Center Channel Extractor

How to extract the center channel

1. Upload a stereo track. MP3, WAV, M4A or FLAC, up to 10 minutes.
2. Press Split centre and sides. The price is on the button before it runs: 1 credit per minute of audio. New accounts get 5 credits after signing in with Google.
3. Wait a few minutes. It usually takes 1 to 3 minutes, longer when many people are using it.
4. Listen and download. You get two files: Centre and Sides. Click a reel to hear it alone, and download each as a 320 kbps MP3.

If a job fails, your credits are refunded.

What are the center and the sides?

A stereo song has a left channel and a right channel. When a sound plays at the same level in both, your brain places it in the middle, between the speakers. This is called the phantom center. Sounds that are louder in one channel, or that differ between the two, sit toward the sides.

The things in the center are usually the lead vocal, the bass, the kick drum and often the snare. The sides tend to hold stereo guitars, keyboards, pads, background vocals, reverb and wide effects.

This tool uses that layout. It pulls the phantom center into one file and the leftover into the other, based on where the sounds sit in the stereo field.

When it is useful

• Mixing and mastering study. Hear what the center carries and what the sides add.
• Karaoke-style experiments. With some songs, taking the center out leaves much of the backing music.
• Sampling. Grab the center of a record for a punchy vocal and drums blend.

Is it a vocal remover?

No, and this matters. It splits by position, not by what the sound is. A lead vocal usually sits in the center, so the Centre file often contains it, but the bass and kick are there too, and any backing vocals or reverb on the sides stay in the Sides file. Some songs have the vocal panned off-center, or are mono, where the whole mix is in the center and the split does nothing useful.

If you want the singer separated from the music, use the Vocal Remover. It identifies the voice itself rather than where it sits. This page is for when you want the stereo position split.