Talk:Automatic double tracking

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Article Grading: The following comments were left by the quality and importance raters: (edit · refresh) This article needs work. Its hard for me to say how close to the fringe this article is, considering that the Beatles were instrumental in the development and implementation of the subject. Certainly, I think that a link from within a more pivotal Beatles article is a requirement, if one doesn't exist already, and I'm actually tempted to suggest a merge. Probably best to leave it on its own though: there is plenty of material in it as a free-standing article. The article needs some colour though - in the form of sections and a photo if at all possible. -- Mal (10 March 2006) I'm confused, why is this an A-class then? Sounds like maybe a B ?? ++Lar: t/c 00:50, 2 April 2006 (UTC) Re-assessed the article today. Lar is correct - B-Class it is. --Mal 15:08, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
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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)

Yes, I've got two sources, both cited directly from George Martin at different times by different people. I'll fix the article as soon as I find some time. That will mean deleting the current explanation, because, in my opinion, it is incorrect and even if somebody tried to do it that way, it wouldn't work.--200.14.108.1 15:35, 12 November 2007 (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)

[edit] Title change needed

According to my research, this really should be called Artificial Double Tracking rather than Automatic Double Tracking. I checked both Lewisohn's Beatles Recording Sessions and Brian Southall's Abbey Road books and they both call it Artificial Double Tracking. I changed it in the body of the article, but don't know how to change the title itself (nor whereever it is referenced from). Bud Loveall 15:50, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

It's also called this in The Beatles Anthology. 134.88.151.168 11:32, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Explanations still not correct

This is an A topic if ever there was one; ADT is one of the most discussed, desired, and argued-about recording techniques ever. The correct explanation of how it worked, including diagrams, is in "Recording the Beatles" by Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan.