One of the questions we often get asked is whether it's possible to take a mixed stereo audio file and extract the separate parts from it (vocals, guitar, drums etc). Traditionally, the answer has been 'not really (although Celemony's Melodyne Editor does let you edit the individual notes of polyphonic audio files), but a new piece of software called Hit 'n' Mix purports to let you do just that.
Designed for "pro and home DJs and mashup pioneers," Hit 'n' Mix promises to let you do the following:
· Copy, move, and delete individual or whole groups of notes, even entire instrumental parts
· Change the pitch and duration of notes
· Add effects like vibrato, slide, harmony and pitch quantization
· Move the stereo position of notes (even in monophonic tracks)
· Save your remixes as MP3s and Rip files
As you can see in the video above, notes are exploded visually as they're played back, and we're also told that you can open multiple tracks at a time and replace parts from one with those from another.
Does it work? If you've got a PC, you can head over to the Hit 'n' Mix website and download the free Play version and find out for yourself. The full version costs £79.99.