Now that audio un-mixing is a reality, the only question is which tool should be used. We try out one ‘magic’ plugin. How well does it work? Listen and decide for yourself…
For a long time, being able to un-mix audio was one of those tasks best left to science fiction, however over the last few years, tools have begun to emerge that promise just that. This functionality has many uses, and aside from the obvious use of rebalancing pre-existing mixes, it can also be used to apply processing to individual instruments or stems for music remasters or reissues, as well as to other legacy media such as film soundtracks for cleanup.
Getting Stems
Removing mix elements as opposed to remixing from the ground up is probably one of the more everyday jobs that those preparing music for sync will find themselves doing regularly. Even with all the relevant licencing and copyright considerations taken care of, access to a DAW project with its associated assets might not be an option for the mixer who needs to make it happen. In any scenario, when stems or tracks are unavailable, an unmixing tool may be the only option, leaving the question of acceptable audio quality in the equation.
Mix Minus Vocals
With the listener being especially attuned to when the human voice doesn’t sound quite right, it is these tasks that show up any strengths or shortcomings in any tool. Modern solutions for removing vocals are now light years ahead of ‘karaoke style’ centre channel removal techniques of old; certainly it takes a lot more than the old polarity tricks to get results that stand up to modern scrutiny. Despite advances, vocal removal remains one of the bests tests for any prospective solution; if something is clever enough to separate out humanity’s oldest instrument, it probably also stands a chance with other elements.
RipX DeepAudio
Hit’n’Mix’s RipX DeepAudio is one such solution. This is not the company’s first foray into the world of unmixing, however this product expands upon earlier solution RipX DeepRemix, by bringing advanced features to a pro userbase. Coming as a standalone application, it can also integrate with DAWs feauturing ARA support including Logic and Studio One. For Pro Tools users, the install includes an AudioSuite plugin which acts as a simple bridge between PT and the RipX DeepAudio standalone application. In the video, we use RipX DeepAudio to not only to remove vocals from a mix, but also explore its potential for rebalancing a mix, or grabbing stems for work in a DAW.
RipX DeepAudio offers a whole host of powerful audio manipulation tools, making it much more than a simple rebalancing or stem extraction utility:
Fix & clean up recordings quickly and easily with the award-winning Audioshop tools
Adjust timbre, pitch & timing
Edit unpitched audio (including noise) separately from pitched sounds
Export most audio file formats, even MIDI
Work standalone or with your DAW
Experience unprecedented control over notes, harmonics and unpitched sound, all in a powerful and easy-to-use click & drag interface
Hit’n’Mix continue, “RipX DeepAudio includes DeepRemix world-leading audio separation, and then adds advanced stem clean-up and audio manipulation tools to the workflow, so you can create the highest quality extracted audio, and tweak / create sound at unprecedented levels of detail. We are focussed on producing the best quality stems, and providing easy-to-use tools for clean-up of any artifacts, as quality is the most important factor for DJs, remixers, music producers, musicians, audio post pros, sound designers and most types of audio hobbyists and professionals.”
A Better Remix?
There’s no doubt that RipX DeepAudio turns in results that will make even the most hardened cynic sit up and listen. In our test, it was able to generate a very usable mix-minus with convincing vocal extraction, as well as the potential for clean stem extraction with some final surgery. Yes there are some artefacts in isolation, but when remixed, the resultant audio knits back together very nicely. While sometimes it will be unable to discern between instruments with worst-case audio, under even slightly favourable conditions it can turn in results rivalling the very best mute or solo buttons in the world!