Newbie wants to take Voice out... HELP

I

Ibrow

New member
My first post so go easy on me. :)

Here's what I want to do and what I have.

I want to take a CD track, ex. White Christmas from Bing Crosby, turn it into a WAV file. I have done that with Plextor Track Extractor. Next, I want to eliminate or reduce Bing's singing voice. I have tried with Cool Edit 2000 but I can't get rid of it. From what I've read on the boards here, it's impossible. But is there software out there that allows you to use that "karaoke" effect? You know how some systems allow you to hook up a microphone to your stereo system, press the "karaoke" button, then you can sing over the speakers because the cd track's voice is muted somewhat. Does anyone know of any software that will do this for me? I can't believe Cool Edit didn't have this option.

Secondly, I want to take that "voiced down" WAV file and record me singing over it. If I had to burn just that track to CDR and play it from another CD source over headphones so I can sing would be fine. My question is what should I do to record, micwise? I can record with my computer mike using CE2000. It sounds pretty bad, but it'll work. Do I really need to get a microphone to hook into my sound card, or will the computer mic suffice? I can peruse the Microphone Section if I really have to. I have already done a lot of reading on the subject and long run I'll have to get a Mic and an "amp" of some sort to bring the mic to line level I guess. Suggestions?

Finally, (Christ this is long. :)) I will have to mix my recorded voice down with the voiced down WAV file. I think I have Vegas Pro 1.0. The only time I used it I had a huge HISS over the entire mixed down track. Does anyone know what caused that? My guesses are I left the Microphone plugged in while mixing down, or I have a shitty soundcard. I don't even know what soundcard I have. It's the one that came with my computer. I really doubt it's the software. Suggestions?

Any help you all can give an absolute newbie would be appreciated. And if you could, please be like Denzel in "Philadelphia", and ,"Explain it to me like I'm a two-year old."

Thanks,

Ibrow
 
Basically there is no way of getting rid of or reducing the voice that will not also affect a lot of other stuff in the mix.
A karaoke machine does not get rid of the voice, it uses a version of the song that is instrumental.
Your best bet, especially with music like "white xmas" is to go out and buy an instrumental version. There should be millions of them.

As for recording yourself, I can't help you much if you don't even know what your sound card is. Probably it is rubbish and definitely you are not going to get a very good sound with your computer mic. Buy a cheap but good mic, possibly sm58 (go to mic forum for more opinions) and a mic pre-amp or a better soundcard that has a mic pre in it and you'd be in business.

Hopefully others will help out here as I don't know much about prices.

Hope this helps
Brenton
 
Download a copy of a program called Goldwave from - drumroll - http://www.goldwave.com

It has a "remove vocals" option under the Effects / Stereo menu.

It works really well for what I've needed to do which is basically remove the vocals from a couple of songs in order to be able to hear the guitar parts clearly so that I could tab them.

Good luck.
 
Thanks Julian

You know, I was just about to go and get that. I read about it in another post. Now I will for sure if it has that function. I found it odd that a $75 Aiwa stereo would have it but a $500 sound editor program wouldn't. Weird.

Thanks also Brenton. I went to the Microphone section and the best I could come up with is the SM57. I went to zzounds.com and they sell the sm57LC for $75. The LC means "less cord" or I assume a cordless Mic. I am wondering if I should get that or will it muck up what I'm trying to do? I also have to read up on preamp I guess, because from what I can gather the Mic has to go through that to get to line level then into the soundcard on the computer.

Thanks a lot guys. Any more ideas? Keep them coming.

Ibrow
 
Re: Thanks Julian

Ibrow said:
....I found it odd that a $75 Aiwa stereo would have it but a $500 sound editor program wouldn't. Weird....
Click to expand...
You can't get something for nothing - the reason it's not found on a more expensive editor is that it doesn't work very well and for that reason, would be useless in studio environment. Besides, the studio technique for achieving the same effect is cheap - simply the cost of a couple of phase-inverting patch cables.

The problem is, as Brenton pointed out - it doesn't sound very good - a lot of the bass and other mix elements get thrown out along with the vocal. For your purposes I think you will be much happier with the Karaoke instrumental route.

But hey, try it and see - if you like it, great!

Bruce Valeriani
Blue Bear Sound
 
Re: Thanks Julian

Ibrow said:
I went to zzounds.com and they sell the sm57LC for $75. The LC means "less cord" or I assume a cordless Mic. I am wondering if I should get that or will it muck up what I'm trying to do? I also have to read up on preamp I guess, because from what I can gather the Mic has to go through that to get to line level then into the soundcard on the computer.


Ibrow
[/B]
Click to expand...

Sorry I don't know what "LC" stands for, but I doubt it means "Less cord" and it aint a cordless mic.
Yes look into a mic pre or as I said before a new soundcard with a mic input on it. A mic does need to go through a mic pre to be boosted up to line level.
There are a lot of helpfull people here for that information, I know nothing about low end stuff.
Brenton
 
I'm sorry it means, "Less Cable". It never really says what the hell that means, but as you say, it's most likely not "cordless". Thanks for the correction. You say I should be able to plug this directly into a "good" soundcard?

Also, I tried out that Goldwave software. I can't believe you get as much as you do for less than 1MB. Unfortunately, the remove vocals option removed everything else, or pretty much just made a quieter version of the song. Oh well. Anyone have any recommendations of Christmas Instrumental, "karaoke" style music on CD? I downloaded an instrumental piece off of Napster, but there was Saxophone playing the words. I don't want to do a duet with a saxophone. :) Any help would be great.

Thanks.
 
Ibrow...

I'm just getting into PC recording as well but I have researched the lower end mic preamps. There are three I know of all of which will work - so it depends on your $$ and your needs.

- Presonus Bluetube ($150 - 160) is the one I purchased. It has a nice warm sound and is a stereo preamp. I chose it for two reasons - I liked the warmth since I will mainly be using it for vocals and the stereo option so I could record vocal tracks at the same time with a friend. Inputs and outputs can be 1/4" phono or balanced XLR. The lowest price I could find was http://www.marsmusic.com at $149.99.

- ART MP studio (@ $130) is similar to the Bluetube but has an analog VU meter. I have heard from others the ART versions have a bit of grit in the sound but I haven't heard it in person so I am not sure. I believe it is also in stereo.

- ART MP ($99) basic single channel pre without the bell & whistles. Based on price alone I was going to get it but decided the extra $50 was worth it.

And you don't want to use the computer mic... I have heard the Sure 57 and 58 are good choices (I currently have a Sure Unidyne B) but I think I will scrape by with what I have until I can afford a decent Condenser mic - looking at the AKG1000 at @ $179 also at Mars...

Hope this helps...good luck!!

zip
 
Hi Ibrow,
I am a member of the musicians union.
They have been advertising a product in the union paper for
years that claims to do what you want. I dont
know anything about it, the reason I notice
is the picture is so funny, but it claims to
removal vocals from a cd, which I assumes means
it cuts out all mid freqs, I have no idea how
it works. I havent gotten a copy recently (typical
of the union) but if I find an old one around
I will let you know. In the meantime, see if
you can score one from your local union. (Go
down and act like you might be joining and
see if they have a spare copy). Its called
the Inernational Musician.

Also, there are CDs out there for classical
folks called MusicMinusOne. You can get
a recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto,
etc, with no violin, which is exactly what
you are looking for. I dont know if they have
gone into the the Pop field yet, but if they
have, this is what you want. Time to dally
down to your local music store I reckon,
one that specializes in sheet music and
classical is best. Good luck with
that, let me know if you need more help,
and I hope we get you crooning "white Christmas"
in Time for the White Christmas. David
 
Hello again Ibrow,

Man, you are going to owe me some bigtime bucks
for this post my friend:

http://www.pocketsongs.com

I did my homework, this site is what you want. It
is a spinoff of

http://www.musicminusone.com

pocketsongs is the pop version, and they got
every song on the planet for you to croon to.

Since I did the research, I expect prompt payment
from you. Send check to DavidK @ ALGORE.COM

Oh wait, we dont want to be going there in this
post, So let me just say happy holidays, and
the MusicMinusOne people do good work, this
is exactly what you need, so have fun and
send me a copy of your greatest hits when you
are done. Peace, David
 
Thanks guys! That is exactly what I'm looking for. Time to place my order and move onto stage two of this God-forsaken project. :) You all have been more than helpful. Now I'm off to find out about good soundcards that will allow a microphone to be plugged in....I think.

Any suggestions? Of course, cheap but good. Isn't that what everyone is after? I have no Idea what a soundcard costs so I can't even ballpark it. I guess it's off to the other forums to do a little research.

Thanks again,

Ibrow
 
IBrow, post what your budget is for a mic. I am
sure you will get lots of opinions here.

Dont forget to budget for;

Mic Stand

XLR cable (mics often dont come with cables)

Phantom Power if you go with a condenser mic

XLR Cable from phantom power box to computer

Adaptor from Cable to 1/8 inch plug

That is probably over 100 bucks alone.

You also might need some sort of mini mixer
if you plan to play the CD and Sing at the same time.

You probably dont need a fancypants sound card,
but an upper-end Soundblaster or Turtle Beach
Card wouldnt hurt. I am thinking they
are about 90 bucks, dont know. Make sure
you got an extra PCI slot and some extra
patience, cause you never really know whats
gonna happen whrn you add something to a computer,
but it should be ok.

The Shure SM57 is an all purpose mic, used with
situations where you need lots of mics, like drums.
It would work, but I personally would spend
a few extra bucks and get a mic more suitable for
vocals, maybe one of the Rode NT series mics.
I think they are around $150. Good Luck,David
 
Back to your "remove vocal" question:

Found this snippet from the rec.audio.pro FAQ -
How do I remove vocals from a song?
You probably want a device called the Thompson Vocal Eliminator made by LT Sound in Atlanta, Georgia. The device will cancel out any vocal that is mono and panned dead center. The unit works by filtering out the low frequencies phase canceling the rest of the signal, and then mixing the filtered bass back in. The result is a signal with the center, common information cancelled out. Sometimes it works well, other times it sounds awful.

Bruce
 
Bruce,
yup, that was the device I was trying to tell Ibrow
about. Its been driving me nuts trying to think
of the name of that thing, so bless you, I can
now be at peace with the universe.

I have been looking at an ad for that thing for
ten years in the music union paper, and the picture
they have of this skinny guy is just too funny
for words.

I always wondered how that thing worked and if
it would work at all, so thanx for splaining it
to us low-tech folk. Cheers, David
 
You should be able to do it with almost any wave editor. Reverse phase on only the left channel and then resample into a mono wav file. Anything in the center will cancel out and should reduce in volume. You do lose a lot of bass, though so you might want to try and EQ to compensate.
 
Big K how do you do that???

I have Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 and I can't figure out how to "reverse phase". I try the help but they don't even have an entry under the word "phase". I also have Cool edit 2000, and Sound forge 4.5. I'm pretty much trying them all out until I can figure one out. :) Any help on doing what Big Kahuna mentioned would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
in Sound Forge it's called invert/flip

select only the left channel ... if you have a hard time getting your mouse to do it, right-click and then click on 'selection' where you can manually set it.

Take the menu...
Process --> Invert/Flip

Then...
File --> Save As
and, in the attributes section change to a mono format and click save.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top