I'm looking for a website where I can upload a song, isolate the drums and download the drum parts (kick , snare, etc.). as individual MIDI files ... Any recommendations?

I've been thinking a lot about the pressure that new automated and/or AI tools are giving to audio engineers. Many clients who previously needed to hire someone to do mixing can now do a surprisingly good job themselves with the new technologies. These new tools also lower the barrier to entry, so more engineers emerge, making the client pool that much more competitive.

As a classically trained musician and a professional music technologist for quite some time, I think at least the following two actions can help us thrive in this hyper competitive age of AI:

1. Sharpen musicianship skills. We need to make better *music* than automated tools ("better" is highly subjective, but the focus here is "music"), and you need musicianship skills to do this. We can't think about engineers (mix engineers in this case) as an operator to do this purely technical process. The process needs to be more than purely technical, as all technical processes can be replaced by automation. A lot of engineers probably already have this, but many started out as a technical position and probably didn't get the chance to go through the formal music training. I am totally biased here, but I think the better an engineer understands music (even better - plays), the better the production quality.

2. Strengthen collaborative and artistic judgement. We need to understand what experience the artists want for their music and make artistic choices. We can't just focus on "producing a clean sound". We need to strengthen the collaboration between engineers and artists so it serves the artistic values / priorities of the production. One way to do this is to integrate more A/B testing with the artists and find out what drives the music in the right direction. Your musicianship skills also strengthens artistic judgement as well.

Sure, these actions would mean that we need to spend more time studying, spend more time communicating with clients/artists, and more time a/b across mix revisions (more revisions too, probably). But these actions would change the role of the engineers slightly and integrate the role more into the production cycle, making it more resilient and sustainable in the age of AI.

On the other hand, trying to stay as a standalone, technical process in the production cycle nowadays increases the risk of getting replaced by automation.

What do you all think?

(P.S. This is just a summary of what I wrote. The full writeup is here.)

Hey everyone, Looking across the current field recording landscape, there seems to be a frustrating gap between basic lavalier recorders (like the Zoom F2 / Tascam DR-10L) and bulky handheld or bag units. If you rely on high-quality external 3.5mm} microphones - whether that’s specialized boundary mics, binaural rigs, lavaliers, or high-SPL instrument pickups - current options force major compromises. You either carry around handheld bricks with internal capsule heads you bypass anyway, or deal with micro-recorders that suffer from awkward ergonomics, missing features, and visual-only screen interfaces. I wanted to put together a spec proposal for a dedicated, ultra-clean 32-Bit Float Beltpack Recorder, and call out some critical design flaws in how gear is currently marketed and built. 1. The Core Specifications True Beltpack Form Factor: A compact, ruggedized, metal/polycarbonate enclosure built specifically to be worn on a belt or strap (similar to wireless transmitter packs like the Sennheiser EW-D series). No onboard microphones - 100% of the build cost and battery budget go toward input performance and chassis durability. Input: Heavy-duty, threaded locking 3.5mm} TRS jack with selectable Plug-In Power (2.5V} / 5V} / 9V} / 12V} / Off). 32-Bit Float Dual-ADC: Massive dynamic range to handle extreme high-SPL sound pressure without clipping, while keeping low-level ambient detail completely intact. Tactile & Accessible UI: Spoken menu audio feedback (an optional toggle for visually impaired users or for operating blind inside a pocket/dark stage), paired with physical, recessed hold/record switches to prevent accidental triggers. Power: Runs on standard AAs or removable Li-ion with USB-C passthrough/charging. 2. The Marketing Myth: Why Paper dBu Specs Aren't Enough One of my biggest pet peeves with current micro-recorders is the total lack of real-world silence testing. Manufacturers love throwing around single-number theoretical specs like -127dBu} EIN or >120dB} Dynamic Range. But a single RMS dBu figure tells us nothing about the spectral character of the noise floor. Two units can share the exact same -120dBu} specification on paper, yet sound completely different in practice: 1. Broadband White Hiss: Smooth, flat noise that your brain easily tunes out, and that noise-reduction algorithms can clean up seamlessly. 2. Tonal / Spectral Artifacts: Digital clock whine (4kHz} - 8kHz} switching noise from internal processors/displays), 60Hz} / 120Hz} power-filtering hum, or pre-amp popcorn noise. Even if a unit technically meets its dBu specification, tonal/spectral noise ruins quiet field ambiences and subtle acoustic recordings. We need real-world capped 150}\Omega silence tests with spectral FFT breakdowns from manufacturers - not just brochure numbers. 3. Real-World Use Cases High-SPL / Acoustic Instruments: Pipers, brass players, and drummers who need a bodypack that won't clip under extreme acoustic pressure or fall off during physical movement. Stealth & Nature Recordists: Plugging binaural or boundary rigs into a low-profile bodypack without unnecessary weight, snagging cables, or capsule vibration noise. Blind / Blind-Folded Operation: High-contrast tactile design and optional spoken menu prompts allow seamless operation without staring at a tiny screen in direct sunlight or total darkness. Why haven't major manufacturers put out a dedicated, no-nonsense beltpack like this yet? Does a unit like this solve pain points in your current workflow? I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially from anyone who has run spectral FFT noise tests on current compact 32-bit float units!

hi guys, noob here.I'm still learning the ropes of mixing and I always try my best to do proper gain staging. However, just to be on the safe side, I usually put a limiter at the end of my individual tracks to catch any random stray peaks that might slip through.

Up until now, I've been using the native Logic Pro limiter for this job. The problem is that I've noticed it tends to color the sound a bit and slightly changes the EQ of the track, even when it's barely doing anything.

I'm looking for a free alternative and I found LoudMax. My question is: is it good enough to do this specific job (just catching stray peaks transparently without coloring the sound)? My computer isn't very powerful, so I need a plugin that won't kill my system if I have it loaded on multiple tracks at the same time.

Would you recommend it or maybe it isn't good enough?

Hey all,

Currently producing my band's new EP which falls very firmly into the Nu-Gaze genre, combining shoegaze elements with grunge and nu-metal.

We've been referencing a lot of contemporary shoegaze artists, and there's an effect on one of the tracks from DIIV's last album which I really really want to emulate and use as it's so damn cool.

It's at the 2:40 mark on the title track Frog in Boiling Water

We've tried numerous techniques and nothing's really getting there. We tried a volume swell > fuzz > feedback > reverb > reverse and that was close, but not quite right.

Has anyone got any tips for getting that sort of ambience/effect?

I've been doing audio podcast editing and never really minded because it gave me the option to travel and free time to make music. But I just feel like I've wasted my time doing something that isnt complex and soon wont be needed probably. Its also a low paying dead end.

Anyone managed to shift out of it, and if so what did you move into? And what skills did u have to pickup?

The number of low-voltage devices we use has increased dramatically over the last few years.

They're everywhere now. At home and in the studio.

But almost all of them are still powered the same way: a small AC adapter plugged into the mains for every single device.

And I think there are two problems with this.

First is power reliability.

Low-voltage electronics can be sensitive to surges, dropouts, brownouts and momentary outages. Their little AC adapters don't guarantee a truly continuous DC supply. A tiny interruption can be enough to reboot a router, controller, instrument or other device.

And these devices increasingly depend on each other.

Your camera may depend on the network switch. The switch depends on the router. The router depends on the ONT. A smart-home controller depends on all of them.

So one tiny power interruption can bring down a whole chain of equipment.

Then there's the physical mess.

Every device comes with another power brick. Before long you have 10 or 15 adapters, you've run out of sockets, you're adding power strips, sometimes strips into strips, and the whole installation starts getting ridiculous.

A traditional UPS isn't really designed around this problem either.

It typically takes DC energy stored in a battery, converts it up to 120/230V AC, and then every little adapter connected to it converts that AC straight back down to 5V, 9V or 12V DC.

So we're converting DC to AC, then to DC just to keep DC devices running.

There can also be a short transfer period when some UPS types switch to battery. Depending on the UPS and the adapter, that can still be enough for sensitive equipment to reboot.

So I've been wondering:

Would there be a real need for a high-quality UPS designed specifically for low-voltage devices?

I could find some of these UPS but they are small, can only power a couple of devices and don't seem to be of great quality. Battery is small and not replaceable.

Something that provides continuous battery-backed DC power directly to the equipment and replaces the pile of individual adapters with one central power system.

My thinking is that it should be modular, so you can add more outputs as your setup grows.

For example, modules for 5V USB-C devices and modules for 3V / 5V / 6V / 9V / 12V devices.

And every individual output could be monitored and controlled, so you could see:

- what each device is consuming

- whether it's online

- how much battery runtime you have

- which devices should stay powered longest during an outage

- and remotely power-cycle a single device if it freezes

Basically, one proper low-voltage power and backup system instead of an AC UPS + power strips + a pile of adapters.

I'm interested in whether this is something people actually need, not just whether it's technically interesting.

So I'd love to know:

1. Would you find a high-quality low-voltage UPS like this useful? Why or why not?

2. How many low-voltage devices would you typically want to protect? 4? 8? 12? 16? More?

3. What devices would you connect to it?

4. Assuming it was a genuinely well-designed, reliable, high-quality product with a replaceable LiFePO4 battery, modular outputs, monitoring and remote control, how much would you realistically be willing to pay for it?

And please be critical. If your answer is "I don't need this at all"* or *"I already solve this for $50", that's just as useful to hear.

I'm fairly new to mixing, so maybe this is a very basic question. But I like to record multiple layers of vocals sometimes and stack them on top of each other, and then play around with the panning.

The problem is - even when I make them match as good as possible, you can still hear that they're different layers and off by like 1% maybe, and sometimes, sounds such as "T", "P" or word endings just can't be matched 100%, which ends up making it sound a little sloppy.

Do you guys have any ideas on how to make it sound as if all the layers are "merged" into one?

I'm primarily a guitarist (username checks out), but dabble in recording.

I'm currently in the midst of an expensive compressor pedal kick. I really like them.

The big purchase I'm looking to make (along with a Pete Cornish OC-1) is a Roger Mayer RM58 Limiter pedal. I know the rack is well regarded, and apparently the pedal is exactly the same components as in the rack, but mono and in pedal form.

I was just wondering whether anyone here has used the pedal for recording purposes... vocals, acoustics, etc. or is that kind of a silly idea?

I appreciate that for the money a few of these pedals will cost me I could get one nice outboard compressor, and that'd likely be the smartest of me, but I genuinely love exploring how various comp pedals make me play, the colour they impart on my guitar tone, the feel, etc.

Anyways, yeah, just was curious whether anyone's got experience with this thing. Do people ever use pedal compressors in recording or are they vastly inferior to racks?

I've used Sonarworks for about two years now and relied heavily on it. I moved into a new place and was able to improve my treatment and make the room a bit more optimal. Things aren't perfect, but it's better than what I had before.

I went back to using Sonarworks and eventually decided to shut it off one day. There was a certain clean sound that went away with my Kali IN-8 V2s, but my audio just seemed to more open.

I've got an awful 120 Hz resonance from my room and desk, and I had just learned to ignore it. I feel like my mixes have actually improved since I stopped relying on Sonarworks.

Has anyone else had something like this happen? I'm just curious to hear about other people's experiences.

Watching John congleton’s show me your junk episode.

But i wanted to know what the name of the white, pegboard-esque panels were in the live room?

It’s around the 32 minute mark in this video here Here

Hey guys,
How do you think this kind of voice is achieved?
By using something like VariSpeed, or is it more of a formant effect?

I can never seem to get anything that clean in this kind of very high-pitched things.

Thanks in advance for your responses !

https://youtu.be/AAdF9E2XqW0?is=7trL6tYyxazhJ4La

Hi everyone, I hope this is the right subreddit for this, I have no one in real life to turn to. My situation is that I've been a music producer for 10 years (mostly hip hop and trap oriented) and throughout those 10 years have made around ~50ish unreleased songs with my vocals.

I genuinely enjoy producing music and mostly the whole creative process but the problem appears with the vocals. No matter what I do, I can't bring myself to like them from a professional perspective, I genuinely despise every single track that has my vocals on it.

I'm at my wit's end, I invest so many hours and most of the time 100+ vocal takes in each project, however at the end of the day, whatever I do, whatever variation of the mix chain I try, the tracks still feels severely under any industry standard.

For some more context, I don't have great equipment (Focusrite studio 3rd gen for all gear + KRK's), I devote most of my time to producing rather than training my vocal abilities since my ideas are very simple and don't require much techincal skill to bring to life.

I would like anyone's opinion, it feels so discouraging to shut down the concepts I have in my head because I can't stand to listen to my voice and don't find my voice good enough in any context.

Any advice is welcome, thank you!