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LALAL.AI Tutorial: Separate Vocals & Stems

Darius Z. By Darius Z. Updated: 12 min read
Waveform and stem separation controls on a dark interface, illustrating LALAL.AI vocal isolation workflow

Contains affiliate links

In this LALAL.AI tutorial, you’ll learn how to separate vocals, drums, bass, guitars, piano, synth, strings and wind from any song using AI. The default engine is v6 Andromeda, with v5 Perseus and v4 Orion still selectable in Settings. The process takes under 60 seconds per track, works with MP3, WAV, FLAC, and video files, and produces clean isolated tracks from your browser, desktop app, or phone.

Whether you want to create karaoke tracks, remix songs, sample instruments, or practice along with isolated parts, this step-by-step guide covers everything from basic vocal removal to advanced multi-stem separation. For how the paid tool holds up against a free browser splitter, read LALAL.AI vs Vocal Remover.

Key Takeaways

  • LALAL.AI's picker now lists 11 separation options: vocal and instrumental, drums, bass, voice and noise, guitars, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, strings and wind
  • Free plan offers 10 minutes of processing with preview capability (no downloads)
  • Higher quality source files produce cleaner separations
  • v6 Andromeda is the default engine for vocals, drums, bass, piano and guitars; v5 Perseus and v4 Orion stay available in Settings
  • Common uses include karaoke tracks, remixes, sampling, practice, and content creation
LALAL.AI 4.6 From €6.75/mo
Try LALAL.AI Free

Try LALAL.AI Free

The free Starter tier gives you 10 minutes of processing and a preview of every stem, so you can hear the separation before paying for anything.

Try LALAL.AI Free →

What You’ll Need

You need three things: a LALAL.AI account, an audio or video file, and a paid plan if you want to keep the results. Signup is free and takes no card. The free Starter tier gives you 10 minutes of processing and a 200MB upload ceiling, but it only plays previews back to you. Downloads start on Lite.

LALAL.AI Account

Free to create - no credit card required for signup

Audio or Video File

MP3, WAV, FLAC, MP4 - any song or recording you want to separate

Paid Plan (for downloads)

Starts at €6.75/month (annual) - free accounts can only preview

LALAL.AI’s Lite plan costs €8.99/month, or €6.75/month billed annually, with 90 Fast Queue minutes per month. Pro costs €17.99/month, or €13.5/month billed annually, with 250 Fast Queue minutes and offline processing with Lyra, LALAL.AI’s local separation model that runs on your own hardware with no uploads.

What Stem Types Can LALAL.AI Separate?

The stem picker offers 11 separation options, from the plain vocal and instrumental split through drums, bass and piano to guitars, synthesizer, strings and wind. Guitars pulls every guitar in the track into one stem, acoustic or electric. Each option runs as its own pass, so a four-stem breakdown means four separate jobs.

Stem Type What It Extracts Best For
Vocal and Instrumental Singing/rapping from backing track Karaoke, remixes
Voice and Noise Speech from background sounds Podcast cleanup
Drums Full drum kit (kick, snare, hi-hats) Sampling, practice
Bass Bass guitar and low frequencies Bass practice, remixes
Piano Piano and keyboard sounds Transcription, practice
Guitars Every guitar in the track, acoustic or electric, in one stem Fast guitar removal without picking a type
Electric Guitar Electric guitar specifically Guitar practice
Acoustic Guitar Acoustic guitar parts Acoustic arrangements
Synthesizer Synths and electronic sounds EDM production
Strings Orchestral string sections Classical sampling
Wind Brass and woodwind instruments Jazz arrangements
LALAL.AI Stem Splitter upload box with the stem dropdown open, from Vocal and Instrumental down to Wind
The stem picker on the web app, opened before uploading. Guitars is the newest entry, and the list runs eleven deep once you count Voice and Noise.
Info:

Two Files Per Separation: Each separation produces the isolated element AND everything except that element. Vocal/instrumental separation gives you both an acapella AND a karaoke version.

How Do You Separate Vocals with LALAL.AI?

Six steps: prepare a high-quality source file, upload it with the stem type selected, set the neural network and processing options, preview the 30-second sample, split the file in full, then download the stems. A typical three- or four-minute song finishes in 15 to 60 seconds on the Fast Queue.

1

Prepare Your Source File

Quality in = quality out. The better your source, the cleaner your separation.

Best File Formats (ranked):

Format Quality Expected Results
WAV/FLAC (lossless) ★★★★★ Best results - cleanest separation
320kbps MP3 ★★★★ Very good - minimal artifacts
256kbps MP3 ★★★☆☆ Good - some artifacts possible
128kbps MP3 ★★☆☆☆ Acceptable - noticeable artifacts

Where to Get Quality Files:

  • Purchase from iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp (higher quality)
  • Original CDs ripped to WAV/FLAC
  • Producer releases (stems if available)
  • Streaming rips are typically lower quality
Info:

File Size Limit: Free accounts can upload files up to 200MB. Paid accounts up to 2GB. A typical 4-minute WAV file is about 40MB, so this is rarely a limitation.

2

Upload Your File

Choose your platform and upload your audio or video file

On the Web:

  1. Go to lalal.ai
  2. Find the upload section on the main page
  3. Select your stem type before uploading
  4. Click “Select Files” or drag-and-drop your file
  5. Wait for upload to complete

On Desktop App:

  1. Download the app for Mac or Windows from LALAL.AI
  2. Open the app and sign in
  3. Select stem type
  4. Drag files into the app
  5. Upload automatically begins

On Mobile:

  1. Download from App Store or Google Play
  2. Open and sign in
  3. Select stem type
  4. Choose file from your device
  5. Upload to LALAL.AI servers

LALAL.AI accepts MP3, OGG, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, AAC, and M4A audio files, plus AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, and M4V video files. Paid plans can batch-process up to 20 files in a single upload.

3

Choose Your Settings

Configure neural network and processing options for best results

Neural Network Selection

Click the gear icon at the top right of the upload box to access advanced options: neural network, noise cancelling level, enhanced processing, and vocal reverb and echo reduction.

LALAL.AI Settings dialog listing the v6 Andromeda, v5 Perseus and v4 Orion networks with noise and processing options
The Settings panel behind the gear icon. Andromeda is preselected, Perseus and Orion sit underneath for the stems it does not cover yet, and the noise level and Enhanced Processing switches live in the same place.
Engine Best For Recommendation
v6 Andromeda (default) Vocals, instrumental, drums, bass, piano, guitars Start here; guitars and the rebuilt piano arrived in August 2026
v5 Perseus Synth, strings, wind; alternative for any stem Switch here if Andromeda's split sounds off
v4 Orion Legacy results for older material Occasional use

Lynx, a separate voice-isolation network, powers the Voice and Noise stem and Voice Cleaner.

Noise Cancelling Level

Choose Mild, Normal, or Aggressive depending on how much background noise the source has. Aggressive removes more noise but can affect voice quality on cleaner recordings.

Enhanced Processing

Clear Cut

Minimizes bleed between stems. Cleaner but may lose detail. Best for karaoke tracks and sampling.

Deep Extraction

Captures more detail but may have slight bleed. Best for remixing when you want every nuance.

Vocal Reverb and Echo Reduction (De-Echo)

If the original has reverb:

  • Enable vocal reverb and echo reduction (De-Echo) for cleaner vocal isolation
  • Particularly useful for live recordings or heavily produced tracks
4

Preview Results

Preview every stem before you spend minutes on the full split

How to Preview:

  1. After upload processes, you’ll see waveforms for each stem
  2. Click the play button on each stem
  3. Listen to a 30-second preview of each output
  4. Scrub through to check different sections

What to Listen For:

In the isolated vocal:

  • Clarity of the voice
  • Artifacts or “watery” sounds
  • Bleed from instruments (especially drums)

In the instrumental:

  • Missing frequencies (thin sound)
  • Remnants of vocals
  • Overall balance compared to original

If results are poor:

  • Try a different neural network
  • Toggle Enhanced Processing mode
  • Check if your source file is low quality
  • Try a different version of the song
Success:

Preview Tip: Focus on the chorus and busiest sections. These are where separation is most challenging. If those sound good, the rest likely will too.

5

Process Full File

Satisfied with the preview? Time to process the complete track

  1. Click “Split in Full” button
  2. Select output format:
    • Same as input (recommended)
    • Or choose: MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, AAC, AIFF
  3. Confirm processing
  4. Wait for separation (typically 15-60 seconds)

Queue Types:

  • Fast Queue: Immediate processing (uses monthly minutes)
  • Relaxed Queue: Wait for server availability (unlimited on paid plans)
6

Download Your Stems

Get your separated audio files

Once processing completes:

  1. Download buttons appear for each stem
  2. Click to download individual stems
  3. Or use “Download All” for a zip file

File Naming:

  • original_name_vocals.mp3 - Isolated vocals
  • original_name_no_vocals.mp3 - Instrumental/karaoke version
Warning:

Note: Download requires a paid plan. Free accounts can only preview results.

Run Your First Split with LALAL.AI

You know the settings that matter now. Upload a track, pick a stem type, and listen to what v6 Andromeda pulls out of it.

Continue with LALAL.AI →

Practical Examples

The four jobs people bring to a stem splitter are karaoke tracks, remix material, drum samples, and podcast cleanup. Each one pairs a stem type with an Enhanced Processing setting. Clear Cut when bleed between stems is what would ruin the result; Deep Extraction when you want every nuance kept.

Karaoke Track

Upload song → Select 'Vocal and Instrumental' → Clear Cut → Download instrumental stem

Remix Production

Upload → 'Vocal and Instrumental' → Deep Extraction + De-Echo → Import vocals to your DAW

Drum Sampling

Upload → Select 'Drums' → Deep Extraction → Chop and sample in your sampler

Podcast Cleanup

Upload audio → 'Voice and Noise' → Aggressive noise canceling → Clean dialogue

Creating Practice Tracks

Instrument Stem to Select What You Get
Bass practice Bass Track without bass - play along on your bass
Guitar practice Electric or Acoustic Guitar Guitar-less track to jam with
Drum practice Drums Drumless track for practice sessions
Piano practice Piano Piano-less backing track

How Does Multi-Stem Separation Work?

LALAL.AI separates one element per pass, so a four-part breakdown means running the same file four times and picking a different stem type each round. Every pass charges minutes equal to the file length, and every pass hands back two files: the isolated stem and everything else.

Pass Stem Type What You Get
1st Vocal and Instrumental Acapella + karaoke track
2nd Drums Isolated drums + drumless version
3rd Bass Isolated bass + bassless version
4th Piano (if present) Isolated piano + pianoless version
Info:

Credit Usage: Each pass uses minutes equal to file length. A 4-minute song separated into 4 types uses 16 minutes total. The Pro plan’s 250 Fast Queue minutes handles roughly 60 full songs with 4-stem separation each.

How Do You Get the Best Results from LALAL.AI?

Start from a lossless source, leave v6 Andromeda selected for vocals, drums, bass, piano and guitars, and switch to v5 Perseus for synth, strings and wind. Clear Cut buys you separation at the cost of detail; Deep Extraction does the reverse. De-Echo is worth enabling on anything with reverb.

For Cleaner Vocals

Highest quality source + v6 Andromeda + De-Echo + Clear Cut mode

For Fuller Instrumentals

Deep Extraction mode + v6 Andromeda for drums, bass, piano and guitars (v5 Perseus for synth, strings and wind) + accept slight vocal remnants + lossless source

For Better Drums

Clear, punchy drums separate best. Electronic drums are cleanest; live drums may have bleed

Genre-Specific Tips:

Genre Recommended Engine Processing Mode Notes
Pop v6 Andromeda Clear Cut Best overall results
Rock v6 Andromeda Deep Extraction Preserves guitar textures
Electronic/EDM v5 Perseus (synth) / v6 Andromeda (vocals) Clear Cut Clean synth separation
Hip-Hop v6 Andromeda Clear Cut + De-Echo Clarity for vocal samples
Classical v5 Perseus (strings, wind) Deep Extraction Complex orchestral separation
Jazz v5 Perseus (instruments) Deep Extraction Natural acoustic sounds

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Problem Cause Solutions
'Watery' or phased vocals AI artifacts from complex separation Try different neural network; use higher quality source; try Deep Extraction
Thin instrumental Aggressive vocal removal took frequencies Use Deep Extraction mode; apply EQ in DAW; try v5 Perseus
Drums bleeding into vocals Transient sounds hard to separate Use Clear Cut mode; apply transient reduction in post; accept minor bleed
Processing takes very long High server load or long file Use Fast Queue for priority; process off-peak hours; split long files

Pick Your LALAL.AI Plan

Lite runs €6.75/month on annual billing with 90 Fast Queue minutes. Pro is €13.5/month with 250 minutes, the VST plugin, and Lyra offline processing.

Get Started with LALAL.AI →

FAQ

Can I use separated stems commercially?

LALAL.AI gives you rights to the processed audio, but you don't gain copyright to the original music. For covers, remixes, or samples, you still need appropriate licenses or permissions from the copyright holders.

How many minutes do I get for free?

Free accounts get 10 minutes of processing with preview capability. You can listen to separated stems but cannot download them. Paid plans start at €6.75/month (annual) for unlimited Relaxed Queue processing.

Why does my song use more minutes than its length?

Each stem separation type uses the full song length in minutes. A 4-minute song separated into vocals AND drums uses 8 minutes (4 for each separation type).

What's the difference between Fast and Relaxed queues?

Both produce identical quality. Fast Queue processes immediately but has monthly minute limits. Relaxed Queue waits for server availability (usually 5-15 minutes) but is unlimited on paid plans.

Can I separate stems from video files?

Yes. Upload MP4, MKV, or AVI files directly. LALAL.AI extracts the audio, processes it, and returns separated audio tracks.

Which LALAL.AI neural network should I use in 2026?

v6 Andromeda is the default and covers vocals, instrumental, drums, bass, piano and guitars. Switch to v5 Perseus for synthesizer, strings and wind, or when an Andromeda split doesn't sound right. v4 Orion stays available for older material, and Lynx handles the Voice and Noise stem automatically.

Is LALAL.AI better than Demucs for stem separation?

LALAL.AI and Demucs (by Meta) take different approaches. LALAL.AI offers 11 separation options, apps for web, desktop and mobile, and processing that needs no setup. Demucs is free and open-source but requires local installation and only separates into 4 stems (vocals, drums, bass, other). For most users, LALAL.AI's convenience and broader stem selection make it the better choice.

How long does LALAL.AI take to process a song?

A typical 3-4 minute song processes in 15-60 seconds on the Fast Queue. The Relaxed Queue (unlimited on paid plans) typically takes 5-15 minutes depending on server load. Processing time increases with longer files and higher-quality source formats.

Next Steps

Now that you can separate stems:

Experiment with Genres

Try different music styles to understand AI capabilities and limitations

Build Your Workflow

Create a consistent process for your specific use case

Combine with Your DAW

Import stems into your production software for creative work

Try the VST Plugin

Pro plan includes VST for direct DAW integration

Further Reading

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