One for the people who know some technical stuff about music systems etc

[anu]

Wasn't sure to post this here or "Musician 2 Musician" so I guessed :D

My question is: how could I go about eliminating the vocals from a record?

Changing the equalizer settings on the hifi partially removes the vocals (not fully) but also messes up the instrumental sound. I'll be willing to buy a better/different player if that'll help/work.

Just thinking if some of you guys could give me some ideas it'd be really useful :)

[JSngry]

Try buying karaoke discs.

[lone_wolf]

How many bands does your equalizer have? You should be using a 31-band equalizer to have any hope of doing this without losing significant instrumental content.

[anu]

Originally posted by JSngry
Try buying karaoke discs.
Problem is I can't get karaoke discs of what I want. I'm looking to make instrumentals of a few specific songs to improvise over. I'm wanting some fairly precise stuff..

[anu]

Originally posted by lone_wolf
How many bands does your equalizer have? You should be using a 31-band equalizer to have any hope of doing this without losing significant instrumental content.
um, 10-band **embarrassed**

I've been meaning to sort out a new system anyway so I'll just add it to the list of things that I'm requiring from it. Is there anyway to get something like this without having to sort a new system though?

As well as the equalizer, is there anything else that would help me do this?

[Tenorman]

Without getting some expensive equipment you are not going to remove the vocals, without destroying at least some of the instrumental.

The cheapest way is to do it via the computer, with appropriate software.

Check out a decent sheet music shop. There are charts around with an accompanying CD with the selected instrument missing from the band. Not a huge choice around, but you could always try the net

[lone_wolf]

There is an ad I always see in the back of Guitar Player and Keyboard Player magazine for a device that claims to do this, but I don't really know anything about it.

As for the 31-band equalizer, the ones I own are not for home hi-fi systems, (and they can be purchased inexpensively). They're designed for use with a public address (p.a.) amplification system, for live performance or recording, and are usually sold mono, but you should be able to hook up a CD player through a pair of them with the right adapters. You may want to visit a local musical instrument dealer and explain what you're trying to do, and see if they can advise you further.

The software option is another good suggestion, though I'm not sure which programs are available. Once again, a knowledgeable salesclerk at your local music shop should be able to give you some guidance.

[anu]

Thanks for the help. I'll check those ideas out when I can (hopefully tomorrow)

re. the software - I thought a good place to start would be winamp.com plugins. I've found some interesting results - 31-band eq, 129-band eq etc. I'm just trying to get the things to work! I install them and they seem to disappear :D

[Phil Kelly]

Ten years ago, there was a hardware device on the market called the DeVocalizer ( or something similar ) ..I recall we drug into a studio and tried it out, but it really messed over the sound of the record ..

another idea: if you want to play JAZZ over these songs, have you checked out the Aebersold playalong CDS ,(as opposed to the kareoke route? )The've managed to cover a bunch of the jazz canon ..with good rhythm sections ..

[JSngry]

Music Minus One has a rather large library of rhythm accompaniment discs of a lot of different standards as well.

[PsychedelicFuzz]

www.analogx.com offers a DirectX plug-in and a Winamp plug-in for this, though I haven't used them personally.

Like everyone's said, the record will lose some content you don't want it to, so go with play-alongs.

In addition to Aebersold, Frank Mantooth (RIP) has some nice offerings.

Or you could hit up a keyboard-playing friend to do a midi sequence of the song for you. I use a couple of generic ones (blues, rhythm changes, So What/Impressions etc) found on the net and usually sequence whatever I'm working on at the moment. They are nice because it only takes some basic working knowledge to add/drop voices or change keys.

[anu]

Just to say about the play-a-longs that a few people have recommended. I have used them for quite a while now and already practice with a couple of Aebersolds. I don't have a problem with them and of course they bring the quality of my music forward, sound good etc.

There are some good hip hop (for example) records around. Although they often contain relatively simple beats, they still sound excellent and give a lot of freedom to play over - I have quite a few ideas that I want to try out on them. Nowhere else will give such heavy beats (something I often want to see emphasised more) and such interesting use of sampling etc, it's really the specific songs that I'm after.

Thanks for the ideas though

[Fran]

I would like to see a response from a really knowledgeable audio engineer. I don't believe you can "erase" a vocal without eliminating much of the intrumental backing. I think if you can erase the vocal you will have erased much of the intrumental part as well.

[Phil Kelly]

Originally posted by Fran
I would like to see a response from a really knowledgeable audio engineer. I don't believe you can "erase" a vocal without eliminating much of the intrumental backing. I think if you can erase the vocal you will have erased much of the intrumental part as well.



you are correct ..you can't remove the vocal ..youcan only remove part of the audio spectrum ..even with a protools type device ..

the onlt way to remove the vocal is gain access to the master ..or rerecord the track ..~pimp:

[clifton]

Instead of trying to remove the vocal, have you investigated the Jamey Aebersold records? They might suit your purposes better if they feature tunes you want to work with.

[anu]

Just a quick update - equalizing to remove the vocals works on a reasonable level (not perfect) with some songs - most don't work that well.

On a more positive note, I've found out about a few specialist shops selling proper instrumental versions of some albums (only LPs), so I'm pretty chuffed with that :)

Thanks again