How-to guide
Drum separation with Demucs vs DrumSplit
Demucs from Meta is a widely used open-source stem separator. In its default 4-stem mode the standard output is a single drums stem. DrumSplit is purpose-built for splitting the kit into pieces.
Demucs Hybrid Transformer (htdemucs) is the default Demucs model, and its standard drums output is a single stem with the whole kit together. DrumSplit takes the next step: kick, snare, hi-hats, toms and cymbals as separate files.
Step-by-step
- Demucs approach. Install Python, PyTorch, download ~650 MB of model weights. Run from command line. Get vocals, drums, bass, other. The standard output is a single drums stem.
- DrumSplit approach. Open drumsplit.io, upload, wait 2-3 minutes. Get 7 files: kick, snare, hi-hats, toms, cymbals, a drum bus and the music without drums.
- Output comparison. Demucs gives you a single drums stem as standard. DrumSplit gives you each kit piece, a drum bus and the music without drums.
- Pipeline approach. One workflow is to run Demucs first to get a drums stem, then DrumSplit Direct mode on that stem for kit-piece separation.
- Convenience vs control. DrumSplit is one click. Demucs requires environment management but gives you more control over parameters.
Tips for better results
- Power users: run Demucs locally for the drums-vs-music split, then send the drum stem through DrumSplit's Direct mode for per-kit-piece results.
- Demucs requires a decent GPU for real-time processing. DrumSplit runs on cloud GPUs regardless of your hardware.
- DrumSplit costs $0.99 per split. Demucs is free but requires your own hardware and setup time.
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