How-to guide
Drum separation in Ableton Live vs DrumSplit
Ableton Live 12 includes built-in stem separation powered by a neural network. Check Ableton's current feature list for the stems it outputs. DrumSplit returns 7 files: kick, snare, hi-hats, toms, cymbals, a drum bus and the music without drums.
Ableton's separator is fast and convenient (runs locally on your CPU/GPU). For sampling individual hits, re-drumming, or analysing a drummer's technique kit-piece by kit-piece, DrumSplit gives you kick, snare, hi-hats, toms and cymbals as separate files.
Step-by-step
- Ableton's approach. Drag audio into a track, right-click, choose Separate Audio. Check Ableton's current feature list for the stems it outputs.
- DrumSplit's approach. Upload the same audio to DrumSplit.io. You get 7 files: kick, snare, hi-hats, toms, cymbals, a drum bus and the music without drums.
- When Ableton is enough. If you just need drums vs. non-drums as two groups, Ableton's built-in separator is quick and free.
- When you need DrumSplit. Sampling individual hits, isolating a kick for layering, analysing hi-hat patterns, or building custom kits from existing recordings.
- Best workflow. Use DrumSplit for separation, then drag the stems into Ableton for arrangement, effects and mixing.
Tips for better results
- Run Ableton's separator first to get a drum stem, then process it through DrumSplit's Direct mode for the cleanest kit-piece separation.
- Ableton's Simpler instrument is perfect for slicing individual hits from DrumSplit's isolated drum stems.
- DrumSplit works from any device — useful when you are away from your production machine.
Try DrumSplit
Upload a song to the drum splitter & drum stem separator and get 7 files: kick, snare, hi-hats, toms, cymbals, a drum bus and the music without drums. From $0.99 per split. No subscription. Purchased credits never expire.
Try DrumSplit