desso wrote:

 

Yeah, the studio environment opens tons of opportunities.  Sometimes I'll lay down numerous takes with effects trails going to opposite sides, of course ping pong delays, stereo reverb trails, etc. Another really good technique is to record two takes (rhythm) playing the exact same setup and trying to play both exactly alike. There will be minute differences that when panned hard L/R will produce a really nice full sound. I think the recording/mixing process takes as much creativity as the actual playing.

That's only part of why double tracking sounds so rich.

You have to think separate takes can't possibly be in phase.  Take an A note at 440 HZ.  Do you really believe you have enough control to make the sound wave start precisely in sync with the one you've already recorded.  No chance.  You might be in rhythm, but you're out of phase.

Playing the two out of phase tracks through the same speaker causes distortion.  So you pan them to avoid this.  But when they meet in the air and in mix in your ears and brain, your brain basically interprets this as a reverberation, and it adds a spacial dimension to the sound .  Yet it has no lingering decay, so its nice and tight.

At least that's my theory.