Mac-using DJs, producers and musicians can now separate vocals, instruments and drums from music files in real time with Neural Mix Pro, the latest product from Algoriddim, makers of the djay family of DJ software.
The release of a standalone version of the company’s Neural Mix technology comes just a few weeks after it was launched in iOS DJ software djay Pro AI. This is the first time Algoriddim has offered a version away from iOS.
The standalone version brings a number of features that will appeal to DJs and producers in particular, including:
- Offline export – Once you decide what you want, the computer will process and export the stems in the background, for the best quality (as opposed to the actual exporting happening in real time)
- Batch processing of files, meaning you could – for instance – grab acapellas from a whole playlist at once
- Live auditioning of stems – This makes it much easier to isolate parts you may be interested in extracting as a DJ or producer, without having to extract the whole file first
- Looping – Useful for isolating, say, drum loops that you can the export individually
- Tempo adjustment – Export at exactly the tempo you want for your project
- Pitch adjustment – Export at exactly the key you want for your project
- A music browser – The app can work with your Music library, or with your existing file/folder structure
Algoriddim tells us that it decided to develop Neural Mix Pro having seen that DJs and producers were using the feature in djay Pro AI not only for DJing with, but also for extracting song parts to use in re-edits, mashups and remixes in third-party software such as DAWs.
First thoughts
This tech is advancing rapidly, and represents the biggest leap in DJ tech for along time. While the results don’t sound perfect, they are great for remixes, re-edits, mashups and bootlegs.
Algoriddim’s development of a standalone version is important because firstly it acknowledges a use case away from DJing, and secondly because it brings the tech to “desktop” rather than mobile.
A similar feature exists in Virtual DJ 2021 for both Mac and PC, but it is like the version in djay Pro AI, in that it is part of a bigger DJ app, not standalone.
The offline export feature of Neural Mix Pro allows for the quality to be as high as possible, especially around time stretching, which should improve the results slightly over the quality achievable in djay Pro AI software in real time.
One feature I would like to see them add is the ability to warp tracks, a la Ableton Live. I’d like to see the ability for users to not only specify a BPM, but move beat markers and then output the track with dynamic time stretching employed upon offline export, to lock the BPM for tracks where it varies, such as disco and funk played with real drummers.
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This would satisfy another unresolved issue for DJs, who often resort to Ableton Live to produce such versions of older material that they want to work with in projects, or want to DJ with where constant tempo is important.
Algoriddim acknowledges that this is a v1.0, and is open to suggestions as to features to add – so there’s one from us!
• Neural Mix Pro for Mac is available as a free download on the Mac App Store. Users can unlock all Pro features for a one-time in-app purchase of $50 / €55 / £49. More on the Algoriddim website.
Phil Morse
