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Subject:Editing vocals out of a song sample
Posted by: MoMoMoonPie
Date:2/11/2004 12:43:04 PM

I am trying to take the vocals out of a song so that i can use it for an audio project I am doing for class. I have sound forge 6.0. I've seen my professor do it, but I can't remember how exactly she did. Help! I need this by tomorrow!

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: MJhig
Date:2/11/2004 12:50:40 PM

You deserve an "F" simply for not reading the manual/help in SF, not searching the forum for "remove vocals" or the FAQs.

MJ

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: MoMoMoonPie
Date:2/11/2004 12:56:48 PM

yeah, friend. i tried my best and i couldnt find it. thanks for the help...

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: MJhig
Date:2/11/2004 1:01:53 PM

You're lying. If you searched the forum you would have come up with a multitude of hits on this topic, more than any other topic. If you checked FAQs you didn't read #6 and if you read the manual/help you ignored the section on Process > Channels.

You're welcome friend.

MJ

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: MoMoMoonPie
Date:2/11/2004 1:05:10 PM

looked through the help topics in the program and searched through parts of this site to no avail. was new to the forum and didnt notice the search option. someone has something stuck their ass today. thanks for giving me a heads up, but i dont appreciate the attitude.

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: kbruff
Date:2/11/2004 3:03:21 PM

You will find that this forum has a mixture of both attitude and intelligence.

Sometimes a simple answer is avoided and a offensive answer is supplied, the win win -- strategy is hardly employed.

However there are some exceptionally thoughtful authors, that provide great information, so please dont be discouraged.

What you want to do is often inquired about, because it is a popular desire although within the realm mythical of audio - re-engineering. It is simply impossible, under typical conditions, especially when applied to stereo music.

I find this forum very handy for general discussion and advice you may want to consider using it.

http://www.audioforums.com/

Good luck,
Kevin

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: MJhig
Date:2/11/2004 3:20:43 PM

kbruff, that's the most inaccurate statement I've seen posted here. This forum is tired of answering the same "remove vocals/instrument" and "splitting file/track" questions over several years. Are you one of those that asked either of those questions? I don't have time to research your screen name just as I don't have time to type the same answers to the same questions that if the poster took the time to use basic research methods would have found the answers to instantly.

You will find, if you pay attentention that the regulars here post in-depth answers, many paragraphs long to legitimate questions and even post many time consuming answers to newbie questions if they are reasonably new questions all for free. In fact I believe I've taken my time to answer some of your questions.

If you don't value your time then please monitor this forum on a minute by minute basis so others won't post snide replies to ridiculous questions.

MJ

Edit: I see you edited your post before I posted mine kbruff, so please apply my post to your "This forum has more attitude than intelligence" statetment before your edit.


Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: Rednroll
Date:2/11/2004 4:04:01 PM

"I've seen my professor do it, but I can't remember how exactly she did. Help! I need this by tomorrow!"

Obviously a slacker. Didn't pay attention in class and take notes and too lazy to even do a search in the forum. It must have been rave party week. Those things can exaust you sometimes, that you're too lazy to do anything for yourself. I'ld feel like I would be doing you a great disservice if I told you how to do it, because you'ld just end up forgetting it anyways, because you didn't take the time or effort to understand it. I paid attention during that lecture when I took classes and could easily tell you how it's done but, oh well, I guess you'll fail. One less moron trying to become an audio engineer is all. Darwin proveils again.

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: kbruff
Date:2/11/2004 4:15:59 PM

kbruff, that's the most inaccurate statement I've seen posted here. This forum is tired of answering the same "remove vocals/instrument" and "splitting file/track" questions over several years.

--- Solution: Just dont reply -- thats all.

Are you one of those that asked either of those questions?

--- Actually no, as an engineer I learned about complex signals long ago.

I don't have time to research your screen name just as I don't have time to type the same answers to the same questions that if the poster took the time to use basic research methods would have found the answers to instantly.

---Well your obviously -- more well rouned than some others, but again if it bothers you then dont reply.

You will find, if you pay attentention that the regulars here post in-depth answers, many paragraphs long to legitimate questions and even post many time consuming answers to newbie questions if they are reasonably new questions all for free. In fact I believe I've taken my time to answer some of your questions.

----I believe you have, and I also believe that in your response you have proved my initial statement. I know what is gonna happen next. A boys club will be formed and then I will hacked even more, just because I expressed what is clearly evident.

---I guess there some authors who use this forum to vent. I am not a forum cop, but there is very little to gain for the SF communiity by saying...

You deserve an "F" simply for not reading the manual/help in SF, not searching the forum for "remove vocals" or the FAQs.

If you don't value your time then please monitor this forum on a minute by minute basis so others won't post snide replies to ridiculous questions.

---Actually I do value my time, however I do observe the way many statements are made, and the damaging effect that they often have.

---Go ahead and research my screen name -- I really dont care.

Enjoy,
Kevin
***

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: ATP
Date:2/11/2004 10:55:57 PM

this thread is just another example of what this forum needs: a more obvious faq section. the best would be a stickied thread at the top of each subforum, with in it answers to the most asked basic questions like "how do i remove vocals" and "why can't i burn different tracks on a cd using SF".

then make the FAQ stand out by making the thread title bold, font size 14 or something. and ban everyone who still asks questions after that. ;-)

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: kryten
Date:2/11/2004 11:42:58 PM

Amen!

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: Rednroll
Date:2/12/2004 5:04:37 AM

Kbruff said:
----I believe you have, and I also believe that in your response you have proved my initial statement. I know what is gonna happen next. A boys club will be formed and then I will hacked even more, just because I expressed what is clearly evident."

You seem to talk out both sides of your mouth Kevin. You tell someone to "just not reply" if something bothers them, then here you are replying in someone elses defense because MJ's reply bothers you. Then you go on to say "I expressed what is clearly evident." It certainly seems MJ "expressed what is clearly evident" also. If that seems to bother you, then take your own advice and don't bother to read the forums. So I get it, you can express what is clearly evident, but when someone else does it with their opionion then that is wrong. I disagree, I believe that is called suppression.

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: kbruff
Date:2/12/2004 9:26:50 AM

You seem to talk out both sides of your mouth Kevin. You tell someone to "just not reply" if something bothers them, then here you are replying in someone elses defense because MJ's reply bothers you.

--- Actually I was not defending him, I dont know him and I wish not to rationalize his efforts.

Then you go on to say "I expressed what is clearly evident." It certainly seems MJ "expressed what is clearly evident" also.

---Perhaps, I am no expert on communication but doubt that the method used was effective.

If that seems to bother you, then take your own advice and don't bother to read the forums. So I get it, you can express what is clearly evident, but when someone else does it with their opionion then that is wrong. I disagree, I believe that is called suppression."

--- Fair enough -- but the facts do remain.

Enjoy,
Kevin
***

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: captn_spalding
Date:2/12/2004 10:22:43 AM

OK. How many are buying MoMO's story about an "audio project", a "class" and a "professor" and how many think Mo heard somewhere you could remove vocals with SF, thought "cool", got a cracked version and was disappointed when there was no big, orange button that said "REMOVE VOCALS, CLICK HERE"?

..spalding

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: Rednroll
Date:2/12/2004 10:53:52 AM

LOL!!!! Way to call a spade a spade Spalding. Thanks for coming in and pointing out the obvious. That's pretty much what I was thinking, thus why I didn't offer any advice.

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: MJhig
Date:2/12/2004 3:19:30 PM

Indeed, or, as I have seen many times, the school buys the app. at the achedemic price, burns it and the key to CD and passes it out to the students.

MJ

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: doctorfish
Date:2/12/2004 3:55:16 PM

Great idea ATP. There should be a few of the FAQ's stickied to the top of each forum so that we don't have to witness this thread every week.

As for where people get the idea, they might be watching too much CSI.

Dave

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: Big_Faced_Boy
Date:2/13/2004 2:15:36 AM

I can see why so many of you get the hump, but we aren't here to police pirated software. The forum is for advice, though the FAQ idea's a goodun!

So many people get really annoyed by people asking this question. The answer is simple: YES, in most cases, vocals can be removed BUT at the expense of sound quality, which to most punters isn't that important. Take a look a all the crappy stereo systems in homes and shops all around the world.

Vocal remover plugs are tools like any other. I can't say I use them myself, but if you can make something to work with using one, what makes it any different to, say, a flanger or reverb? Let's face it, if you're professional, you'll probably never use one due to the royalties you'll have to pay, all other opinions aside. If you're running a karaoke, this is the best tool you'll ever get.

So let's drop the "everyone who uses Sound Forge must be a sound engineer" attitude, and remember that it gets used by all sorts of people for all sorts of things. Not everyone wants to know the ins and outs of engineering, they leave that to the engineers.

As no-one has actually offered any ideas as yet, this can be done using a vocal remover plugin. Try AnalogX. I will point out, however, that this depends on stereo source material as it uses phase cancellation in common vocal frequency ranges and will result in a mono output. It doesn't always work.

BFB

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: captn_spalding
Date:2/13/2004 6:37:11 AM

BFB - I beg to differ. As a former software engineer I would hope that we all are software piracy police! I have no qualms about confrnting pirates when asked to "can you give me a copy of ..." or "I just downloaded ... can you help me with it?". If we don't do it, who will? If you saw a guy coming out of a WalMart with a 40" TV at 1:00 in the morning, would you help him load it into his van?!?

..spalding

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: Rednroll
Date:2/13/2004 6:51:36 AM

"As no-one has actually offered any ideas as yet, this can be done using a vocal remover plugin. Try AnalogX. I will point out, however, that this depends on stereo source material as it uses phase cancellation in common vocal frequency ranges and will result in a mono output. It doesn't always work."

Yep, and this is how a student who didn't pay attention in class would do it. Where as someone that understands the easy math that's involved could do it in Sound Forge most likely with better results, and if it didn't work they would understand why it didn't. Seeing as none of you post critcizers have not really been able to answer the original question, thus my feeling is that you have no right to criticize anyone elses post, because you offer nothing but your obscure opinion.
So do you want to know how it's done? How it works? And what instances it doesn't work?

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: Big_Faced_Boy
Date:2/13/2004 4:43:24 PM

Sounds like an opportunity to find out some more about it. It's interesting stuff, and I'd like to know the maths behind it. All helps build the bigger picture. So please do tell.

BFB

Subject:RE: Editing vocals out of a song sample
Reply by: farss
Date:2/13/2004 5:19:10 PM

Not that I've ever wanted or needed to do this as at best it's pretty imprecise but the idea is that typically the vocals occupy a 'centre channel'. So you can remove the vocals by inverting one channel and adding it to the other to produce a mono track minus the vocals. You could no doubt improve this by using some Eq on the channel you're inverting and adding so that you were only subtracting audio within the range of the singer.

It will not work at all if the vocals are panned hard to either channel.

I'd imagine there are more sophisticated ways using high end signal processing but I've not come across them.

Subject:Remove Vocal 8
Reply by: Rednroll
Date:12/16/2004 7:38:19 PM

<Bump> :-)~

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