Split any track into four stems
Lyro’s stem splitter separates a finished track into four stems: vocals, drums, bass and other. It works on songs you generated and on audio you upload. Use it to make an instrumental or an a cappella, to rebalance a mix, or to pull a vocal out for chopping. It costs one credit plus two per started minute, so 7 credits for a three-minute track, and is part of the Creator plan.
How it goesThree steps
- Pick a trackChoose a song from your library or upload your own audio file.
- Split itLyro sends the track to a separation model and returns four stems: vocals, drums, bass and other.
- Use the stemsOpen them in the mixer to rebalance, mute or process each part, or download them for your own music software.
The details
How it works under the hood
Stem separation is done by a neural network that has learned what voices, drums and bass sound like. It listens to the finished mix and estimates each source. The four stems have the same length as the original and start at the same point, so they line up at zero in the mixer or in any DAW (digital audio workstation, the software used to record and mix).
The separation model runs at our inference provider, fal.ai, like the music models. It is not the same thing as having the original session files: the stems are a reconstruction, which is why quality depends on the mix you feed it.
What the four stems contain
- Vocals: lead and backing voices together, usually with some of their reverb.
- Drums: kick, snare, hats and most percussion.
- Bass: bass guitar, synth bass and, usually, 808s and log drums.
- Other: everything else in one file, including guitars, keys, synths, pads, strings and effects.
Mute the vocals stem and you have an instrumental. Solo it and you have an a cappella.
Where the limits are
- Separation leaves artefacts: faint cymbals or reverb in the vocal, a watery sound in the high frequencies, bass notes leaking into other.
- Clean, sparse mixes separate best. Dense, distorted or heavily reverberant mixes separate worst.
- Low-bitrate MP3 sources give worse stems than WAV or FLAC.
- You cannot get guitar, piano or individual drums on their own. Those all sit inside other or drums.
- Longer files cost more credits and take longer.
Artefacts that are obvious on a solo stem are often masked once the parts play together again, so judge the result in the mix.
Credits, plan and rights
Stem separation costs one credit plus two per started minute: 3 credits for a track of up to a minute, 7 for three minutes. It is part of the Creator plan. If a separation fails, the credits come back automatically. Stems can be downloaded as often as you like.
Only upload recordings you have the right to use. Separating a track does not give you any rights in it, and uploading other people’s music without permission breaks our acceptable use policy. If you believe a track on Lyro uses your work, see copyright and takedowns.
Questions
How many stems do I get?
Four: vocals, drums, bass and other. Other holds everything that is not voice, drums or bass, such as guitars, keys, synths and effects. All four have the same length, so they line up when you import them anywhere.
Can I remove the vocals from a song?
Yes. Split the track and mute the vocals stem, or download drums, bass and other and combine them. Expect a faint trace of the voice in busy passages. You need the right to use the recording you upload.
How good is the separation quality?
Good enough for remixing, practice, rebalancing and vocal chops, and not identical to the original multitrack. Expect small artefacts, mostly in high frequencies and reverb tails. Clean modern mixes give the best results. More under stem separation.
What does stem separation cost?
One credit plus two per started minute, so 3 credits for a track of up to a minute and 7 for a three-minute track. It is included in the Creator plan, which starts at $19 a month for 300 credits. Mixing the stems afterwards costs no credits. See the pricing page.
Can I split a song I did not make?
Only if you have the right to use that recording, for example your own release or a track you have permission to remix. Splitting a track gives you no rights in it, and our acceptable use policy does not allow uploading music you have no rights to.
Related: Mixing and mastering, Add a beat to your vocals, AI beat maker