Zplane PEEL Stems — Free Download
PEEL Stems is a real-time audio plugin for separating mixed tracks into stems (drums, bass, vocals, other) directly in your DAW, enabling instant remixing, rebalancing, and refining.
Real-Time Stem Separation
PEEL Stems brings studio-grade stem separation into your DAW as an insert effect. Built on Zplane’s STEMS EFFICIENT technology, it processes mixed audio in real time with low latency, automatically compensating for any necessary read-ahead. This means you can isolate or remove instruments or vocals from a finished track without offline rendering or bouncing.
The plugin works on any track, letting you treat mixed audio as if its individual components were available. Use the power switch to mute a stem (like vocals or bass) instantly during playback, or solo a stem to extract it for sampling. All actions happen directly in your session, making creative exploration fast and intuitive.
Soundfield Display and Focus EQ
The Soundfield Display gives you a visual map of the audio, with each stem shown in its own color, revealing frequency range and stereo-field expansion. This helps you quickly identify elements like a snare or hi-hat in a dense mix. You can click and drag across the display to set a Focus Window, isolating a specific spectral or spatial area.
Using the Invert function, you can separate the audio inside the Focus Window from the rest of the mix, allowing precise processing. In compatible DAWs, the plugin can send the focus-separated audio to a second output, letting you route it to external effects—like adding reverb to just a snare or boosting a kick drum—while keeping the original track intact.
Rebalancing and Remixing Workflows
PEEL Stems excels at rebalancing existing mixes or masters. With dedicated volume controls for each stem, you can adjust levels as if you had the original multitracks, fixing issues like overly loud vocals or a buried bass without re-mixing from scratch. This is invaluable for mastering engineers and producers polishing a track.
For remixing, the plugin lets you extract drums, vocals, or other elements and drop them into your own productions. You can mute stems to create drops or breakdowns during live performance within your DAW, or isolate a single element and export it for further processing. Everything happens in real time, so you can audition ideas instantly.
Practical Applications and Routing
The plugin’s routing flexibility extends its utility. In several DAWs, you can route the focus-separated audio to external processing, enabling creative effects that follow the music. For example, you might send only the vocal stem through a delay, or only the drums to a parallel compressor, all while the original track plays.
This makes PEEL Stems a powerful tool for live remixing, quick mashups, and educational analysis. Whether you’re a DJ preparing a set, a producer sampling old records, or a teacher breaking down a mix for students, the real-time, in-DAW workflow keeps you in the creative flow without interrupting playback.
Key features
- Real-time stem separation for drums, bass, vocals, and other elements
- Soundfield Display for visual identification of stems in a mix
- Mute, solo, and rebalance stems with dedicated controls
- PEEL Focus EQ with invert function for isolating audio regions
- Second plugin output for routing separated audio to external processing in supported DAWs
- Available in VST3, AU, and AAX formats
- Compatible with Intel and M1-based Macs
Best for
Best for producers, remixers, and mastering engineers who need to quickly isolate, rebalance, or remix elements from already mixed audio. Ideal for live remixing, creating mashups, or extracting stems for sampling, all without leaving the DAW. Also useful for educational purposes in analyzing mixes.
