You can clone the track, delay one track fwd a bit and another back a bit, and then use Melodyne or V-Vocal to shift the pitch a fraction.  It would be best to shift one slightly up and one slightly down instead of moving just one.  I have even highlighted small sections at a time and alternated tuning so the same track isn't always the one that is sharp or flat, but that is a real pain.

I have a TC Helicon VoiceWorks Plus (hardware) and have used it a lot.  It sounds good, but has some glitches.  By that I mean, the processed signal will occassionally have a little artifact that is noticeable if the vocal is out front.  The glitch is caused when the TC takes a fraction of a second to analyze the pitch.  Some people's voices are more problematic than others.

Lately, I almost always record the vocal twice and then use Melodyne to correct any bad pitch or timing issues.  It is quite tedious.

I have used the doubler in the Vocal Strip (and it can be automated, by the way) but I find it just adds a small amount of thickening—it doesn't really sound like two voices to me.

You can use a random delay and random pitch-shift to create a simulated "double"... but nothing beats a real double.  A real double is a lot more alive/animated...

I really don't like the way voices are doubled / multiplied these days. The person singing is no longer stable and in one place and my mind doesn't know where to focus. It's really bad with headphones.
The vocalist now bounces around all over the place, with echos everywhere. Feels like my brain has to spread out to try and keep all the pieces together.

It's even worse now that I'm also concurrently reviewing what the mixer did to create the effect.

This is great stuff, guys. I always viewed delay as more of an add on effect than a fundamental production technique. Learning about this type of thickening and the Haas effect are really gonna help my end product. Can't believe I've gone so long without knowing these things. Oh well... life of a n00b I guess.

Thanks all. 

The quick and dirty way to do this is to clone the tracks in the methods already described.


The right way to d it is to record the track multiple times. Take the time to get the tracks (as many as you need.... at least 3 tracks) as close to perfect as you can get them. 

Listen to the Beatles. They perfected the vocal doubling technique.  Sir Paul and John would at times spend days upon end just working on the vocal track to a 2 minute 30 second song getting the parts pitch and timing perfect.  Listen to  their music. 

Then once you have the tracks pick the lead and the others will be the doubling tracks. No need to time shift them or pitch shift them.... matter of fact you want them to be as close to the original lead track as is possible. Simply set the levels properly and pan them properly and you should have a nicely doubled track without having it sound processed and fake. 

Try the same thing with the harmony tracks in the project too. 

this project>>>  http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11962059  had a bunch of  vocal tracks. 2 leads, and IIRC 2 doubling tracks on each of those.... (that's 6 on lead vox)  and then harmonies... IIRC there were a number of tracks for harmonies. ( at least 2 each for 4 more)  Lots of true doubling in that on the vox. Nothing is cloned, it was all recorded track by track. 

Take the time to do it right and you will appreciate the sound a whole lot better. 

Thanks, Herb. Kind of how I was trying to do things but I'm definitely out of practice so it was sounding a little spaced out. I'll be trying variations of all these techniques but you are right that I shouldn't be being a slacker when it comes to my performances. I certainly don't hold back with recording tons of guitar parts but I'm kind of shy and weird about my vocals. This place seems to be reasonably soundproof but I always get freaked out someone is gonna hear me honking away so I try to get my vox done as quickly as possible.

I need a bunker to record in. lol

one of my favorite vocal presets/plug ins is the VS-64/vocal strip.
it has a setting called doubler in it that i use alot to gain width in my vocal tracks,that and along with channel tools i am able to do some really cool stuff with one vocal track.