Unmixing Stems

[PatrickJ]

Hi Guys,

 

I've been using the free trial of Steinberg's SpectraLayers for the past month to isolate vocal and drum tracks, and to remove the bass from songs to hcreate some backing tracks for jam sessions when it's just me, guitar and drums or for home practice / jamming.

 

My trial has just expired and the full version of Spectralayers is pretty pricey, I would have considered elements or upgrading to Cubase Artist with includes the 'One' version but they are limited to vocal unmixing only.

 

Is any one aware of any more cost effective tools for that do this job?  My drummer friend has used Moises but on the exports he provided me the sound quality was pretty poor. 

 

I don't fully understand how the unmixing process is achieved but is there a manual way to do the same thing?  Is it as basic as identifying the right EQ ranges? 

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

 

[BigRedX]

You might possibly be able do something with EQ if you are also able to automate the bands so that they follow the pitch of notes you are trying to remove, but it's going to be much more long-winded and very probably not anywhere as effective as Spectralayers.

 

If a piece of software does what you want then you need to weigh up the cost of paying for it against either not having access to the features anymore or using something that is cheaper but not as good. That's what free trials are for, so you can weigh up if it's worth the money.

 

IMO if you need the features of Spectralayers and nothing else is good enough, then pay for it.