Nov '25 • 💎 GEMS
SUNO - instrument replacement and/or mix and master
How to take a song generated in Suno and do instrument replacement and/or mix and master. It isn't easy. There is a learning curve. There are tutorials for every aspect of this "guide".
The FREE tools --
DAW - Cakewalk by BandLab (Free, Windows) or Reaper ($60) -
Cakewalk is fully free and has a "Pro" console view similar to Cubase.
Stem Separation - Ultimate Vocal Remover 5 (Free) -
UVR5 is open-source and often produces cleaner results than paid web apps. I prefer ht_demucs_s6 as the model. There are dozens of models available in the tool for different purposes including reverb removal, vocal separation, etc. Use google and search for UVR5.
Audio Repair - Audacity (Free) -
Use the built-in "Noise Reduction" and "Click Removal" tools. Reaper also has some good Javascript based plugins that can help you with this. Steinberg SpectraLayers has a 30 day trial and can do way more advanced audio repair but it's not for the light of heart.
Audio-to-Midi - NeuralNote (Free Plugin) -
NeuralNote is a free VST that converts audio (like guitar stems) into MIDI. Reaper also has tools for this (scripts) and you could also try using ReaTune in Reaper to turn audio into MIDI events and route it to a bass instrument VST. Another tool is Steven Slate Trigger which has a free version and allows you to detect drum transients and replace the sounds with samples. It's not easy. See YouTube.
Drums - MT Power Drum Kit 2 (Free) or Steven Slate Drums 5.5 Free -
Both offer pre-processed, punchy drum kits for rock/pop at no cost. There is also Krimh Drums and other free versions of VSTs that can be used. Modo Drum Free is another one.
Bass - Ample Bass P Lite II (Free) -
Industry-standard free bass VST. Modeled on a Precision Bass. There are some other free ones as well. I like CIRCVIT BASS - which is a multiscale 5 string bass.
Guitar - Chordz (Free) + Ample Guitar M Lite (acoustic) or Spicy Guitar (acoustic) -
Chordz handles the theory/progressions; Ample Guitar handles the strumming. Electric: Impact Soundworks Shreddage Stratus Free (requires Kontakt), Strayer Guitar, Metal GTX or others.
Guitar/Bass Amp -
Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) (Free) -
Uses open-source AI models to capture real amps with indistinguishable quality. There are thousands of amps to choose from. A brand new one that I like is called Altar and it's open source as well.
Vocals - OpenUtau (free open source), AICoverGen + Ultimate RVC (free opensource), Synthesizer V Basic (free - search for "Synthesizer V Archive" in the googler), and a bunch of RVC models are available from the AI Hub discord channel or voice-models dot com, rvc-models dot com or even voice dot ai.
Mixing/Mastering - Limiter No6 + TDR Nova (Free) -
TDR Nova handles dynamic EQ; Limiter No6 handles professional loudness limiting.
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Step 1: Free Stem Separation
• Tool: Download Ultimate Vocal Remover 5 (UVR5).
• Action: Do not use the default settings. Select the MDX-Net model (specifically "UVR-MDX-NET Inst 3" or "Kim Vocal 2") or "ht_democs_s6" which I also like.
• Result: This gives you studio-quality stems (Drums, Bass, Vocals, Other) locally on your computer without a subscription. BETTER THAN MOST PAID TOOLS.
Step 2: Drum Replacement
• The Free way: Use NeuralNote or your DAW's built-in "Dynamic Split" feature.
a. Drag your Kick stem into your DAW.
b. Use "Dynamic Split" (in Reaper/Cakewalk) to create MIDI notes at every transient.
c. Assign this MIDI to the Drum VST.
d. Repeat for Snare and Toms, HiHat and cymbals (crash/ride). Youtube has many turorials.
Step 3: Bass Replacement
• Tool: NeuralNote (Plugin).
• Action: Drag your separation bass stem into NeuralNote. It will export a MIDI file of the bass line.
• Refinement: Import that MIDI onto a track with Ample Bass P Lite.
• Tip: You may need to manually adjust a few wrong notes, but it does 90% of the work for free.
Step 4: Guitar Replacement
• Analysis: Drag the "Other/Guitar" stem into NeuralNote to see the notes, or use your ear to find the root notes.
• Chords: Load Chordz (VST). Trigger full chords with single keys to figure out the progression.
• Sound: Route the MIDI to Ample Guitar M Lite (for acoustic) or a basic clean guitar signal running through Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) (for electric). NAM has thousands of free "captures" of expensive amps (Friedman, Fender, Vox) available on ToneHunt dot org
Step 5: Vocal Replacement
• Tool: Synthesizer V Studio Basic (by Dreamtonics).
• Action: Import the vocal melody MIDI (extracted via NeuralNote). Assign a free voicebank (like "Solaria Lite" or "Mai").
• Trade-off: The free version doesn't allow "Vocal Cloning" (using your own voice tone). However, for a rebuild, using a high-quality stock singer often sounds better than a rough AI clone anyway.
• You can also use any of the RVC tools that I listed and while I haven't tried voice dot ai yet, it has lots of tools listed.
Step 6: Mix/Master
• Chain: Build your own mastering chain on the "Master Bus":
a. TDR Nova (EQ): Cut mud (200-300Hz) and boost "Air" (12kHz+).
b. TDR Kotelnikov (Compressor): Gentle 1-2dB gain reduction to "glue" the mix.
c. Limiter No6 (Limiter): Increase gain until you hit -14 LUFS (use a free meter like Youlean Loudness Meter).
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Using free tools will take more work but at least now, you have a roadmap of what tools you can use.
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SUNO - instrument replacement and/or mix and master
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