Hello,
I have never used Spectral Layers and have some general questions I am hoping the forum can answer. I tried chat support but they were less than helpful.
My question is simple, I am looking for a tool where I can import FLAC or (M)OGG files, break them apart, and remix in 5.1.
Can Spectral Layers accomplish this. I do not have a mixer or any other hardware connected to my laptop. Just the files themselves.
Thanks,
Matt
Hi, yes you can import FLAC and OGG files in SpectraLayers, unmix it into different stems, convert it to a 5.1 project and then do your own 5.1 remix.
the longer answer is that NO spectra layers can’t do that !
What SpectraLayers can do is take an audio file and split apart Vocals/Piano/Bass/Drums/the-rest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPsxWSGEM0c
It works fairly well BUT it’s not totally hi-fi and you get artefacts and glitches. I’m really not convinced that splitting into those 5 categories will be anything like enough for a proper surround mix but YMMV.
You’ll need something else to do the actual remix (reaper ?) - you’ll want hardware to monitor the mix too.
MOGG files (which I don’t think SL7 can open) are multitrack anyway so SL7 will probably bring nothing to the party with these.
You can also use spleeter (which SL7 unmix is HEAVILY based on) for free to do the ‘stem extraction’
SpectraLayers has been used for years to produce high-quality upmixing of mono songs and movies to stereo and 5.1. Even before the “Unmix Stems” feature was available.
For instance this company has been specialized in doing that for the past few years: http://www.ericrecords.com/ they have incredible results and 80% of their upmixed songs have been achieved with SpectraLayers (even before Unmix Stems was available).
Unmix Stems is just an accelerator to the process, but you can certainly achieve near-perfect separation using the selection tools. That being said, you don’t even need near-perfect separation for most upmixing scenarios, as multi-speaker setup hides pretty well the artefacts as long as you unmix non-destructively. And yes, you can then rebalance each layer to the channel you want, or apply effects to each (that being said it’s probably easier to do that last step in an actual DAW).
hi Robin
think we’ll have to agree to differ
It’s possible to hammer a screw in - but it doesn’t mean a hammer is the correct tool for the job.
SL7 ‘may’ be a useful too for helping create surround mixes from existing mono/stereo mixes but it would only be one part of the process.
It really depends on what the OP is wanting to achieve with the 5.1 mix - maybe a simple upmix plug like Nugen or Penteo would do a more acceptable job. Obviously they can try the demo for themselves.
As I say, YMMV.
One part of the process, but clearly a main part of the process for many scenarios, such as what Robin linked to.
Imo, This is very interesting and intriguing… All sorts of work/financial potential here.