September 3, 2024 • 21 mins
Have you ever wondered: what is the best song instrument Splitter? Maybe you're seeking answers to the questions: what is the difference between Logic Pro and RipX DAW, how do you separate songs into stems, how do you extract stems from Logic, what is an AI stem splitter or maybe just what is a song stem splitter? Then check out EP 158 of the Inside The Mix podcast.
Can stem separation tools really make or break your music production? Join me, as I put Logic Pro’s stem splitter and Rip-X DAW’s track separator to the ultimate test using my song, "Alive," as our battlefield. I’ll dissect how each tool isolates key elements such as drums, vocals, bass, and other instruments, paying close attention to qualities like snare impact, reverb treatment, and the clarity of cymbals and hi-hats. Discover which software triumphs in delivering cleaner, more precise stems, and which one falls short with issues like Logic Pro's phasy snare.
I'll also zero in on the bass and vocal tracks in this episode to determine the ultimate victor. Hear how Logic Pro’s bass separation, with its mid-range frequency emphasis and somewhat underwater sound, stacks up against Rip-X’s richer, bass-heavy output. When it comes to vocals, see why Logic Pro’s thinner, high-pass filter effect is no match for Rip-X’s vibrant clarity. By the end, Rip-X clinches the win with a 3-1 score, proving its superiority in both bass and vocal stem separation.
Click here to learn more about RipX DAW: https://hitnmix.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Introduction (00:01):
You're listening to the Inside the Mix podcast
with your host, Mark Matthews.
Marc Matthews (00:05):
Hello and welcome to the Inside the Mix podcast.
I'm Mark Matthews, your host,musician, producer and mix and
mastering engineer.
You've come to the right placeif you want to know more about
your favourite synth musicartists, music engineering and
production, songwriting and themusic industry.
I've been writing, producing,mixing and mastering music for
over 15 years and I want toshare what I've learned with you
(00:27):
.
Hello, folks, and welcome tothe Inside the Mix podcast.
If you are a new listener, abig welcome.
Make sure you hit follow onyour podcast player of choice.
And if you're watching this onYouTube, make sure you hit that
subscribe button and thatnotification bell so you get
notified of new episodes.
And to the returning listenersand or viewers, a big welcome
back, as always.
(00:47):
So a few episodes ago I did ashowdown, I did an AB of Logic
Pro's stem splitter versus GAudio's stem splitter, or track
separation, however you want tocall it, and that was episode
154.
So if you don't know theresults no spoilers here go and
listen to episode 154 or watchit on YouTube.
I also I think it was episode144, did a demo of how to use
(01:13):
Logic Pro's stem splitter, andin this episode I'm going to do
another showdown.
It's going to be another AB andthis time it's going to be
Logic Pro's stem splitter versusthe Rip-X Door track separator
or stem splitter, however youwant to call it.
So let's dive in.
(01:33):
In the interest of fairness, Ihave separated the voice, the
vocal, the bass, the drums andpercussion and the other sounds
and instruments.
In rip x you can actuallyseparate the guitar and piano,
but you cannot do that in logicpro.
So you could say that's alreadyput logic pro on the back foot,
as it were.
But as I say, in the interestof fairness, I've only separated
(01:55):
it into four stems in rip xdoor.
So if you are using rip x, whatyou need to do is toggle, or
rather check, save stems onlyfor DAW, mpc, dj.
That way when it's finished theseparation process, it will
then send, or rather it willsend it will.
A finder window will appear.
(02:16):
Let's say with those separatedstems that you can do what you
want with them, basically.
So just going to throw that outthere that you can actually
separate guitar and piano withRipX Door, but you can't do that
with Logic.
So maybe that's already saying1-0 to RipX Door.
So let's move over to Logic now.
So we're in Logic Pro and goingforward.
I'm going to refer to RipX Dooras or RipX DAW as RipX, because
(02:39):
it's easier for me and I amusing the same song from
episodes 154 and 144.
And it's the song called Alivefrom my EP.
It was released in December2023.
I wanted continuity.
So if you listen to all threeepisodes as a playlist, let's
say it's the same song, so youcan compare apples to apples, as
it were.
I'm not using differentmaterial.
(03:00):
So I'm going to play you asection of the original mix and
we're going to use the samesection when we're comparing
throughout this episode.
So this is the original mix ofAlive, this particular section.
Let's give it a play.
(03:28):
Great stuff.
So in there we have vocals, wehave drums, we have bass,
there's some guitar and synthsand some other little bits of
ear candy going on.
So the first stem we're goingto audition and compare is the
drums stem.
So let's play the originalAlive drums on their own.
So this is the original drumstem, not the separated, any of
(03:49):
the separated stems.
Okay, so what I'm listening forhere in this separation is I
want to hear that thwack of thesnare, the attack of the snare.
I'm interested to see whetherthe separation tools capture the
(04:12):
reverb or attenuate the reverbof that snare, because it's
quite prominent, and also howthe cymbals are treated.
So you've got that crash.
I don't want it to soundbrittle.
I don't want that to soundbrittle.
I want the kick drum to retainits power and impact as well.
So that's what I'm listeningout for.
So let's do the Logic Pro onefirst.
So I'm gonna un-solo that.
(04:32):
So this is the Logic Pro splitdrum stem.
Okay, I think the kick soundspretty good.
(04:55):
The snare it sounds a bit phasy.
Now I appreciate, with theartificial intelligence, with
the AI that it's using toseparate it out, you're going to
have that, but at times it'skind of going like that and it
sounds a bit like a really badMP3.
But it has retained the impactof the snare for me.
The reverb it's attenuated,it's not captured that reverb.
(05:15):
And the hats and the cymbals,the crashes sound okay but again
they sound a touch brittle tome.
So I'm just going to play itone more time before they move
on to rip x.
(05:36):
Yeah, the kick drum sounds kindof like when you get a kick drum
and you fill it full of a duvet.
We used to do this back when wewere in a band.
I was in a band and we wererehearsing.
It was quite crude in thisrehearsal environment.
We'd stick a duvet in the kickdrum to dampen it and that's
what it kind of sounds like tome.
So it sounds okay.
It sounds okay.
But let's have a listen toRip-X and see what this one
(05:58):
sounds like in comparison.
So this is the Rip-X drumsInteresting.
(06:18):
So the kick drum again soundslike it's been dampened.
I'm finding that the hi-hats andthe cymbals there's nice stereo
separation on them so it'scaptured that well.
But it kind of does.
It's got that sort of thinggoing on again.
It's got a nice attack, it'sgot a nice presence of the snare
, but I feel like it's lost someof the body of the snare.
So I'm gonna listen to it onemore time.
Yeah, I think the snare soundsquite good.
(06:53):
There are a few other littleartifacts in there again that
I'm hearing that I didn't hearin Logic Pro.
Occasionally it almost soundslike a dog bark and it kind of
goes like that.
I cannot pinpoint it, butlisten back again and you know
what I mean.
Yeah, it sounds quite similarto a dog barking in a way.
It's like a like that.
My microphone is going to hateme for doing that, I think in
(07:14):
this instance and this was thesame in the G Audio episode.
But I think Logic Pro wins theround for me here and my memory,
because it was a few episodesago now, but I'm fairly certain
Logic Pro won the battle withG-Audio with the drums as well.
So I would say that is one oneone, because Logic Pro cannot
separate piano and guitar.
(07:34):
So let's say it's one one atthe moment.
So Logic Pro wins the drumround for me.
So let's move on to bass.
So here is the bass stem.
This is the original bass stem.
So in there you've got not onlysort of not acoustic bass but
(08:04):
recorded bass.
So in there you've got not onlysort of not acoustic bass but
recorded bass, di bass, andyou've got synthesizers as well
providing some bass in this bassstem.
So it's interesting to see howthe platforms pick out those
synthesizer elements, whether ornot those synth elements may
fall into the other category dueto their frequency, the
(08:26):
frequencies of those particularsynths.
So I'd be interested to knowhow Rip-X picks those out or
whether or not it goes straightfor bass.
There's also the slide betweennotes as well.
So it'd be interesting to seehow Rip-X picks up the slide
between notes or whether thatwould fall into the other
category as well.
So let's start with Logic Pro.
So this is the Logic Pro splitstem.
(08:47):
Yeah, so you can just abouthear the slide between notes.
You can hear it's almost like ametronome in the background.
(09:09):
So it's captured some of themid-range frequencies of the kit
.
You've got that going on in thebackground and it kind of
sounds to me like it'sunderwater a bit.
It does sound a bit like it'sunderwater to me.
So I'm not overly keen on thespace separation for Logic Pro.
So let's give Rip-X a go andsee how that sounds.
(09:32):
Disclaimer here I haven'tlistened to any of these Rip-X
DAW stems yet.
I've listened to the Logic onesbefore, in a previous episode,
but I haven't listened to any ofthe Rip-X ones.
So this is all in real time, asit were, when I'm providing
feedback on these.
So this is the Rip-X one, sothis is all in real time as it
were when I'm providing feedbackon this.
(09:56):
So this is the Rip-X version.
I would say that sounds fullerto me or rounder.
It's got more bass presence,more bass element to it.
To me it sounds more like abass guitar.
It sounds more like a bass stemto me than the Logic Pro one
(10:16):
did.
You've still got that sort ofmetronome sort of sound.
It's like someone's wearingheadphones and they're recording
and it's bleed, but obviouslyin a full mix.
Now you're not going to hearthat anyway, so it doesn't
really matter.
It's captured the slide betweennotes.
I'm just going to play the logicone again and the rip x.
(10:43):
Yeah, I would say the RIP-Xbass separation is more
testament to actual bass, saylike 300 hertz and below,
whereas the Logic Pro one you'vesort of got more of the
mid-range frequencies in there.
You could almost imagine likeRIP-X is providing 250, 300
(11:04):
hertz and below and Logic Prowould provide the upper
frequencies, maybe of the synths.
So I think in terms of actuallyseparating bass and if it were
a bass guitar I would roll withRIP-X in this instance I think
Logic is moving more towardsmid-range-y frequencies and
we're losing some of those lowerfrequencies that RIP-X is able
(11:26):
to reproduce in the stemseparation.
So I think rip X wins thisround for me.
So rip X is going to win thebass separation.
So that is 2-1 to rip X.
So let's move on to vocals.
So let's play the originalvocal stem.
So let's give it a play so whatI'm listening out for here is
(12:01):
the stereo width of the vocaland the backing vocals.
The time-based processing hasit attenuated it?
Has it captured it?
And also it's an interestingvocal performance, this one,
because when it was recordedthere's a lot of mouth noises,
but that was wanted in thisparticular performance.
So has the vocal separationcaptured those sort of mouth
(12:22):
noises?
Because the vocalist was veryclose to the microphone and
let's give it a go.
So let's try Logic Pro Logic.
What have you done with thisvocal?
Let's give it a listen.
And high by its side.
Our souls align and the warmthof a smile into bliss resign.
(12:50):
And I've got fogged metronome inthe background.
It sounds thinner.
So it almost sounds like thereis a low-cut high-pass filter on
it around I don't know around1k or something like that.
It sounds quite thin to me.
It's retained some of thatreverb, some of the time-based
processing, and it's got thewidth there as well, but it does
sound very thin, very, verythin for me.
(13:14):
So it's okay.
It's okay, uh, but what it hasdone interestingly now this
might be something you want ithas not captured those mouth
noises, so maybe that's a goodthing in this instance, if
you're doing a remix and youdidn't want that.
So, and also it depends on howyou want the vocal.
Do you want the vocalprocessing to be removed and
(13:34):
stripped back so it's just aclean vocal, or do you want that
time-based processing to remain?
If it is the former, then maybeLogic Pro wouldn't be the way to
go, so let's give Rip-X a goand high by the side of our
souls that lie in the warmth ofour smile and the bliss we saw
in the fog rise in the shine ofthe sun now.
(14:02):
To me that is much better.
I think that vocal.
This is probably the mostobvious one out of the three so
far.
I think that vocal sounds muchbetter.
It sounds fuller, it's morevibrant, it's more present.
Yes, you've got that metronomeclick in the background, but I
think you're going to have thatthroughout all of these anyway,
so I'm not too bothered aboutthat, but that sounds much
better.
It has retained the time-basedprocessing, so no, it hasn't
(14:23):
attenuated that.
But I'm just going to play theLogic one again.
And then the RIP-X version.
There's just more clarity there,I'm finding it easier to
(14:51):
decipher what the vocalist issaying.
It just sounds better.
Once again, this one is moreobvious than the other two, I
think, for me in this instance.
So I would say, folks, that is3-1, if my maths is correct I
hope it is.
I got an A in GCSE, mind you,that was over 20 years ago.
Not even A's anymore.
I think that would constitute anine anyway.
(15:13):
That's the uh, the UKcurriculum or educational system
.
So, yes, 3-1, I think, in thisinstance to RipX.
So I think RipX has won it,albeit it would be 2-1 if you
discounted the fact that Logiccannot separate piano and guitar
.
So 3--1.
So I think Ripex has one, butwe're going to do other anyway.
(15:35):
So let's move on to other.
I really like doing the othercomparison because there's a lot
of factors.
There's a lot of instruments atplay here.
We've got some guitars andsynths and other bits and pieces
as well going on.
So I'm interested to see howthe stem separators, the track
separators, pick this out.
So let's play the original mix,the other stem, as it were,
from the original mix.
(15:55):
The other stem is reallyinteresting because there are
(16:18):
various instruments in the samefrequency pocket.
So how has the stem separatorseparated these instruments from
the other drums, bass andvocals.
So let's have a listen to LogicPro.
For me it sounds a bit narrow,it sounds muted and you've lost
(16:47):
sort of like you've got thatgoing on.
That's a really flat version ofit, but you've lost that of
like you've got that going on.
That's a really flat version ofit.
But you've lost that sort ofbrightness as well.
To that it sounds quite muted,like there's a bandpass filter
on it for me and we've rolledoff a lot of the higher
frequency content.
So not great.
Let's give Rip X a go.
Hmm, interesting, I think withthis one here you can hear that
(17:25):
it has captured more of theother instruments.
There's more of the drumscoming through and almost a bit
of the bass coming through aswell.
So I don't think it's separatedit as well as Logic Pro, but
Logic Pro does sound very muted.
The Ripex version doesn't soundas muted, but I do think it has
(17:45):
lost some of that brightness,that lusciousness of the synths
again.
So I'm just going to play theLogic Pro one again, because
this is quite a tricky one topick out.
Again on the Ripex Ooh, it's atricky one.
(18:24):
I think you can hear more ofthe guitar in Logic Pro, but
you've got more of the otherinstrument stems in the Ripex
version.
I think the Ripex version doessound more lusciousness, it's
got more presence, it's brighter.
So it's a tricky one.
I think if we're going straightdown the line in terms of
separation, I think Logic Prohas done a better job of
separating the other stem,whereas Ripex has still got some
(18:47):
artifacts from the other stemsin it.
However, ripex, I think, justsounds a tiny bit better.
So I think in terms of actualseparation, logic Pro probably
wins this one, which we'll putit at 3-2.
Now that might be a contentiousdecision because I'm going
straight for the idea of howwell is it separated, not in
(19:08):
terms of which one sounds better.
Maybe I should go with whichone sounds better.
If I wanted to go with whichone sounds better, it would be
RipX.
If I wanted to go with whichone has actually separated it
better in terms of removing theother artifacts, then it would
be Logic Pro.
So I'm probably going to go andsay you could say it's a draw.
I'm waffling now, but I thinkI'm going to go 3-2 to RipX with
(19:32):
this one here.
So RipX is the overall winnerfor the stem splitter showdown.
So I really have just scratchedthe surface with RipX D-A-W
RipX door.
There's a lot more you can doin it in terms of AI and it's
(19:53):
not just a stem separator tool,and I'm going to have a
follow-up video, a follow-upepisode, where I go through some
of the cool features in RipXitself.
So look out for that episode.
But if you want to listen backto previous AB comparison
episodes of stem splitters theGE Audio one, for example,
episode 154 and if you just wantto know how to use the Logic
Pro stem splitter, check outepisode 144.
(20:14):
So I hope you found thisepisode useful.
Folks, if you do have a stemsplitter tool that you would
like to see or listen to mecompare with Logic Pro or maybe
against Rip-X or against G-Audio, leave a comment if you're
watching this on YouTube or justDM me at InsideTheMixPodcast on
Instagram, and I look forwardto doing more of these
(20:35):
comparisons.
They are great fun after all.
Happy stem splitting.
You're listening to the Inside the Mix podcast
with your host, Mark Matthews.
Marc Matthews (00:05):
Hello and welcome to the Inside the Mix podcast.
I'm Mark Matthews, your host,musician, producer and mix and
mastering engineer.
You've come to the right placeif you want to know more about
your favourite synth musicartists, music engineering and
production, songwriting and themusic industry.
I've been writing, producing,mixing and mastering music for
over 15 years and I want toshare what I've learned with you
(00:27):
.
Hello, folks, and welcome tothe Inside the Mix podcast.
If you are a new listener, abig welcome.
Make sure you hit follow onyour podcast player of choice.
And if you're watching this onYouTube, make sure you hit that
subscribe button and thatnotification bell so you get
notified of new episodes.
And to the returning listenersand or viewers, a big welcome
back, as always.
(00:47):
So a few episodes ago I did ashowdown, I did an AB of Logic
Pro's stem splitter versus GAudio's stem splitter, or track
separation, however you want tocall it, and that was episode
154.
So if you don't know theresults no spoilers here go and
listen to episode 154 or watchit on YouTube.
I also I think it was episode144, did a demo of how to use
(01:13):
Logic Pro's stem splitter, andin this episode I'm going to do
another showdown.
It's going to be another AB andthis time it's going to be
Logic Pro's stem splitter versusthe Rip-X Door track separator
or stem splitter, however youwant to call it.
So let's dive in.
(01:33):
In the interest of fairness, Ihave separated the voice, the
vocal, the bass, the drums andpercussion and the other sounds
and instruments.
In rip x you can actuallyseparate the guitar and piano,
but you cannot do that in logicpro.
So you could say that's alreadyput logic pro on the back foot,
as it were.
But as I say, in the interestof fairness, I've only separated
(01:55):
it into four stems in rip xdoor.
So if you are using rip x, whatyou need to do is toggle, or
rather check, save stems onlyfor DAW, mpc, dj.
That way when it's finished theseparation process, it will
then send, or rather it willsend it will.
A finder window will appear.
(02:16):
Let's say with those separatedstems that you can do what you
want with them, basically.
So just going to throw that outthere that you can actually
separate guitar and piano withRipX Door, but you can't do that
with Logic.
So maybe that's already saying1-0 to RipX Door.
So let's move over to Logic now.
So we're in Logic Pro and goingforward.
I'm going to refer to RipX Dooras or RipX DAW as RipX, because
(02:39):
it's easier for me and I amusing the same song from
episodes 154 and 144.
And it's the song called Alivefrom my EP.
It was released in December2023.
I wanted continuity.
So if you listen to all threeepisodes as a playlist, let's
say it's the same song, so youcan compare apples to apples, as
it were.
I'm not using differentmaterial.
(03:00):
So I'm going to play you asection of the original mix and
we're going to use the samesection when we're comparing
throughout this episode.
So this is the original mix ofAlive, this particular section.
Let's give it a play.
(03:28):
Great stuff.
So in there we have vocals, wehave drums, we have bass,
there's some guitar and synthsand some other little bits of
ear candy going on.
So the first stem we're goingto audition and compare is the
drums stem.
So let's play the originalAlive drums on their own.
So this is the original drumstem, not the separated, any of
(03:49):
the separated stems.
Okay, so what I'm listening forhere in this separation is I
want to hear that thwack of thesnare, the attack of the snare.
I'm interested to see whetherthe separation tools capture the
(04:12):
reverb or attenuate the reverbof that snare, because it's
quite prominent, and also howthe cymbals are treated.
So you've got that crash.
I don't want it to soundbrittle.
I don't want that to soundbrittle.
I want the kick drum to retainits power and impact as well.
So that's what I'm listeningout for.
So let's do the Logic Pro onefirst.
So I'm gonna un-solo that.
(04:32):
So this is the Logic Pro splitdrum stem.
Okay, I think the kick soundspretty good.
(04:55):
The snare it sounds a bit phasy.
Now I appreciate, with theartificial intelligence, with
the AI that it's using toseparate it out, you're going to
have that, but at times it'skind of going like that and it
sounds a bit like a really badMP3.
But it has retained the impactof the snare for me.
The reverb it's attenuated,it's not captured that reverb.
(05:15):
And the hats and the cymbals,the crashes sound okay but again
they sound a touch brittle tome.
So I'm just going to play itone more time before they move
on to rip x.
(05:36):
Yeah, the kick drum sounds kindof like when you get a kick drum
and you fill it full of a duvet.
We used to do this back when wewere in a band.
I was in a band and we wererehearsing.
It was quite crude in thisrehearsal environment.
We'd stick a duvet in the kickdrum to dampen it and that's
what it kind of sounds like tome.
So it sounds okay.
It sounds okay.
But let's have a listen toRip-X and see what this one
(05:58):
sounds like in comparison.
So this is the Rip-X drumsInteresting.
(06:18):
So the kick drum again soundslike it's been dampened.
I'm finding that the hi-hats andthe cymbals there's nice stereo
separation on them so it'scaptured that well.
But it kind of does.
It's got that sort of thinggoing on again.
It's got a nice attack, it'sgot a nice presence of the snare
, but I feel like it's lost someof the body of the snare.
So I'm gonna listen to it onemore time.
Yeah, I think the snare soundsquite good.
(06:53):
There are a few other littleartifacts in there again that
I'm hearing that I didn't hearin Logic Pro.
Occasionally it almost soundslike a dog bark and it kind of
goes like that.
I cannot pinpoint it, butlisten back again and you know
what I mean.
Yeah, it sounds quite similarto a dog barking in a way.
It's like a like that.
My microphone is going to hateme for doing that, I think in
(07:14):
this instance and this was thesame in the G Audio episode.
But I think Logic Pro wins theround for me here and my memory,
because it was a few episodesago now, but I'm fairly certain
Logic Pro won the battle withG-Audio with the drums as well.
So I would say that is one oneone, because Logic Pro cannot
separate piano and guitar.
(07:34):
So let's say it's one one atthe moment.
So Logic Pro wins the drumround for me.
So let's move on to bass.
So here is the bass stem.
This is the original bass stem.
So in there you've got not onlysort of not acoustic bass but
(08:04):
recorded bass.
So in there you've got not onlysort of not acoustic bass but
recorded bass, di bass, andyou've got synthesizers as well
providing some bass in this bassstem.
So it's interesting to see howthe platforms pick out those
synthesizer elements, whether ornot those synth elements may
fall into the other category dueto their frequency, the
(08:26):
frequencies of those particularsynths.
So I'd be interested to knowhow Rip-X picks those out or
whether or not it goes straightfor bass.
There's also the slide betweennotes as well.
So it'd be interesting to seehow Rip-X picks up the slide
between notes or whether thatwould fall into the other
category as well.
So let's start with Logic Pro.
So this is the Logic Pro splitstem.
(08:47):
Yeah, so you can just abouthear the slide between notes.
You can hear it's almost like ametronome in the background.
(09:09):
So it's captured some of themid-range frequencies of the kit
.
You've got that going on in thebackground and it kind of
sounds to me like it'sunderwater a bit.
It does sound a bit like it'sunderwater to me.
So I'm not overly keen on thespace separation for Logic Pro.
So let's give Rip-X a go andsee how that sounds.
(09:32):
Disclaimer here I haven'tlistened to any of these Rip-X
DAW stems yet.
I've listened to the Logic onesbefore, in a previous episode,
but I haven't listened to any ofthe Rip-X ones.
So this is all in real time, asit were, when I'm providing
feedback on these.
So this is the Rip-X one, sothis is all in real time as it
were when I'm providing feedbackon this.
(09:56):
So this is the Rip-X version.
I would say that sounds fullerto me or rounder.
It's got more bass presence,more bass element to it.
To me it sounds more like abass guitar.
It sounds more like a bass stemto me than the Logic Pro one
(10:16):
did.
You've still got that sort ofmetronome sort of sound.
It's like someone's wearingheadphones and they're recording
and it's bleed, but obviouslyin a full mix.
Now you're not going to hearthat anyway, so it doesn't
really matter.
It's captured the slide betweennotes.
I'm just going to play the logicone again and the rip x.
(10:43):
Yeah, I would say the RIP-Xbass separation is more
testament to actual bass, saylike 300 hertz and below,
whereas the Logic Pro one you'vesort of got more of the
mid-range frequencies in there.
You could almost imagine likeRIP-X is providing 250, 300
(11:04):
hertz and below and Logic Prowould provide the upper
frequencies, maybe of the synths.
So I think in terms of actuallyseparating bass and if it were
a bass guitar I would roll withRIP-X in this instance I think
Logic is moving more towardsmid-range-y frequencies and
we're losing some of those lowerfrequencies that RIP-X is able
(11:26):
to reproduce in the stemseparation.
So I think rip X wins thisround for me.
So rip X is going to win thebass separation.
So that is 2-1 to rip X.
So let's move on to vocals.
So let's play the originalvocal stem.
So let's give it a play so whatI'm listening out for here is
(12:01):
the stereo width of the vocaland the backing vocals.
The time-based processing hasit attenuated it?
Has it captured it?
And also it's an interestingvocal performance, this one,
because when it was recordedthere's a lot of mouth noises,
but that was wanted in thisparticular performance.
So has the vocal separationcaptured those sort of mouth
(12:22):
noises?
Because the vocalist was veryclose to the microphone and
let's give it a go.
So let's try Logic Pro Logic.
What have you done with thisvocal?
Let's give it a listen.
And high by its side.
Our souls align and the warmthof a smile into bliss resign.
(12:50):
And I've got fogged metronome inthe background.
It sounds thinner.
So it almost sounds like thereis a low-cut high-pass filter on
it around I don't know around1k or something like that.
It sounds quite thin to me.
It's retained some of thatreverb, some of the time-based
processing, and it's got thewidth there as well, but it does
sound very thin, very, verythin for me.
(13:14):
So it's okay.
It's okay, uh, but what it hasdone interestingly now this
might be something you want ithas not captured those mouth
noises, so maybe that's a goodthing in this instance, if
you're doing a remix and youdidn't want that.
So, and also it depends on howyou want the vocal.
Do you want the vocalprocessing to be removed and
(13:34):
stripped back so it's just aclean vocal, or do you want that
time-based processing to remain?
If it is the former, then maybeLogic Pro wouldn't be the way to
go, so let's give Rip-X a goand high by the side of our
souls that lie in the warmth ofour smile and the bliss we saw
in the fog rise in the shine ofthe sun now.
(14:02):
To me that is much better.
I think that vocal.
This is probably the mostobvious one out of the three so
far.
I think that vocal sounds muchbetter.
It sounds fuller, it's morevibrant, it's more present.
Yes, you've got that metronomeclick in the background, but I
think you're going to have thatthroughout all of these anyway,
so I'm not too bothered aboutthat, but that sounds much
better.
It has retained the time-basedprocessing, so no, it hasn't
(14:23):
attenuated that.
But I'm just going to play theLogic one again.
And then the RIP-X version.
There's just more clarity there,I'm finding it easier to
(14:51):
decipher what the vocalist issaying.
It just sounds better.
Once again, this one is moreobvious than the other two, I
think, for me in this instance.
So I would say, folks, that is3-1, if my maths is correct I
hope it is.
I got an A in GCSE, mind you,that was over 20 years ago.
Not even A's anymore.
I think that would constitute anine anyway.
(15:13):
That's the uh, the UKcurriculum or educational system
.
So, yes, 3-1, I think, in thisinstance to RipX.
So I think RipX has won it,albeit it would be 2-1 if you
discounted the fact that Logiccannot separate piano and guitar
.
So 3--1.
So I think Ripex has one, butwe're going to do other anyway.
(15:35):
So let's move on to other.
I really like doing the othercomparison because there's a lot
of factors.
There's a lot of instruments atplay here.
We've got some guitars andsynths and other bits and pieces
as well going on.
So I'm interested to see howthe stem separators, the track
separators, pick this out.
So let's play the original mix,the other stem, as it were,
from the original mix.
(15:55):
The other stem is reallyinteresting because there are
(16:18):
various instruments in the samefrequency pocket.
So how has the stem separatorseparated these instruments from
the other drums, bass andvocals.
So let's have a listen to LogicPro.
For me it sounds a bit narrow,it sounds muted and you've lost
(16:47):
sort of like you've got thatgoing on.
That's a really flat version ofit, but you've lost that of
like you've got that going on.
That's a really flat version ofit.
But you've lost that sort ofbrightness as well.
To that it sounds quite muted,like there's a bandpass filter
on it for me and we've rolledoff a lot of the higher
frequency content.
So not great.
Let's give Rip X a go.
Hmm, interesting, I think withthis one here you can hear that
(17:25):
it has captured more of theother instruments.
There's more of the drumscoming through and almost a bit
of the bass coming through aswell.
So I don't think it's separatedit as well as Logic Pro, but
Logic Pro does sound very muted.
The Ripex version doesn't soundas muted, but I do think it has
(17:45):
lost some of that brightness,that lusciousness of the synths
again.
So I'm just going to play theLogic Pro one again, because
this is quite a tricky one topick out.
Again on the Ripex Ooh, it's atricky one.
(18:24):
I think you can hear more ofthe guitar in Logic Pro, but
you've got more of the otherinstrument stems in the Ripex
version.
I think the Ripex version doessound more lusciousness, it's
got more presence, it's brighter.
So it's a tricky one.
I think if we're going straightdown the line in terms of
separation, I think Logic Prohas done a better job of
separating the other stem,whereas Ripex has still got some
(18:47):
artifacts from the other stemsin it.
However, ripex, I think, justsounds a tiny bit better.
So I think in terms of actualseparation, logic Pro probably
wins this one, which we'll putit at 3-2.
Now that might be a contentiousdecision because I'm going
straight for the idea of howwell is it separated, not in
(19:08):
terms of which one sounds better.
Maybe I should go with whichone sounds better.
If I wanted to go with whichone sounds better, it would be
RipX.
If I wanted to go with whichone has actually separated it
better in terms of removing theother artifacts, then it would
be Logic Pro.
So I'm probably going to go andsay you could say it's a draw.
I'm waffling now, but I thinkI'm going to go 3-2 to RipX with
(19:32):
this one here.
So RipX is the overall winnerfor the stem splitter showdown.
So I really have just scratchedthe surface with RipX D-A-W
RipX door.
There's a lot more you can doin it in terms of AI and it's
(19:53):
not just a stem separator tool,and I'm going to have a
follow-up video, a follow-upepisode, where I go through some
of the cool features in RipXitself.
So look out for that episode.
But if you want to listen backto previous AB comparison
episodes of stem splitters theGE Audio one, for example,
episode 154 and if you just wantto know how to use the Logic
Pro stem splitter, check outepisode 144.
(20:14):
So I hope you found thisepisode useful.
Folks, if you do have a stemsplitter tool that you would
like to see or listen to mecompare with Logic Pro or maybe
against Rip-X or against G-Audio, leave a comment if you're
watching this on YouTube or justDM me at InsideTheMixPodcast on
Instagram, and I look forwardto doing more of these
(20:35):
comparisons.
They are great fun after all.
Happy stem splitting.
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