Any sound engineers out there?

[RyanCahoon]

There's no perfect way to remove vocals from a track once it's been mixed down (i.e. from anything you'd get off a CD, mp3, cassette tape, etc).

The most commonly used method of remove vocals makes use of a "standard" mixing style, which leaves the vocals centered between the left and right channels, while panning the instruments. The trick is to (warning, some physics involved) invert one of the channels, then sum the channels together, letting the destructive interference get rid of the vocals. [/technical description]

The problem with this is it can also get rid of some stuff you do want, so the track may sound a little distorted. It can also not work at all, depending on how the song was originally mixed, or if the track is mono.

If you want to try this out, you can do it manually using the freely available Audacity* audio editor, using the available video guide. Alternately, there is a freely available plugin for WinAmp that will do it for you.

Good luck
--Ryan

*The Audacity site seems to be down right now, but you can still get the software here

[George A.]

I tried downloading Audacity, except when I opened the song file instead of the full song it was just a quick blip and that was it. I can't figure out what is wrong with it.

Oh well.

[RyanCahoon]

Originally Posted by George A.

I tried downloading Audacity, except when I opened the song file instead of the full song it was just a quick blip and that was it. I can't figure out what is wrong with it.

Oh well.

This happens when you try to open a format Audacity doesn't understand. There's no option available for MPEG-4 that I know of, but if you've gotten the file converted to MP3 (try www.media-convert.com if you have a decent internet connection) you should be able to open it. The one thing is you have to install the LAME MP3 encoder (as described here).

Hope that helps
--Ryan

[Madison]

Unfortunately, most tracks sound awful after canceling the vocals out because they're not mixed entirely to center. The DJ software I use on my PC has a plug-in that does this automatically and the results are usually terrible -- but it may be the best you can do.

Out of curiosity, what song are you trying to make into a karaoke track?

[George A.]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Out of curiosity, what song are you trying to make into a karaoke track?

It's all about the Pentiums, by Weird Al.