The pros and cons of using a vocal remover in DJ sets

The barest minimum expected of a live DJ set is now at an all-time high. To create excellent set experiences, the selection and sequencing of tracks are just as equally important as sound quality.

Unfortunately, most DJs often find it difficult to seamlessly blend different songs without interrupting the tempo of the set’s vibe. Those that are better at creating seamless blends often use a vocal remover to extract vocals from songs so they can focus on the instrumentals.

While that may sound smart, there are bound to be some cons to the use of a vocal remover. In this article, we will evaluate the pros and cons that are attached to the use of vocal removers.

Pros of Using a Vocal Remover

Here are some of the major advantages of using a vocal remover.

• Focus on instrumental elements

This is the biggest selling point with vocal removers.

Naturally, blending different sounds and songs is already a tedious task. It is, therefore, completely reasonable to understand when someone finds it more confusing to seamlessly blend songs that include vocals.

When it is possible for a DJ to use a vocal remover to completely remove vocals from a song, you can focus more on the instrumental elements. This process will make it easier to seamlessly blend tracks that have complex instrumentals that would normally be overshadowed by vocals.

• Blend tracks more easily

Besides enhancing your focus on instrumentation, vocal removers make the process of blending tracks easier since it increases the number of tracks to choose from – based on matching instrumental elements.

Thus, you can easily maintain the energy and flow of the overall set – regardless of the vocal content.

• Create unique remixes

When you use vocal removers to remove the vocals from a song, you can easily remix songs by adding different instrumental elements or vocals not in the original song. If it is utilized properly, you can create a personalized experience.

Besides, DJs who use the vocal remover to create their own unique remixes of songs can easily distinguish themselves from other DJs that play the same regular songs.

• Cater to different audiences

Vocal removers can be useful for DJs who tend to cater to a wide range of audiences.

Normally, a large percentage of a DJ’s audience will most likely enjoy hearing regular music with vocals. However, that doesn’t cancel out the possibility of having to cater to some audiences that may prefer just instrumental music.

Moreover, there may be occasions where there is the need to avoid the distractions that songs with vocals can cause. In such cases, it will most likely be ideal for you to play instrumental-only versions of regular songs.

With the aid of a vocal remover, a DJ can meet these requirements and still offer an enjoyable experience for his or her audience.

Cons of Using a Vocal Remover

Here are some negatives associated with the use of vocal removers.

• Reduced sound quality

Many of the current vocal remover applications leave audible artifacts in the resulting track. Though most people may not notice the reduced quality of the sound, a trained set of ears will most likely be able to tell the difference in quality.

In the case where artifacts are very evident in the sound quality, it can have a detrimental effect on the overall quality of the set.

• Loss of emotional connection

For most people, music is a means to tap into emotions – and the lyrics of a song often play a huge part of the emotional impact.

Removing vocals from a song can ultimately tamper with the emotional connection someone has with the song since a key element in the process of conveying emotion will be missing.

• Lack of versatility

While there are some useful benefits to enjoy from using the vocal remover, they come at an expense of limiting versatility.

Generally, not all songs might work well with a vocal remover. If you have a limited set of songs that work well with a vocal remover, you may be stuck playing that same set of songs over and over.

• Not suitable for all genres

The way vocal removers work makes it impossible for them to work well with songs from every genre. Vocal removers work best with songs whose vocals can clearly be separated from their instrumentals.

If you intend to use vocal removers on songs from genres like EDM, it may not work out as well as you’d like. This is because the effects used on vocals in many songs from such genres often result in vocals that are heavily blended with the instruments.

Conclusion

Though using vocal removers has its cons, the cons may not necessarily overweigh the pros. Ultimately, your final decision will depend on what sound you prefer to play to your audience.

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