ReMuse ReMuse:KIT

Too much bleed on your close mics? Channel went down during your tracking session? This clever drum unmixing app could save the day...

ReMuse:KIT is a handy standalone application from ReMuse that appears to use machine learning to identify and then separate out individual drums from bleed, or even from a full drum kit recording — the idea being that you can extract and then either manipulate the individual kit pieces, or use them as triggers alongside an original stereo recording. It is compatible with Mac and Windows machines, and is available both to rent and to buy. You’ll need an online connection for authorisation, which uses a serial number, but having done that once you’ll always be able to work offline.

Overview

Operation really couldn’t be simpler. First, you must import the drum file, and you can do this using a button and file browser, or simply by dragging the file from your OS’s file browser onto ReMuse:KIT’s GUI.

Next, using a drop‑down menu, you tell the app what is in the recording — for example, it might be an ‘image mic’ of the whole kit (a drum mix, a room mic or overheads, for example), or it might be a close mic used on the kick, snare or toms and the file includes some bleed that you wish to eliminate or attenuate. Neatly, if a drum is named in the file, it will default to what’s probably the right answer, which is a nice touch.

Finally, you decide if you’d like the app to perform a full or partial extraction: there’s a wet/dry slider on the right for this. Then just hit Go. ReMuse:KIT will do its thing, which it does admirably quickly, leaving you with a new file. By default, this will be placed in the same folder as the first file imported into the session (I noticed that if I then imported a second file from a different location, the result would appear in he same folder as the first). Happily, there’s also a settings cog on the app, and this allows you to define the folder where your results will be written.

In The Real...