Subtract one track from another

Special Interest Groups Recording Techniques
1

HI,

I have two tracks, one contains just vocals, and the other contains vocals and backing. Is it possible to end up with a track containing just the backing, by subtracting the vocal track from the other one, and how can I do it?

Thanks

Jez

2

A few more English words, please. All tracks are the same digital format? Uncompressed (WAV)? Both tracks are stereo? Do you know who did the mix and was it professionally mixed instead of just clicking on “Mix” in a program somewhere?

If it was professionally mixed, your chances of success go way down because the vocal part of the mixed performance will not be the same as the stand-alone vocal-only track.

Koz

3

If the vocal track is identical on both tracks, you can use the “invert” effect on one track (in the “effects” menu) then mix the tracks together and the inverted audio will cancel out the non-inverted version.If they are not identical then you are out of luck.