timtheenchanteruk Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I have a couple of software programs that can remove vocals from tracks to make them into backing tracks, however non of them sound any good. Are there any software or hardware products that make a decent job of this. I think the general answer will be no, as removing the vocals just chops huge chunks out of the audio spectrum, but if you don't ask.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 It's not usually a spectral removal thing - it works on the assumption that lead vocals are panned centre, and virtually everything else isn't. So you invert one stereo channel, then sum them. Anything that is panned centre will "cancel out", anything that is panned to the left or right will be less affected. So in theory, you get a mono recording with the vocals removed. In practice, you get....um.... something which may be useable, but generally sounds just wierd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I think the general answer will be no, as removing the vocals just chops huge chunks out of the audio spectrum. You are right. Unfortunately. Once everything is mixed together you can't unmix it. I tend to say it's like taking the milk out of a cup of tea, others may talk of cake. It's a pity as it is one of the most common requests I get at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtheenchanteruk Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 thought so, I do run a drama group for kids, where occasionally it would be usefull, but I do also do alot with local am-dram stuff and have been asked for it a few times recently, I just wondered if there was anything out there I hadnt found yet, I guessed it was like trying to remove the flour from a cake, but as I said, if you dont ask, you dont get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Lawrance Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 The best way I have found of removing vocals from a track, is to go to the local karaoke shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droycewalker Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Think Ben's hit the nail on the head there! Tried Adobe Audition and that works well for some tracks, rubbish on others. Practically useless on vocals that have been multi-tracked (just about every pop act on the market!!!!). Best bet is karaoke, without a shadow of a doubt! Just be careful.... Try and get some samples from various different companies. Some are very good and some are truly awful (Bontempi-tastic!)... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesperrett Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Think Ben's hit the nail on the head there! Tried Adobe Audition and that works well for some tracks, rubbish on others. The Centre Channel Extractor is one part of Audition that seems to improve with every version. In the latest version it is now much more sophisticated than a simple phase inversion. It seems to look at the correlation between channels and can be used to isolate sounds that are off centre by looking for sounds that have a certain level ratio between channels. It is also frequency sensitive. Having said that, for a show I would say that a decent Karaoke version is going to work better artistically anyway. The original backing track with an echo of the original vocals is actually going to come over as a bit naff to my way of thinking. Cheers James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Lawrance Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 My post above was actually of a serious nature. I run karaoke as part of the business, and have in excess of 6000 tracks. 90% of which are very very good, and very acurate. It also a lot quicker than playing around in Audition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattydinx Posted November 22, 2006 Share Posted November 22, 2006 I own a Mackie DFX-6 mixer which has a vocal remove button, its pretty effective on most styles of music. Not sure if this feature is on any of the higher-spec models (can't say I've ever looked) In general pop music for example, all that's left vocal wise are Backing vocals, and usually any effects that were on the lead vocal on the track (reverb, delay, etc) hope this is of some help Matty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtheenchanteruk Posted November 22, 2006 Author Share Posted November 22, 2006 We do use karaoke CDs, as well as backing track CDs that are becoming more widely available, as well as ordered from the many backing track websites around, It was more a case of if a track we want isn't available if there was cheaper way of getting it than having it recorded for us. Thanks for the info though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benweblight Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 For a budget (I.e free) solution, you could just use a midi file of the song as a backing track. The sounds arent great, but its better than nothing. Music Robot is a good source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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