Ableton Forum

does anyone know if i can remove everything from a song but the vocals?

Nope, you can't.

If you're asking about DIY instrumentals from a regular old .wav or mp3 or similar audio file, you can, but I've not been able to do it yet. There are 2 common methods, called, i think, phase and cancellation. But I don't know crap beyond that. Check out this youtube tutorial. Doesn't seem to link, but it's there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0BLpoEYx4U

If I'm misunderstanding your question, sorry.

Look into phase cancellation - it's pure science.

-M

ps. Wow - this Google thing, have you ever heard of it? http://www.idmforums.com/showthread.php?t=6630 It's brilliant.

kaotecjoker wrote:does anyone know if i can remove everything from a song but the vocals?

For most songs I'd think not if you are talking about a magic method that did this instantly and perfectly.

With phase cancellation and EQ ing you can reduce the effects of other instruments (maybe to an acceptable degree you need for your project). But usually some effects from the background instruments will still be in the song afterwards, and you can also lose some of the vocal this way as well.

Accapellas are what you need if you want only just the vocals along. Some artists even put out Accapella mixes of their own songs for DJ's and Remix artists, but it can be hard, impossible, and/or very expensive to get the accapella tracks for some other songs.


If you are flying some sparse phrases into a mix many DJs can just get by with some filtering out of the Bass, (or maybe the highs for that matter) esp if the vocal was pretty upfront in the song as well.

Other times the background music can have a nice spooky effect when flown in to other songs.

with phase cancelation you just ethier double the sound or mute the sound if 2 waves the same are playing in sync. Look into the utility plug in in Live You can solo something if its in the cenyre ie the kick bass and vocals then EQ out the bass thats one way of doing it.

michaellpenman wrote:with phase cancelation you just ethier double the sound or mute the sound if 2 waves the same are playing in sync. Look into the utility plug in in Live You can solo something if its in the cenyre ie the kick bass and vocals then EQ out the bass thats one way of doing it.

give this a shot...
http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18782