demucs for max (native version)

ableton max device for separating a clip into stems (vocals, bass, drums, other) using https://github.com/facebookresearch/demucs.

quickstart

all instructions were tested with Max 8.1 / Ableton 10.1 and will not work for earlier versions. this is beta software and may not work with all operating systems.

on windows:

if you previously set up https://github.com/diracdeltas/spleeter4max/tree/feature/native-spleeter, skip to step 4.

install ffmpeg following the instructions in https://github.com/diracdeltas/spleeter4max/wiki/Installing-ffmpeg-on-Windows.

✅ to test, run where ffmpeg in CMD.exe; it should show a location

install the latest python 3.9 windows installer from https://www.python.org/downloads/. in the installer, make sure to enable the setting that adds Python to your path and disable the "path length variable limit" option when you get to the end of the install process.

✅ to test, run python -V or py -V in CMD.exe, if there is no output or something other than Python 3.9.X then something is wrong

open windows environment variable editor and remove .JS; from PATHEXT follwing these instructions. on some systems you may need to restart for these changes to take effect.

✅ to test, run echo %pathext% in CMD.exe and make sure .JS is not there

open CMD.exe and type pip3 install demucs==3.0.4 PySoundFile (hit enter)

✅ to test, run where demucs in CMD.exe; it should show a location

on macOS:

if you previously set up https://github.com/diracdeltas/spleeter4max/tree/feature/native-spleeter, skip to step 3.

install homebrew: https://brew.sh/
open terminal and install python3 with the following commands:

brew install python@3.9
brew install ffmpeg
brew link --force python@3.9

to install demucs, enter pip3 install demucs==3.0.4 in the terminal.

✅ to test, run which demucs in CMD.exe; it should show a location

running

Note for MacOS M1 users: This device may not work if you are running Ableton in Rosetta.

unzip demucs.zip and add the demucs/ folder to your Places menu in Ableton
put demucs.amxd onto any audio channel
select any audio clip in Ableton by clicking on it
press the start button in the demucs device and wait. this will take a long time the first time, probably many minutes, so i recommend separating a short audio clip to start.
if demucs has succeeded, it should automatically open the folder containing the stems. if not you can find them in the Max device location under a directory named separated/:

troubleshooting

if you run into issues, see here for instructions to get the full error message in the Max console. you can file a bug report here.

license (MIT)

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

credits

https://github.com/facebookresearch/demucs

diracdeltas/demucs4max