Disclosure: I build StemConsole, one of the tools below. Details read from each vendor’s own pages in September 2026. Plans change, so confirm current terms before you pay.
Why free splitters leave the guitar in “other”
A 4-stem split (vocals, drums, bass, other) is the free default almost everywhere, including StemConsole’s Basic Split. It is built for karaoke tracks, acapellas and drumless practice. Everything that is not a voice, a drum or a bass goes into one “other” stem, so the guitar shares it with piano, synths, strings and pads.
A 6-stem split adds guitar and piano as their own stems. That is the step you need for learning a guitar part by ear, checking a tone, or muting the guitar to play along with the real band.
Before you pick: a 6-stem split returns every guitar in one stem, so lead, rhythm, doubled parts and acoustic strums arrive together. On most songs the lead still stands out, and a loop on the solo does the rest. If you need lead and rhythm apart, Moises Premium and MVSEP both offer a lead/rhythm guitar option.
At a glance
| Tool | Guitar stem | Free option | Runs on | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StemConsole | Yes, Full Separation (6 stems) | 4 stems free; guitar needs a credit or Pro | Browser on desktop and phone | US$1.99 per song; Pro $6.99/mo or $49/yr |
| Ultimate Vocal Remover | Yes, with the 6-stem Demucs model | Fully free, open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | $0 |
| Logic Pro Stem Splitter | Yes | Included with Logic Pro | Mac or iPad with M1 or later | Mac $199.99 one-off; iPad via Creator Studio $12.99/mo |
| Moises | Premium and Pro plans | 2 or 4 stems, 5 uploads a month | Web, desktop, iPhone, iPad, Android | Shown after login, varies by region |
| LALAL.AI | Yes, electric and acoustic | Starter: 10 minutes, no full downloads | Web, desktop, iOS, Android | Lite $7.50/mo, Pro $15/mo billed annually |
| MVSEP | Yes, incl. acoustic, electric, lead/rhythm | 50 separations a day, up to 10 min | Web | Premium is credit based |
| RipX DAW | Yes | 21-day trial of PRO | Windows, macOS | $99 or PRO $198, one-off |
| Fadr | On Fadr Plus | 4 stems, guitar stays in melodies | Web, DAW plugin on Plus | Plus $10/mo or $100/yr |
Details read from each vendor’s own pages in September 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a detail, the table says so.
The tools, one by one
1. StemConsole: quickest guitar stem in the browser
StemConsole is the tool I built. Full Separation returns six stems: vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano and other. The split opens straight into a live mixer, so you solo the guitar, pull a little of the original back in as a guide, or mute it and play the part yourself before you download anything. It runs in any modern browser, phone included, with no install and no watermark.
How: upload the song, choose Full Separation, then solo the guitar fader. A US$1.99 credit covers one song with MP3 downloads and basic looping, and never expires. Pro, at US$6.99 a month or US$49 a year, covers 100 splits a month and adds WAV and the practice room: speed from 50% to 150% with the pitch locked, key change, named loops, tap tempo and count-in. The pricing page shows the current plans and any free trial.
Where others win: no YouTube link import, no chord detection, and lead and rhythm guitar share one stem. Uploads are MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, M4A, AAC or WMA up to 200 MB.
2. Ultimate Vocal Remover: free, on your own machine
UVR is free, open-source software for Windows, macOS and Linux. Its Demucs v4 6-stem model splits a song into vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano and other, with no upload limits. You install it, pick the model and wait for the render on your own hardware; a capable GPU makes a big difference. There is no mixer, so you audition the stems in a DAW or media player.
Official reference: UVR on GitHub.
3. Logic Pro Stem Splitter: best if you already own Logic
Stem Splitter sits under the Processing menu on an audio region and extracts vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano and other. Apple added the guitar and piano stems in Logic Pro 11.2 for Mac and 2.2 for iPad. It needs a Mac or iPad with an M1 chip or later. Logic Pro for Mac is $199.99 for new users; on iPad, Logic Pro now comes with Apple Creator Studio at $12.99 a month or $129 a year.
Official reference: Apple Stem Splitter guide.
4. Moises: phone-first practice app
Moises runs on the web, desktop, iPhone, iPad and Android and adds chord detection, a speed changer and a metronome on top of separation. The free plan splits into 2 or 4 stems, 5 uploads a month on files up to 5 minutes, so the guitar stem needs Premium or Pro. Premium also offers acoustic and electric guitar, or lead and rhythm guitar, as separate stems (one guitar option per upload). Prices appear after login and vary by region. For the detail, see StemConsole vs Moises and the best Moises alternatives.
Official reference: Moises stem separation.
5. LALAL.AI: electric and acoustic guitar as separate stems
LALAL.AI offers electric guitar and acoustic guitar as separate stems, which helps on songs where both play at once. It runs on the web, desktop, iOS and Android. The free Starter plan includes 10 minutes with no full downloads. On annual billing, Lite is $7.50 a month and Pro is $15 a month. See the best LALAL.AI alternatives.
Official reference: LALAL.AI stem types and plans.
6. MVSEP: try several guitar models online
MVSEP is a web service with more than 100 separation models, including dedicated guitar models: guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and lead/rhythm guitar. You can run one song through several and keep the cleanest result. Free use allows 50 separations a day on files up to 10 minutes and 100 MB, with a low-priority queue. Premium is credit based. The interface is plain and assumes you know which model you want.
Official reference: MVSEP models.
7. RipX DAW: edit the notes inside the guitar part
RipX DAW separates a song and then shows each instrument as editable notes. You can fix, move or delete individual guitar notes, which no plain splitter can do. It is a desktop application and a bigger commitment than a splitter: RipX DAW is $99 and RipX DAW PRO $198, both one-off licences, with a 21-day free trial of PRO.
Official reference: RipX DAW.
8. Fadr: guitar stem on the paid plan
Fadr’s free plan splits into vocals, melodies, drums and bass, so the guitar sits in melodies. Fadr Plus, at $10 a month or $100 a year, adds guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, piano and more stem types, plus WAV and a DAW plugin. It leans towards producers and DJs rather than players learning a part. See the best Fadr alternatives.
Official reference: Fadr Plus features.
What to listen for in a guitar stem
I have spent 20 years mixing and mastering records, and pulling one instrument out of a finished mix is where separation tools differ most. Use the same dense song for every tool, listen on headphones, and check these four things.
- Keys bleeding into the guitar. Sustained piano chords and synth pads sit in the same range as a strummed guitar. Listen to a verse where both play and check whether the chords under the guitar belong to the keyboard.
- Low riffs split with the bass. Drop-tuned riffs and palm-muted chugs overlap the bass guitar. Weak models pull the low end of the riff into the bass stem and leave the guitar thin.
- Pick attack on distorted parts. Heavy distortion is dense and noisy. Good separation keeps the pick attack and the palm mutes; weaker results sound smeared, like the guitar is behind a curtain.
- Delay and reverb tails. Echo repeats and ambience should follow the guitar. If you hear them left behind in the “other” stem, the model has split the effect from the part.
A quick check that works in any tool: solo the “other” stem and listen for guitar left behind. Anything you hear there is missing from the guitar stem.
Learning a guitar part from the isolated stem
Solo the guitar and learn the shape before the notes: where the part sits on the neck, when it changes position, and which strings ring. Loop two bars at a time; basic looping is free in StemConsole. With Pro, drop to 60 or 70% speed with the pitch locked so fast runs separate into single notes and still match your tuning. When you have it, switch to Play with the band under I’m practising, which mutes your part and keeps the real drums, bass and vocal. More on that in isolate guitar, practise guitar with a backing track and remove guitar from a song.
Which should you pick?
- You want the guitar from one song today, on any device: StemConsole, with a US$1.99 credit.
- You are learning songs every week: StemConsole Pro in the browser, or Moises on your phone.
- You want it free and have a decent computer: Ultimate Vocal Remover with the 6-stem Demucs model.
- You already own Logic Pro on Apple silicon: Stem Splitter.
- You need lead and rhythm, or electric and acoustic, apart: Moises Premium, MVSEP or LALAL.AI.
- You want to compare several models on a hard song: MVSEP.
- You need to change notes, not just hear them: RipX DAW.
StemConsole plans: free covers vocal removal and a 4-stem split (vocals, drums, bass, other), 5 splits a month, the live mixer, a basic A/B loop, a saved library and share links. Pro is US$6.99 a month or US$49 a year and adds 6 stems with guitar and piano, WAV, 100 splits a month, and the practice room: speed from 50% to 150% without changing pitch, key change up to 12 semitones, multiple named loops, tap tempo and count-in. A US$1.99 credit buys one 6-stem split with MP3 downloads and basic A/B looping. WAV, speed, key change and multiple named loops require Pro.
Frequently asked questions
Can I isolate guitar from a song for free?
Yes. On your own computer, Ultimate Vocal Remover is free and its 6-stem Demucs model returns a guitar stem. Online, MVSEP has dedicated guitar models and a free tier of 50 separations a day. Most other free browser splitters are 4-stem, which leaves the guitar inside the other stem. StemConsole puts the guitar on its own fader for one song with a US$1.99 credit.
Why does my stem splitter put the guitar in “other”?
Most free splits are 4-stem: vocals, drums, bass and other. Guitar only gets its own stem in a 6-stem split or with a dedicated guitar model, such as StemConsole Full Separation, Logic Pro Stem Splitter or UVR with the 6-stem Demucs model.
Can AI separate lead guitar from rhythm guitar?
Some tools can. Moises Premium and MVSEP both offer a lead/rhythm guitar split. A standard 6-stem split, including StemConsole Full Separation and Logic Pro Stem Splitter, returns every guitar in one stem. LALAL.AI, Moises Premium and MVSEP can also separate electric from acoustic guitar.
Is an isolated guitar stem good enough to learn a solo?
Usually, yes. Loop a short section and slow it down with the pitch locked so fast runs separate into single notes. Check the result against the full mix at normal speed, because heavy distortion and effects can blur in the stem.
What is the best app to isolate guitar on a phone?
StemConsole runs in the phone browser with no install, and Moises has iPhone and Android apps. Both need a paid option for the guitar stem: a US$1.99 credit or Pro on StemConsole, Premium or Pro on Moises.
Dan Murtagh is a Melbourne mixing and mastering engineer with 20 years making records and a decade teaching audio. He built StemConsole as a practice tool for his students. More about Dan.