AI separation apps are the new tape noise VSTs. Every company has one and if they don’t they’re working on it, not to mention sites like lalal.ai that came out of nowhere to become a SoundCloud remixer’s best friend.
The way most of them work is that you upload your audio to the site, their cloud processing power separates vocals, drums and instruments and then outputs them to you as separate downloads.
DRUMLESS is a new product from AudioSourceRe that only works on extracting drums. The big thing is that the processing doesn’t happen in the cloud but right inside your DAW itself. It takes huge processing power to do this but a computer used primarily for studio work can probably keep up.
Outside of the chore of uploading and downloading from websites and dragging them into Ableton, being able to work directly with the extracted audio means you can make corrections. A mixing engineer with some big discs on his wall has said that none of the AI extraction software works perfectly on everything, even the really expensive ones that they put to work rehabbing John Lennon’s demo tapes. Sometimes vocals and instruments just bleed. When that happens you need to get to work and having that in the DAW means you can see it in real time and make adjustments on the fly.
For that, DRUMLESS is $99 for a one-time purchase; a 7 day trial is available. AudioSourceRe also sells a similar VST called “VOXLESS” and a more powerful plug-in called “DeMIX Pro” which is more versatile but also much more expensive. DRUMLESS is compatible with Cubase, Logic Pro, ProTools, Reaper, FL Studio, GarageBand, Ableton Live, Studio One and anything that hosts VSTs. The UI is very ugly, though.
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5 Mag Issue 212
Out April 2024
BELOVED: This was originally published in 5 Mag Issue #212 featuring an oral history of Freerange, DJ Paulette, Black Sjuan, Elbert Phillips, Dark Heaven and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right away!
