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Glite Dictionary
🎛️ An added track 🎛️ To add recording
to overdub

to overdub

1 6.8
To record a new sound over an existing recording without removing the original
  • verb
  • /ˈoʊvərˌdʌb/
  • Specialized
translation icon : doblar
  • They asked me to overdub his rhythm parts in the studio.

Then she would hire a bass player, bring him in, set him home, bring, bring in a drummer, have him overdubbed, set him home.

Examples

  • What not to do: overdub a song you like but that (1) other people probably won't like and (2) will make YouTube prevent embedding.

    Blog text (30)

  • You had to overdub to create harmonies.

    Blog text (14)

  • I want to overdub some backgrounds on the chorus.

    Respect (2021)

  • Bla's got a different approach; he likes to overdub a lot of his parts.

    Blog text (21)

  • He'd overdub and mix, of course.

    Fame (1980)

  • I don't think we overdubbed it much.

  • The piano, clavinet, a Rhodes, synthesizers, and all the things we had were flattering many in a large round so Steve could overdub and travel from one instrument to another.

    Blog text (27)

  • If a composer finds a loop track that fits the vision of the film in terms of tempo, rhythm, or timbre, he or she may choose to overdub improvised musical ideas with varied instruments over a loop track.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The engineer suggested that we overdub the vocals to improve the song's clarity.

  • During the session, the artist decided to overdub some harmonies to enhance the track.

Antonyms

to erase
144 1.6

Remove marks, writing, or digital files so they are no longer visible

How Layered

to overdub
  • Specialized
1 6.8
double
∞ 1.0
to layer
64 3.4

Surface Forms

overdub infinitive
overdubbed past
overdubbed past participle
overdubbing present participle
overdubs third person singular

Morphology

overdub = dub (transparent) = over + dub

The verb is formed by adding productive prefix 'over-' to the verb 'dub', meaning to record on top of an existing track.

Etymology

Overdub comes from over 'on top' and dub 'to add a recorded sound', so to overdub is to record a new part 'on top' of an existing recording without removing the original.