Steinberg SpectraLayers 10 pro (plugin and stand alone)
I just found the Stenberg SpectraLayers plugin for extracting stems directly in the DAW (I am testing it in StudioOne)
Very handy to have it directly in the DAW and to be able to drag and drop the stems into the tracks as needed. But quite expensive. I currently playing along with the 30 days trail full pro version. It seems that one need the pro version to extract all stems (vocal, drums, guitar, piano, bass, other) the elements version seems to be limited to vocals only.
First impression is that the quality is higher than the other stem extractors I have tried.
Very fun to play around with, but it have to wait for now, a bit too expensive at the moment.
Yes, that might be so. I really like SongMaster pro. I use it a lot, it is my favourite so far (very simple).
I only did a very quick test and comparision between the stems produced by SongMaster pro and SpectraLayers pro. They are very similar, maybe SpectraLayers is a tiny bit clearer when listening to both and comparing them, but it is very hard to tell. The audio forms of the stems are also almost identical but they differ a bit in places. I only compared stems for drums and bass. Anyway when I dropped the 2 versions of the bass stems into EZBass Audiotracker they produced the same midi (even though the audio files have minor differences). The thing I found attractive with SpectraLayers is that one can have it as plugin in to the DAW just to drag over the stems into the tracks. But it is not a big issue it is very easy to export the stems to files and drag them into the DAW as well.
SongMaster pro has such a clean interface and is so easy to use.
BIAB 2025, Studio One 7 Pro, Song Master Pro, Win11 Home. i7-9700K CPU, 32GB, ESI MAYA44eX, ZOOM UAC-2, Guitar Pro 8, Transcribe, (EZKeys2, EZD3, SD3, EZBass, EZMix3) Amateur: fiddle, guitar, vocal, beginner on bass.
While I do like and have used SongMaster Pro, can't beat the price of Moises (Free) which does essentially the same thing, though with fewer whistles and bells as seen in either SongMasterPro ($100) or SpectraLyaers 10 ($300). I actually spoke with the developer of SongMaster Pro but he assured me there would be no sale price. So I will keep my eyes on SongMaster Pro but for now also keep my money in my pocket. Moises does the job sweet and easy.
I wonder if these tree "stem splitters" are using the same AI engine or if they have developed their own AI engines. If they are using the same engine the quality ought to be the same. But if they have developed their own engines the quality may differ. I don't know the technology used but if they using some level of AI analysis and deep learning I would have thought it to be quite a major work to collect all the data needed. But I don't have a clue how these engines work and how much work is involved to get one working.
BIAB 2025, Studio One 7 Pro, Song Master Pro, Win11 Home. i7-9700K CPU, 32GB, ESI MAYA44eX, ZOOM UAC-2, Guitar Pro 8, Transcribe, (EZKeys2, EZD3, SD3, EZBass, EZMix3) Amateur: fiddle, guitar, vocal, beginner on bass.
If you are not using the spectral editing features of SpectraLayers, then you for sure don't need to spend the money. There are a couple of good alternatives already listed. I use Song Master Pro, myself. If you are using its spectral editing features, I highly recommend that you check out Acoustica Premium Edition by Acon Digital before spending the money on SpectraLayers. I switched from SpectraLayers v6 to Acoustica v7 years ago. Acoustica v7 has added several major new features since then, but is still in v7. All of those updates were free. SpectraLayers is now in v10. Everyone of those upgrades cost money. Once Steinberg gets their dirty mitts on your wallet, they keep on taking. Oh, and Acoustica Premium includes a boatload of very useful restoration, mastering plugins and ARA2 support, if you have a DAW like Studio One that supports it. One more thing. Acoustica's UI is, IMO, far superior to SpectraLayers, and it loads lightning fast.
Thanks, I was not aware of Acoustica. I will check it out. I am not using any spectral editing features at all I am only interesting in extracting the stems with high quality.
I also use SongMaster Pro it is my fravourite so far.
The reason I got interested in Steinberg SpectraLayers is that I found it attractive to have it as a plugin to StudioOne. But it is not a big issue. I am very happy with SongMaster pro as it is. No big deal to save the stems to file and drag them into the DAW. Also for a while I thought the quality may differ between these solutions, but I am not so sure anymore. It would be interesting to know if anyone else have compared the quality of the extracted stems between these products.
BIAB 2025, Studio One 7 Pro, Song Master Pro, Win11 Home. i7-9700K CPU, 32GB, ESI MAYA44eX, ZOOM UAC-2, Guitar Pro 8, Transcribe, (EZKeys2, EZD3, SD3, EZBass, EZMix3) Amateur: fiddle, guitar, vocal, beginner on bass.
OK, I know this is a recent post and I really appreciate the tread, but can I ask for an update? Reason is I have an immediate high priority need. I first turned to Isotope RX11 since I have many other Isotope products and they are my go to, but I don't have this. Never needed it till now! But the price @$400 is a bit beyound my budget. So I have looked at acondigital Acoustica and ~$140 currently on sale the price is right.
But can I get one more push in the right direction?? I ahve a voice over project. I need de-breath, de-noice, de-hum, de-reverb and what ever other de- the track will need for post processing of the vocal narrative.
Well the 30 day demo (limited) was enough to convince me it could remove breaths and hum. So I bought the premium package since it includes tools primarily focused on dialog (which is my current project). It did a great job. However, the ARA integration with Reaper was a bust. I will have to see if I can send the developer this finding.
However, the ARA integration with Reaper was a bust. I will have to see if I can send the developer this finding.
Quick response back, "...ya we know, we are working on it". Otherwise, they did send me a free version of https://acondigital.com/products/remix This is a very different and interesting take on stem extraction. Seems like everyone is on the stem extraction bang wagon these days. This workflow would have been a good addition to BIAB instead of the way they implemented it. All the stems remain on the same track, you just mix what you want to here. No trouble aligning things up with this workflow.
If you’re going to do it in the box, be prepared for long wait times. The more powerful your computer, the better. I have SpectralLayers 10 Pro, RX11 Advanced and a few other AI tools.
I’m finding that AI rendering and exporting requires more horsepower than AV rendering and consider my M2 Mac Studio Ultra barely adequate for my current needs. I’ll probably hold off on upgrading till the next Mac Pro comes out.
By way of comparison, my 2012 MacBook Pro is more than fine for running BIAB.
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac 24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
Incredible if it can undertake stem extraction in real time
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
Kinda sounds like it would be impossible! I will get around to testing it soon and let you know how it stacks up.
It surely needs some incredible horsepower under the hood...
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
I tried it in Reaper and sure enough it is in Real Time. Wow! Fastest splitting I have ever heard. The real question will be, how good is the splitting. Like all these splitters there is differing quality. I could mute or solo the vocal likely as good as any of the rest. But Bass and Drums and Piano would need more testing. And of course nothing does guitar. Too bad BIAB will not load this VST3.
I wonder also about the 'separation quality' of the input music. Theoretically, some musical arrangements might be able to be separated a whole lot easier than others?
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
I know one of the reasons that Acon Digital Remix is so fast. It renders stems but does not export the audio like every other AI app I own.
It works differently in that you can either a) balance the stems in the stereo track or b) route each stem to an AUX that you send to your master. Pretty clever.
Although Digital Performer 11.1 (and later) is a compatible ARA2 host, it can do it with the AU on the Mac instead of the VST3. Most impressive as most such AUs only work this way in LogicPro x.
Add to that 5 band splitting that includes Piano instead of lumping it into Other... Here's my $33.90 NOW!
Is it as good as SpectraLayers 11? Oh heavens no but for a down'n'dirty rebalancing yesterday's choral anthem for the composer (recorded only to YouTube), it's well worth the money to me. Yeah, I'll use the VST3 next time but the AU let me get the audio done and reattached to the video in 15 minutes. I'm good.
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac 24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
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.
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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)
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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)
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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