ace Dan. Wonderful creative stimulus and food for thought. Top notch matey 👌🏻

[@michaelinglis8516]

Excellent playing and excellent video Dan! You an Mick have been knocking it out of the park with the solo vids lately!

[@ampoll88]

Great video, Dan!! So many great pointers!

[@brianpara1407]

Love the track on this vlog. Well done, you absolute legend! 👍

[@rossmcneish5458]

Top editing on this one Dan. Loved the final track too.

[@martynkentfrancis]

This is so so helpful,! Brilliant tips, instantly useable and inspiring, thanks Dan 👊

[@V.Drouin]

The longer the beard, the greater the tone guru. Excellent vlog as always!

[@ThatPedalShow]

Cheers V 👍

[@nickharrington12]

Great video Dan. Really to the point and informative! A deeper dive into the Keeley double tracker might be nice some time. Cheers.

[@karlboman]

I apparently love double tracking too! So much fun to do and such amazing effects to be had. Good on you for spreading the good word :)

[@Sailor_Man_Music]

Thank you Dan I appreciate what you and Mick do, your the man Dan, this show has been a huge outlet for me. Thank you guys so much, I appreciate you.

[@ThatPedalShow]

Ah, cheers Michael, you’re most welcome 🙏

[@gbarge4]

Great fun double tracking. Love Waves' artificial double tracker in Abbey Road series for vocals. Also, the lighting in this video is really superb. The warmth and contrast with background gives it a nice intimacy and sophistication. Perfect compliment for your ever enthusiastic smiling face, Dan. Really enhances viewer experience. Cheers, guys.

[@stevengarvey5782]

I've used some of these tricks with vocals, but haven't thought of using the eq in this way on guitar. Thank you again for the vlog.

[@jmanson3310]

NICE! Love your work Dan! A pleasure and an education to the ears.

[@JonNewquist]

This is great Dan! The fan outro was hilarious, I hope it didn't hurt! I double track when recording, sometimes even triple. But I only did triples after using a TCE Mimiq pedal live in stereo (not the mini mimiq). It's so much fun that I bought the TC Duplicator pedal for my live vocals (for very occasional use. It's one of those effects that can be overused). So now I will sometimes double track a counter melody vocal, or the harmony vocal on the bridge.

[@davidbrasefield9151]

Great stuff Dan! Thank you for sharing!

[@weschilton]

Epic sounds, Dan!

[@grantdayo1948]

Nothing extreme about this video, this is extremely good. Absolute class as usual

[@joedonnelly8179]

Thanks for the great video Dan. I’ve been trying to match vibrato with doubled parts and with horns. Great effect when used judiciously.

[@chrisraatz6672]

Thanks Dan! Excellent helps for a novice like me who wants to keep improving backing tracks for church singing when live musicians aren't available....you also diagnosed that I have an issue with my left PC speaker!! Thanks again.

[@denismguitar1552]

Great video Dan! Tried and true method and always better.

[@dreamscuba]

Really good video Dan. You explained all these double track techniques so clearly ...all with a killer song you wrote. We want an album of this classic rocking music! Love it. Thank you.

[@unitednihilists]

Such and informative and helpful video Dan, and brilliant playing as well.

[@lincolndaugherty]

I'm recording a track with my band next week. This couldn't have come at a better time! Great content as always!

[@southpaw335]

Wonderfully done Dan... looking forward to the ep then...

[@daviddowns16]

Awesome vlog Dan. Thank you!

[@pinjandarm]

Great video please continue doing this as a series about recording at home. I like your approach, explaining, video editing etc. Cheers!

[@TheFrederic888]

Clear and concise. Nice job!

[@benjaminhaugen9757]

Love these tips that can be done pretty easily with just a DAW and an extra pair of strings! That said...you've got me looking at that Keeley pedal

[@Doug5524]

Daniel, that was brilliant, thank you for all you put into this video it must have taken day's

[@robbusch9564]

Great show Dan. Lately I have been double tracking bass lines. It can take a simple part & add a lot of interest. Can't pan hard left & right, but closer to center, it sounds great.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Dan you & Mick never-cease to amaze me. I loved seeing you get your: "Tony Iommi" on. Great stuff. My 1st pro-guitar was a cherry-red Gibson SG (because of Tony Iommi)

[@jamespegler4392]

This was incredible Dan! I think the music you created is awesome, and I greatly respect the amount of work this took to create!

[@ThatPedalShow]

Thanks James 🤓👍

[@frankporzky8286]

The mirrored EQ pedal trick was new to me - charming idea! Thanks for the brilliant video, Dan!

[@Adventuresingearland]

Good on you, Dan - a masterclass/how too, delivered in less than quarter of an hour! Defo another episode for the TPS University syllabus. Echoes of so many of the behemoth players from across the ages in each one of your suggestions. Like a game of top trumps for recording techniques used by legendary guitarists. Great work, Sir!

[@ThatPedalShow]

Cheers Larry 🤓👍

[@GuillermoEDelgado]

KEEP. THIS. SERIES. GOING. Excellent video!

[@gonecoyote]

that was fantastic, thank you for sharing, i'm gona try them!!!

[@FabrizioCalderara76]

Great video Dan, as usual! I used to double track almost 90% of my rythm guitar tracks, but I didn't know all the tricks you have mentioned on your video. Can't wait to try to record two tracks with opposite eq settings! ;-)

[@richieanderson4738]

Great tips guys! Awesome vid as always keep rockin.

[@jonprudhomme7694]

Inspirational video. As a beginner learning alone, it can be hard to know what to try to achieve different effects. Took out the looper and layered a phrase with different effects and timings today. Had a blast and learned a lot. Keep up the great work!

[@sigfreed11]

Incredibly well made video! Great job

[@martinhjerrild7159]

That sounded ace! How to spice up your songs with double tracking. Great stuff. Thank you Irondan - Can't wait to see you and Mick Fury back in the studio 😎🤘

[@chrisjohnstone6164]

Loved that Dan, I had been using the Keeley pedal .. but now see the difference .. gonna give all of those a go .. thank you 💛

[@mattheweastel129]

Great video Dan and some awesome suggestions. I love panning a chorus rhythm guitar part hard left and right. It can have such a heavy effect when it comes in

[@gabeatv]

Mega! Fantastic video, Dan! Thank you!

[@cinnamonstreet80sband60]

Really good episode - thanks!

[@mrussell37]

The complete track with electric, acoustic and bass sounded fricking awesome!! Love it. This video must've taken a lot of work. Great content. One day, soon, maybe, sometime in the future, with a bit of luck, I would love to come and see you and Mick play at a gig :)

[@jaydee4077]

Thanks for that, Dan! I’ve done most of those but the play it a bit different part was like, Duh! Why didn’t I ever think of that? We do it vocally all the time. Great hearing you play! I’m really liking the VLOGS, by the way, it’s great hearing you and Mick using all those tones you talk about and making them work for you.

[@eeftrippe1859]

I really like the video. It gave me inspiration to fool around with my recording setup. Trying my hand at recording the guitarpart of everlong.

[@eoinjennings519]

Great video - loved the eq idea - I do use the Mimiq for double track sound which is fun

[@darenanderson1960]

That was outstanding, Dan! Thanks very much!

[@matthewkiepert2055]

You've given me so many ideas, thank you Dan:)

[@JohnSmith-ym4sl]

Wow there’s some great tips in here thanks Dan also what a killer track!!!!

[@LexingtonDaniel]

DUDE! Awesome! I was tortured by your intro... My Custom Shop SG Jr has been sitting at home unopened since Monday since I've been on the road on work. Much schwangage to come!

[@jergusbrecka9154]

Literally the tips I need right now! Awesome stuff Dan!

[@ThatPedalShow]

🤓👍

[@blues61]

Ah, a most excellent primer on double tracking. Thanks Dan! Watching this reminded me of a story from a ZZ Top documentary. While recording their first album, the recording engineer suggested double tracking Billy G's guitar part. The band's manager was dead set against it, but the band connived a plan to send the manager out for take-out barbecue at a restaurant some distance from the studio. While the manager was gone, Billy doubled his part and the rest is music legend and history. :-)

[@fabianoamorim5706]

What a great video, Dan! Thanks!

[@jamesbell1701]

Great vid Dan. Cheers!

[@pedalscapes]

Superb - love the EQ trick! Very cool - cheers 😎

[@BillDutton]

Outstanding! I've been enjoying recording at home more since we can't gig and double tracking is big fun. Bonus - recording has helped me play more simply (not over play) and play cleaner. Definitely hours well spent.

[@mickbuckley9257]

Great video. I have been gone recording a LOT this year and like to double track guitar parts using different pickups (usually one track on bridge and one track on the middle position of my tel). Really gives a full and fat tone

[@martindavies7788]

That was brilliant advice. Thank you I've learnt a lot from you guys 👍

[@djboltonwc]

Double tracking with two different guitars is a nice effect too. Kudos to You Dan for making a very informative video!

[@livingthedream137]

I’ve been double tracking for decades. Sometimes triple or quadruple using different amps and voicings etc for huge choruses. Today was literally the first time I’ve heard of “Nashville tuning”. I had to look it up. Fascinating.

[@fabianericson5454]

Great vlog! My five favourites Double track with 1. Different guitars 2. Same guitar, different pickups (neck/bridge) 3. One fuzz, one ts (killer) 4. One bone-dry one very wet reverb 5. One slow vibrato one slight flange And to quote the great mr Kaufman theres no end to the possibilities!!! (this is were the limitations of an analouge desk is helping)

[@joewrightmusic790]

Thank you so much for these informative videos.

[@edwardbosloper2445]

Great video, great tones and great explanation as always

[@fernandocastro6279]

Superb, Dan. Very informative and instructional

[@ThatPedalShow]

Cheers Fernando 🤓👍