post/create-stems

Split a song into vocals, drums, bass, and other stems

Send a song and choose the stems you need. Use a preset for vocals, drums, bass, guitar, and other common parts, or describe a custom sound. Your app or agent gets separate WAV files.

Get an API key View examples

How this endpoint works

Use this API to build a vocal remover, remix tool, backing-track maker, practice app, sampling workflow, or sound-removal feature. Choose a fixed 2-, 4-, 6-, or 53-stem preset for reusable output names. Use SAM Audio when the user needs to describe a less common instrument, noise, or sound.

1
Choose the stems
Select a preset or describe the instrument, voice, noise, or sound you want to isolate.
2
Wait for stem separation
Send the audio ID, save creation_id, and poll the stem-splitting job until it finishes.
3
Download separate WAV files
Download each stem separately or package the selected stems into one ZIP archive.

Common use cases

Choose this operation when it matches the source and result your workflow needs.

Build a vocal remover

Return vocal and instrumental WAV files for karaoke, remixing, practice, or sampling.

Create remix and production stems

Give users separate drums, bass, vocals, guitar, and instrument tracks inside your software.

Remove an unwanted sound

Isolate crowd noise, reverb, drums, effects, or another described sound from a recording.

Processing used by 60,000+ music makers

Results people rely on

“Neural Analog makes me feel like a monkey with an AK-47, in the best way possible”

AristA

Acapella extraction

“Love it! Makes everything crisp!”

The Grim Tower

“Sensacional”

Francisco

“Highend services!”

Tommi, Studionet

Hear stem separation results

These shared user results demonstrate stem outputs available through the same processing system.

More User Examples

Choose the stems you want

2 tracks

preset="2_tracks"

Vocals (acapella), Instrumental (karaoke version)

Parameters

model_nameModel variantstring | null

Selects the model variant used by a compatible stem preset. For 2_tracks, use deux or leap. For denoise, use denoise or denoise_debleed. For decrowd, use decrowd or decrowd_mdx. Presets without model variants ignore this field.

Allowed values

deuxDeux modelRecommendedSingle Deux vocal/instrumental separator.
leapLeap XeRuns separate Leap Xe vocal and instrumental BS-Roformer models.

4 stems

preset="4_tracks"

Bass, Drums, Vocals, Others

6 stems

preset="6_tracks"

Bass, Drums, Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Others

53 stems (MVSEP Mega)

preset="mvsep_mega_53"

Ultra-granular instrument model. Select the instruments present in your song. For higher quality results, use instrument-specialized models.

Parameters

selected_stemsInstrument stems to keepArray<string> | null

Names the instrument outputs to keep from the 53-stem model. Supported when preset is mvsep_mega_53; other presets ignore this field. The residual 'other' stem is always generated from the original audio minus the selected outputs.

Allowed values

bassBass
bass_double-bassDouble Bass
drumsDrums
drums_congasCongas
drums_hhHi-Hats
drums_kickKick
drums_percussionPercussion
drums_snareSnare
drums_tambourineTambourine
drums_timpaniTimpani
drums_tomsToms
drums_triangleTriangle
guitarGuitar
guitar_acoustic-guitarAcoustic Guitar
guitar_dobroDobro
guitar_electric-guitarElectric Guitar
guitar_banjoBanjo
guitar_mandolinMandolin
guitar_sitarSitar
guitar_ukuleleUkulele
other_accordionAccordion
other_bellsBells
other_glockenspielGlockenspiel
other_marimbaMarimba
other_wind-chimesWind Chimes
pianoPiano
piano_digital-pianoDigital Piano
piano_harpsichordHarpsichord
piano_keysKeys
piano_organOrgan
piano_synthSynth
stringsStrings
strings_bowed_stringsBowed Strings
strings_celloCello
strings_harpHarp
strings_violaViola
strings_violinViolin
vocalsVocals
vocals_back-vocalBacking Vocal
vocals_lead-vocalLead Vocal
winds_bassoonBassoon
winds_brassBrass
winds_clarinetClarinet
winds_fluteFlute
winds_french-hornFrench Horn
winds_harmonicaHarmonica
winds_oboeOboe
winds_saxophoneSaxophone
winds_tromboneTrombone
winds_trumpetTrumpet
winds_tubaTuba
winds_windWind
winds_woodwindWoodwind
otherOther

Custom Prompt

preset="custom"

Name the instrument or sound to be isolated.

Parameters

promptSound to isolatestring | null

Describe the instrument, voice, noise, or sound to isolate.

Example

"lead vocal"

promptSound promptstring | null

Describes the sound SAM Audio should isolate, for example 'lead vocal' or 'snare and kick'. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Long prompts are trimmed before validation.

Example

"lead vocal"

stereo_modeStereo handlingstring

Controls how SAM Audio processes stereo material. mono is fastest, sides_only/mid_only process one component while preserving the other, mid_sides preserves center/side detail, and left_right processes channels separately. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field.

Allowed values

mono
mid_sidesDefault
left_right
sides_only
mid_only

spansPrompt hint rangesArray<{ start: number; end: number }> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example

[{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

Speech Only

preset="custom_speech"

Remove background noise and keep only speech and talking

Parameters

promptSound promptstring | null

Example

"lead vocal"

stereo_modeStereo handlingstring

Allowed values

mono
mid_sidesDefault
left_right
sides_only
mid_only

spansPrompt hint rangesArray<{ start: number; end: number }> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example

[{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

Denoise

preset="denoise"

Remove background noise from music or vocal tracks

Parameters

model_nameModel variantstring | null

Allowed values

denoiseDenoise modelRecommendedRemoves background noise.
denoise_debleedDenoise and Debleed modelRemoves background noise and source bleed.

Fast Decrowd

preset="decrowd"

Quickly remove crowd noise from live recordings

Parameters

model_nameModel variantstring | null

Allowed values

decrowdMelband RoformerRecommendedMost recent crowd-noise separator. Runs this only on Vocals stems to get more precise results.
decrowd_mdxMDX NetOlder crowd-noise separator.

Heavy Decrowd

preset="custom_music_singing"

Use SAM Audio Large to keep music and vocals while removing crowd, noise, talking, and audience sounds

Parameters

promptSound promptstring | null

Example

"lead vocal"

stereo_modeStereo handlingstring

Allowed values

mono
mid_sidesDefault
left_right
sides_only
mid_only

spansPrompt hint rangesArray<{ start: number; end: number }> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example

[{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

Music Only (No Vocals)

preset="custom_music"

Keep the instruments and remove singing, speech, and background noise

Parameters

promptSound promptstring | null

Example

"lead vocal"

stereo_modeStereo handlingstring

Allowed values

mono
mid_sidesDefault
left_right
sides_only
mid_only

spansPrompt hint rangesArray<{ start: number; end: number }> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example

[{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

Singing Only

preset="custom_singing"

Keep the singing voice and remove instruments and ambience

Parameters

promptSound promptstring | null

Example

"lead vocal"

stereo_modeStereo handlingstring

Allowed values

mono
mid_sidesDefault
left_right
sides_only
mid_only

spansPrompt hint rangesArray<{ start: number; end: number }> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example

[{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

Lead / Backing Vocals

preset="lead_back"

Lead vocals, backing vocals

Duet Singers

preset="duet"

Singer 1, Singer 2

Main Singer

preset="custom_main_solo_singer"

Keep the main vocals and isolate backing vocals and others

Parameters

promptSound promptstring | null

Example

"lead vocal"

stereo_modeStereo handlingstring

Allowed values

mono
mid_sidesDefault
left_right
sides_only
mid_only

spansPrompt hint rangesArray<{ start: number; end: number }> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example

[{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

Isolate Drums

preset="2_tracks_drums"

No drums, Drums. Special model to separate drums from instrumental. Preserve high fullness in drums and instrumental.

5 drums tracks

preset="5_drums_tracks"

Split drums into Kick, Snare, Toms, Hi-hats, Cymbals

Isolate Any Percussion

preset="custom_remove_drums"

Remove cinematic percussions, shakers, cymbals...

Parameters

promptSound promptstring | null

Example

"lead vocal"

stereo_modeStereo handlingstring

Allowed values

mono
mid_sidesDefault
left_right
sides_only
mid_only

spansPrompt hint rangesArray<{ start: number; end: number }> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example

[{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

Dereverb

preset="dereverb"

Remove reverberation, delay, and echo

Keep Only Center Mono

preset="phantom_center"

Extracts the "phantom center", the content that should be mono in a track. Use this for: bass, kick drums, podcast voice. Removes phaser, chorus, or flanger from instrument stems. Good for mixing.

5.1 Upmix

preset="5_1_upmix"

Generate: LR (Front stereo), S (Sides stereo), LFE (Sub frequencies), C (Center front channel)

Guitar

preset="guitar"

Guitar, Other

Modern Bowed Strings

preset="modern_bowed_strings"

Strings, Other

Synth Lead

preset="synth_lead"

Synth lead, Other

Code examples

Server-side example

JavaScript (Node.js)

import { writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";

const API_URL = "https://api.neuralanalog.com";
const API_KEY = process.env.NEURALANALOG_API_KEY;

async function waitForCompletion(objectType, objectId) {
  while (true) {
    const response = await fetch(`${API_URL}/status/${objectType}/${objectId}`, {
      headers: { "X-API-Key": API_KEY },
    });
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`Status check failed with ${response.status}`);
    }

    const status = await response.json();
    if (status.is_failed) {
      throw new Error(status.error_message || `${objectType} processing failed`);
    }
    if (status.is_complete) {
      return status;
    }
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 5000));
  }
}

const requestResponse = await fetch(`${API_URL}/create-stems`, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "X-API-Key": API_KEY,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "audio_id": "6c62f8e7-02a3-48c0-a5b5-5de87ed9c31a",
  "preset": "4_tracks",
  "bit_depth": 24
}),
});
if (!requestResponse.ok) {
  throw new Error(`Stem separation request failed with ${requestResponse.status}`);
}

const result = await requestResponse.json();
const jobId = result["creation_id"];
const status = await waitForCompletion("stem_split", jobId);

for (const artifact of result["audio_stems"]) {
  const artifactId = artifact["stem_id"];
  const response = await fetch(
    `${API_URL}/download/stem/${artifactId}`,
    { headers: { "X-API-Key": API_KEY }, redirect: "follow" },
  );
  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`Download failed with ${response.status}`);
  }
  await writeFile(`${artifactId}.wav`, Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer()));
}

Parameters

Send the API key from a trusted server. Never expose it in client-side JavaScript.

JSON request body

preset

requiredstring

Selects which stems or cleanup result the separation job returns. Some presets support an additional model_name variant; incompatible variants are rejected.

"acapella""instrumental""2_tracks""2_tracks_leap""4_tracks""6_tracks""5_drums_tracks""2_tracks_drums""custom""lead_back""duet""modern_bowed_strings""guitar""synth_lead""mvsep_mega_53""denoise""denoise_debleed""dereverb""decrowd""decrowd_mdx""phantom_center""5_1_upmix"

audio_id

optionalstring | null

Source audio asset to split. Provide either audio_id or stem_id.

Example: "6c62f8e7-02a3-48c0-a5b5-5de87ed9c31a"

stem_id

optionalstring | null

Existing stem to split further. When provided with audio_id, stem_id takes priority.

Example: "abf8a992-1c4e-4935-93f0-197116e77e49"

model_name

optionalstring | null

"deux""leap""denoise""denoise_debleed""decrowd""decrowd_mdx"

bit_depth

optionalinteger

Output WAV bit depth for generated stems.

1624

Default: 24

hq_streaming_format

optionalstring

Selects the compressed format generated for browser playback and streaming alongside the WAV stem output.

"aac""mp3""flac"

Default: "aac"

prompt

optionalstring | null

Example: "lead vocal"

stereo_mode

optionalstring

"mono""mid_sides""left_right""sides_only""mid_only"

Default: "mid_sides"

spans

optionalarray<object> | null

Provides optional start and end times where SAM Audio should focus on the prompted sound. Supported when preset is custom; other stem presets ignore this field. Omit it to split without time hints.

Example: [{"end":42,"start":12.5}]

selection

optionalobject | null

Optional source region to process. When provided, the backend trims the source to this region before running separation.

Example: {"end":42,"start":12.5}

upscaled_id

optionalstring | null

Restored version to use as the stem separation source.

Example: "d66cf940-bf26-45bb-80f7-332f26b6859a"

mastered_id

optionalstring | null

Mastered version to use as the stem separation source.

Example: "f5db8e4b-2e74-4198-a8de-0c3a398620e9"

temporary_mix_key

optionalstring | null

Short-lived Current Main Mix or Current All Stems Mix R2 source key.

restoration_params

optionalobject | null

Queues restoration for generated stems as part of the same workflow. The nested restoration preset determines which nested parameters are used. Ordinary stem splitting ignores this field.

Example: {"preset":"universal_enhancer","strength":0.8}

stem_processing

optionalobject | null

Queues one operation for every generated, non-silent stem. Supports restoration, mastering, and audio-to-MIDI transcription. Omit it to return the separated stems without additional processing. restoration_params remains supported as a legacy restoration-only alias.

selected_stems

optionalarray<string> | null

Example: ["drums","vocals","bass","piano","strings","piano_synth","guitar","other"]

Successful response

200Successful Response

status

requiredstring

Status after the stem job is queued.

Example: "processing"

message

requiredstring

Human-readable queueing result.

Example: "Stem separation queued"

audio_id

requiredstring

Source audio asset ID.

Example: "6c62f8e7-02a3-48c0-a5b5-5de87ed9c31a"

user_id

requiredstring

User that owns the job.

Example: "2fe9c052-e34f-43b7-9ad5-5186d31cb7ec"

creation_id

requiredstring

Stem split job ID.

Example: "18d67d83-c9f6-4d7f-bb72-09e40c62671e"

audio_stems

optionalarray<object>

No description provided.

upscaled_audios

optionalarray<object>

No description provided.

mastered_audios

optionalarray<object>

No description provided.

transcriptions

optionalarray<object>

No description provided.

Errors

A missing or invalid X-API-Key returns an authentication error. Validation errors use the declared 422 response below.

422Validation Error

detail

optionalarray<object>

No description provided.

Next steps

poll Package stems into an archive Try the stem splitter Read the stem separation guide

How this endpoint works

Choose the stems

Wait for stem separation

Download separate WAV files

Common use cases

Build a vocal remover

Create remix and production stems

Remove an unwanted sound

Results people rely on

Hear stem separation results

Choose the stems you want

2 tracks

4 stems

6 stems

53 stems (MVSEP Mega)

Custom Prompt

Speech Only

Denoise

Fast Decrowd

Heavy Decrowd

Music Only (No Vocals)

Singing Only

Lead / Backing Vocals

Duet Singers

Main Singer

Isolate Drums

5 drums tracks

Isolate Any Percussion

Dereverb

Keep Only Center Mono

5.1 Upmix

Guitar

Modern Bowed Strings

Synth Lead

Code examples

Server-side example

Parameters

JSON request body

Successful response

Errors

Next steps