How to process a new song
Learn how to send a song to CueWee for processing — separate the instruments and generate click track and voice guide automatically.
Before you start
- You need to be signed in and have songs available on your plan (5 free songs on the trial, or the songs included in the plan you subscribed to).
- Accepted formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG.
- Per-file limit: 15 minutes in length and 150 MB in size.
💡 Tip: keep the file’s peaks below -1 dBFS. More headroom = cleaner stem separation.
Step by step
1. Open the upload page
In the app header, click Process new song (or open studio.cuewee.app/upload directly).
2. Upload the audio file
- On desktop: drag the file onto the “Drop your audio file here” area.
- Alternative: click Choose Audio File and pick it from your computer.
- On mobile: use the “Pick a song from your device” button.
CueWee analyzes the file and shows:
- File name
- Cover art (if the file has embedded artwork) or a disc icon
- Size, duration, detected key, and BPM
If you want to swap the file, click the remove button and choose another.
3. Choose the processing mode
You decide whether CueWee detects the instruments on its own or whether you pick them manually.
Automatic Mode (recommended)
The Automatic Mode toggle is on by default. CueWee analyzes the song and separates the instruments it detects — vocals, drums, bass, guitars, piano, and (on Pro/Pro Plus) any other instrument that’s present.
Use Automatic Mode when:
- You aren’t sure which instruments are in the song
- You want the most complete result possible
- You’re processing a variety of songs (studio, live, with or without vocals)
Live Recording (Pro and Pro Plus): if the song is a live recording, enable the Live Recording option — CueWee extracts crowd noise into its own stem.
Manual Mode
Turn off the Automatic Mode toggle to choose exactly which instruments you want to separate.
The instrument list appears organized by category:
- Vocals (lead, backing, male/female, choir, SATB choir…)
- Drums (full kit, or 5 separate tracks)
- Bass
- Guitars (acoustic/electric, lead/rhythm)
- Piano (acoustic, digital)
- Others (synthesizer, winds, strings, percussion…)
Use Manual Mode when:
- You know certain instruments are not in the song (e.g., an a cappella song with no instruments)
- You want to simplify the session and keep only what matters
- You want to save processing time
💡 On the Starter plan, advanced instruments appear locked. Upgrade to Pro or Pro Plus to unlock them.
Compact vs Expanded
Use the view button (top corner of the instrument selector) to switch between compact grid (more instruments per screen) and expanded list (with a description for each instrument).
4. Check your available songs
Right below, you’ll see the counter:
- Trial: “You have X songs remaining”
- Paid: “X songs remaining to process this month”
If you have no songs available, a “No Songs Available” banner appears with a link to explore the plans.
5. Start processing
Click Start Processing. You’ll see a sequence of statuses:
- Uploading… X% — file upload
- Analyzing audio… — BPM, key, and section detection
- Processing… — instrument separation in the GPU cloud
Processing takes from 30 seconds to a few minutes, depending on the song’s size and the queue. You can close the tab and come back later — when it finishes, the song will appear in your library.
6. Song ready
When processing finishes, you’re automatically redirected to the player with the song loaded. From there you can:
- Play and adjust the mix
- Edit sections on the guide track
- Create custom guides
- Edit the tempo
- Share with your band
- Export to WAV/MP3
- Extend more instruments (Pro/Pro Plus)
Common errors
- “No Songs Available” — you’ve reached the monthly limit. Wait for renewal or upgrade.
- “File too large” — compress the audio to under 150 MB or split it into parts.
- “Unsupported format” — convert it to one of the accepted formats.
- Processing error — click Try again. If it persists, write to contact@cuewee.app.