Overdubbing (the process of making an overdub, or overdubs) is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance.

Tracking (or "laying the basic tracks") of the rhythm section (usually including drums) to a song, then following with overdubs (solo instruments, such as keyboards or guitar, then finally vocals), has been the standard technique for recording popular music since the early 1960s.

Overdubs can be made for a variety of reasons. One of the most obvious is for convenience; for example, if a bass guitarist is temporarily unavailable, the recording can be made and the bass track added later. Similarly, if only one or two guitarists are available, but a song calls for multiple guitar parts, a guitarist can play both lead and rhythm guitar (For example, System of a Down's "Chop Suey!" or Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water", where it would have been impossible for the guitarists to play the solos on electric guitars and riffs on rhythm guitars simultaneously). Singers who also play an instrument find overdubbing a convenience, since it allows them to focus on one role at a time.