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ozpeter · Location: Australia

"How can I remove vocals?" Or, "How can I keep the vocals and remove the instruments?" These questions are asked almost every week on this forum - you can search for previous answers to this and many other questions using http://forums.syntrillium.com/search.asp

As there are so many previous threads about vocal removal, here are links to two particularly good examples:-

'REMOVING VOCALS??'
'Since Cool Edit cant cut vocals..'

A full explanation of why vocal removal doesn't really work can be found at
http://www.ethanwiner.com/novocals.html - this is essential reading!

If you really want to spend money on this having read the above links, you can use a search engine like google to find thousands more pages of relevant information, including many software products and services such as

http://www.yogen.com/vocalremover.php ($15 s/w product)
http://www.mtu.com/basics/vocal-eliminator.htm ($99 s/w product)
http://www.pgmusic.com/copyscat_ss1.htm ($49 s/w product)
http://www.tracertek.com/dart_karaoke.htm ($49 s/w product)
http://www.vocalreduction.com/ (service. $19.95 per song)
http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/audio/vremover.htm (free DX plugin)

There is also an add-on for Cool Edit called 'MS Mixer' which has a preset which provides as good a vocal removal effect as you are likely to find. This was originally available from www.audiotechcorp.com but if that site is unavailable, email me and I'll send you a copy.

As for removing the instruments and keeping the vocals, this cannot be done - if you try to isolate the centre of the stereo image, where the vocal is usually found, you will still have any other sound that was in the centre, plus half of what was left or right of the centre. You can try this using the Cool Edit 'Channel Mixer', first applying the 'LR to Mid Side' preset to your file, then using the 'Both=Left' preset on the result.

Finally, if you want to use Cool Edit just for removing vocals, that's up to you of course; but there is so much more it can do, and maybe so much more you can do - why not also try using it to produce your own original and creative work?

- Ozpeter

ozpeter · Location: Australia

The above is a refinement of a previous post which met with a degree of approval at the time. I have posted it here in a nice clean thread (with no humourous comments or debate) so that, if they care to, regular forum participants can bookmark it, and next time someone asks the question, simply post the link to this thread. This should take only a few seconds, and nothing more needs to be said. Genuine enquires will thus be politely and effortlessly answered, and jokers will get no satisfaction. And of course, forum members not wishing to follow this suggested line can ignore it.

- Ozpeter

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

At the request of some of our forum regulars, I've made this topic 'sticky'.

Let's see if it cuts down on the frequency of what is clearly, the most common forum question...

And to quote the words of the Prego Spaghetti Sauce company, regarding all the info you need about removing vocals, instruments, keeping vocals, etc. etc. etc., "It's in there!"

Happy reading! :)

---Syntrillium, M.D.