Is It Finally Possible To Remove A Vocal From A Mixed Song? We Test The New XTRAX STEMS 2 Separation Software By Audionamix To Find Out
These days it seems that a number of plug-in developers consider audio separation as some kind of audio processing algorithm holy grail. Audionamix are clearly one of the leading experts in this field as their plug-in catalog offers a vast section of speech and voice separation plug-ins such as IDC and TRAX. The first version of XTRAX STEMS was released roughly a year ago. It was the most affordable plug-in Audionamix had ever offered, it was also the most promising as it looked like it would appeal to a wide range of users in both music production and remixing.
XTRAX STEMS sole purpose was to provide a simple approach to automatically separating vocals from drums and music beds with the function of churning out three audio stems of each component within a mix. Version 2 picks up the story nicely from it’s previous version without over complicating the process.
The main improvements in version two are to be found under the hood. Processing is still performed in the cloud on the Audionamix servers, which may not be to everyone’s liking, but thankfully the process is a lot quicker than before. There are also clear improvements in the quality of the separations. In isolation vocal tracks sound clearer, drums sound more focused and music… well, the music component in isolation (without the drums and vocals) still sounds like a phasy mess but those types of results are to be expected from plug-ins such as these that perform witchcraft.
What’s New In XTRAX STEMS 2?
New! 30% Faster Advanced algorithm
New! High fidelity drum separation processing
New! Fully-adjustable, real-time Separation Balance matrix with presets
Automatic 3 part separation – vocals, drums, remaining music
Create and export a new volume and pan mix
Export separations as individual wav stems or in Native Instruments’ STEMS file format
Works on mono and stereo files up to 96 kHz / 32 bits
What Do We Think Of XTRAX STEMS 2
As a product, my opinion hasn’t changed much from my initial thoughts in my review of XTRAX STEMS version 1:
If you can live with the artefacts then XTRAX STEMS 2 is not a bad product. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Sadly Audionamix currently do not provide curious users with a demo download of XTRAX STEMS, which I still think is a crying shame as this technology needs to be tried by the masses as I worry many wont fully appreciate the process by watching online videos of it in action. If you are a DJ or remixer who regularly needs to lift a vocal from a mix, or a drum loop from a track then XTRAX STEMS could be a very useful tool in your audio software collection.
Is It Finally Possible To Remove A Vocal From A Mixed Song?
To answer the question laid out in the title of this article: Is It Finally Possible To Remove A Vocal From A Mixed Song? Yes and no. I believe XTRAX STEMS 2 gets us closer to achieving this but there is still a ways to go until the quality of the separation is improved… but I don’t believe that this type of technology will ever produce “clean” un-artefacty results… but time will tell I suppose. XTRAX STEMS 2 definitely makes the process easier and faster than ever before, plus we get the added bonus of isolating drum tracks as well.
More Information On XTRAX STEMS 2
Visit Audionamix for more information. Until 6th November 2018, Audionamix are offering you the opportunity to save $20 off the purchase of XTRAX STEMS 2.
Introductory price available until 6th November 2018: $79 (Regular $99)
System Requirements
Windows 7 SP1 – Windows 10
macOS 10.12 – 10.14
Requires High Speed Internet Connection
8GB RAM Recommended for Optimal Performance