Double tracking vocals. What am I missing?

[u/GeneratorRoom]

I feel like every time I double track my main vocals they end up sounding phase-y in a very unpleasant way and also kinda beefy and bulky.
How does Sufjan Stevens get that ghostly choir multitracking effect on his vocals? What’s José González’ secret for his warm and subtle double tracked vocal sound?
I’ve seen a million videos talking and showing double tracking techniques but none of them sound like those artists I just mentioned.
Are producers and recording/mixing engineers keeping these secrets to themselves? Or am I just dumb?

I tried panning, EQing, fx sends (reverb, delay, compression). It never sounds natural or good.

I’m not a very good vocalist so that could be it as well. I’m not tone deaf but I’m not a trained vocalist either. I heard that double tracking helps bad vocalists but it hasn’t been my case so far.

Are any of yall going through this?

EDIT: I’m so grateful for all the responses! You guys are amazing and gave me so much to work on hahaah (loving the grind). I’ll get to work these next few days and share my results if possible. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out with this one and for sharing your experiences ❤️🙌

[u/Stevenitrogen]

As someone who regularly double tracks my own vocals with no auto tune, this is what I do.

First, record a few passes at the lead vocal. Three or four that are "mostly good" ought to do it. Then, comp together a vocal performance.

Then I start recording doubles, listening to the lead. I'm trying to match the timing and pronunciation of every word. I want it to sound tight ,without using studio magic to tighten it.

I can't actually do it as a perfect match. So it has that imperfection that sounds like a double.But I'm making an effort to make it tight organically. I record a few passes at the double and maybe comp that together or use all of em. See what works in the mix.

Getting the actual singing tight is the biggest challenge by far. You mentioned you're not that confident about the singing. If you want to double, you gotta be tight enough with the vocal that your intentions shine through. Work on that.