Spleeter (if you click the link, scroll down past list of files for details) is an free, open source program that's capable of extracting up to five different types of tracks from a song:

  • bass
  • drums
  • piano
  • vocal
  • other

This isn't an version of the "invert the tracks to isolate the center" or "EQ to isolate the part" trick. It's able to isolate parts because it's a trained neural network. And it doesn't require a fancy GPU to work.

Sure, the output is smeared with artifacts and sounds like a low-quality MP3.

But if you'd love to get your hands on the stems of your favorite tracks to understand what makes them tick, this is probably as close as you're going to get. And for that purpose, it's amazing. (And it's why I've posted it here, and not in the "Off Topic" section).

The downside is that installing Spleeter requires the ability to enter instructions at the command prompt. You can find the instructions here.

It's important to read the instructions! For example, you need to make sure you've installed Python 3.6.2, not just any old version of Python. I found this video more helpful than the official instructions.

If you're not sure it's worth the effort to install, there are a couple of websites like ezstems where you can try it out for free.

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?