|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
RealBand
|
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 157
Apprentice
|
OP
Apprentice
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 157 |
Just wondering if anyone has any tips with using the vocal remover plug in. I've applied it to a song recording (a single track) hoping to overdub it with another voice but it doesn't seem to remove the voice, only dim it. I'm assuming that it will never completely remove the vocal but I'd like to get the volume low enough so that it can't be heard when I record the other vocal. Cheers
Andy
Macbook, 2.4 GHz, Lion OSX, 4mb RAM running Windows 7 through a Bootcamp partition,
750Gb 7,200 RPM hard drive, Ultra Pack fully installed on HD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RealBand
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,109
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,109 |
Quote:
Just wondering if anyone has any tips with using the vocal remover plug in. I've applied it to a song recording (a single track) hoping to overdub it with another voice but it doesn't seem to remove the voice, only dim it. I'm assuming that it will never completely remove the vocal but I'd like to get the volume low enough so that it can't be heard when I record the other vocal. Cheers
The plug CAN in some cases completely remove the vocals, but it depends on how the recording was made. I have to assume that most recording engineers know how vocal redux works, and they purposefully manipulate the vocal track so it can't be completely removed. So, the problem isn't coming from the PG Vocal Remover.. success or failure is pretty much dependent on the recording.
I use it mostly to remove as much extraneous sound as possible before I send the audio file to the ACW.
When I want a good backing track, I use BIAB and RB to create it from scratch. You'll get MUCH better results that way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RealBand
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,469
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,469 |
Was it a stereo track or a mono track?
Vocal remover works (partially) by cancelling out the center signal *on a stereo wave file*. Part of the design from my understanding. So if the single track was mono it won't work well.
That said, reverb on vocals is often spread out and partially remains many times.. hit and miss depending on mix.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RealBand
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Usually when I perform they use the vocalIST remover.....
There used to be a plugin for WinAmp back in the 90s that did this. It worked fairly well, but it was not infallible. With Harv's explanation I have a bit of an idea how it worked.
Are you looking for a pseudo karaoke thing here?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RealBand
|
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 61
Enthusiast
|
|
Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 61 |
My tip is that the plug-in included with RealBand is not sufficient by itself for most mixes, but read on...
Vocal removers can only work on stereo files. There's different ways to do it - the classic way is to reverse the polarity of one of the channels and then combine the channels into mono - this will cancel out whatever what was in "the middle". This will be mainly what the plug-in is doing. This works because (in theory) the lead vocal is effectively a mono recording panned into the center of the mix. It is also possible to digitally remove the central part of the stereo image - this may work better than the classic vocal removal technique in that you will be able to remove a "wider" chunk of the center of the mix if you need to, but you may end up with nasty digital artifacts. There are also various vocal removal plug-ins you can buy - luckily many of them can be demoed for free first so you can try them and see whether they will work for you. Another method of removing the "center" of a mix is to use a Dolby ProLogic surround decoder - you'd have to run the mix out of your computer and into a surround receiver to do this, which might be more complicated than you'd like (and the final results will still likely be no better without further processing).
Of course, many vocals are recorded with stereo echo/reverb which will not be fully removed. Also a lead vocal may consist of more than one track - ie, the lead vocal may have been overdubbed multiple times to give a fuller sound and those overdubs may be panned somewhat left and right and hence won't be removed.
Also, even if the vocal removal does work then everything that was in the middle of the mix will have been removed - in particular the snare and kick drum in most mixes and also the bass guitar. Of course, many vocal removal tools allow you to tune the effect somewhat by only including some frequencies, but the final results may still not be so great. You can use the "Lo Limit" and "Hi Limit" parameters in RealBand's Vocal Remover to limit the range of frequencies in which the vocal will be removed. However, with some tracks you will need to do a lot more work.
One technique that I have used is to grab a sample of the snare from a part of the song with no vocals (and preferably not much else going on) and pasting it on an adjacent track at all the appropriate moments in the song. Of course, that's a lot of work, as a typical song might have 200 or more snare hits, but it can make a big difference. You may need to do some EQ'ing on that snare sample to make it work better. It can be useful to also have a copy of the song, with no vocal cancellation, on adjacent tracks - you may be able to use part of these tracks in order to keep some of the drum fills or other elements that might otherwise be lost due to the vocal removal. This will require some creative mixing, but it can improve the final result significantly.
A little creative use of EQ may also help. You may find that using some parametric EQ can help to remove the "ghost" of a vocal. You may also be able to partially restore an instrument that has got lost in the mix by boosting a critical frequency with some finely tuned parametric EQ.
Note that if the file you are trying to remove the vocal from is an MP3 (or other "lossy" file) then you may have limited success because most MP3 encodings handle each channel separately and so the phase-reversal technique will not work as well as it would with a lossless file (eg, a WAV file). Lastly, if you use the "classic" method (polarity reversal) then the resulting file will be mono, but some digital vocal removers can preserve some stereo information.
Last edited by pinglis; 07/25/12 12:23 AM.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RealBand
|
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 157
Apprentice
|
|
OP
Apprentice
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 157 |
Thank you for the responses, particularly your comprehensive information Pinglis.
The track I am trying to remove the vocals on is a Frank Sinatra track which has been converted to MP3. It was just a fun project where i was trying to overdub my voice onto something with a big-band backing just to see how it sounded.
It seems that it is much more complicated than just using the supplied plug-in and rerecording the vocals. The actual band sound suffered as well so I don't think I'll pursue it.
thanks again for the info.
Cheers
Andy
Macbook, 2.4 GHz, Lion OSX, 4mb RAM running Windows 7 through a Bootcamp partition,
750Gb 7,200 RPM hard drive, Ultra Pack fully installed on HD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums57
Topics85,795
Posts796,219
Members39,959
| |
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are no members with birthdays on this day. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean