Zplane has released Peel Stems 2, an update to its real-time stem separation plugin that promises significant improvements in speed, sound quality and usability over the first version.
Like its predecessor, Peel Stems 2 splits mixed audio into four stems (Drums, Bass, Vocals and Other) directly inside your DAW. Load the plugin on any track and you're given independent level controls for each stem, letting you mute, isolate or rebalance individual elements of a mix in real time, without waiting for offline processing to complete.
The headline improvement in Peel Stems 2 is speed: powered by the latest version of Zplane's proprietary separation technology, the plugin's processing latency has been reduced from 483ms to 245ms at 44.1kHz, a drop of almost 50%. (Intel Macs are still supported, with latency coming in at 385ms.)
Zplane says separation quality and clarity have been improved too, delivering cleaner stems with fewer artifacts, and the isolation slider, which fine-tunes the strength of the separation, now has a broader range and a more noticeable effect on the signal.
Elsewhere, the interface has been redesigned with new stem colours and clearer visual feedback, and the Focus EQ's Focus Frame – a spectral tool that isolates specific frequency ranges and stereo information – now displays cutoff frequencies at both ends of the spectrum.
Unlike cloud-based stem separation tools, Peel Stems 2 processes audio locally, so there's no need to upload files to external servers.
"With Peel Stems 2, we wanted to push real-time stem separation within DAW-native workflows further," Zplane CTO Tim Flohrer said in a statement. "With significantly reduced latency and improved audio quality, Peel Stems 2 represents a major step forward in stem separation technology."
Zplane's Peel Stems 2 is a one-time purchase, with no subscription or login required. Available now for macOS and Windows in VST3/AU/AAX formats, it's priced at €59 and owners of the first version can upgrade for only €19.
