There are other similar products to SpectraLayers out there - Izotope Audio has RX6, and something similar is built into Steinberg's Wavelab. I have used the spectrum editor in Wavelab for mastering for editing - but it's not something I do often. If someone has given me a mix with a p-pop in the sub bass frequencies, I find these types of editors very helpful to remove the pop - even from a finished mix. It's not something I do often, but when I need the capability, spectrum editors are great.

Spectral editors are excellent in removing or isolating all sorts of things in audio. This technology will only become more and more useful and interesting!

Is it possibile to remove/isolate vocals/instruments from a music?

Johnny Blade, post: 454502, member: 50338 wrote: Is it possibile to remove/isolate vocals/instruments from a music?

What do you think, Johnny?

Removal of anything is subjective based on content in the layers. However, you can definitely smear or isolate but to my experience so far, we’re not to a bit point where we can edit colours without effecting other freq in a “cluttered” spectral image.

Being said, I have no doubt spectral editing bit depth technology will improve the exactness of every colour to a point each colour could be used to trigger side chains , midi and so on.

Spectral editing is very exciting to me. I dream of its future.

Thank you!

Johnny Blade, post: 454502, member: 50338 wrote: Is it possibile to remove/isolate vocals/instruments from a music?

Usually the answer is no - it's a bit like asking a chef to un-bake a cake.

The closest I've ever got to that is removing a vocal line from a fully mixed song was when I was also given a cassette tape of the raw vocal track as a reference. Believe me, it was not a matter of time alignment and simple subtraction, even allowing for the temporal wobbles in the tape. The final version vocal line had both compression and mild reverb added, and the 2-mix had further compression and limiting at the mastering stage. I had to guess the compressor type used (I knew what was standardly available in the studio where it was done), and work out the settings that had been used. I went through the song inch by inch, identifying what had been done and where there had been hand-riding of the faders, and I even worked out where a chorus had been repeated and dropped in from earlier rather than using the one in the original vocal at that point. It was a nightmare - I would need a huge incentive to perform that sort of operation again.