Elevayta's Extra Boy is a free plug-in that is for removing vocals from a mix. There is an Extra Boy Pro, but I haven't used it so I won't be able to compare the two. However, the free version of Extra Boy is a cool little plug-in in itself. I don't remember the process of installation, as it has been a few years since I even had this installed on my system. The plug-in is available in VST format for PC, so as long as you can meet these requirements you shouldn't encounter any issues. The interface is really simple to follow, with a series of sliders for parameters and two main modes to choose from, which are two different vocal removing algorithms. A manual most likely wasn't made, nor is one necessary.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I'm not running the Elevayta Extra Boy plug-in on my system any more, as I no longer have a compatible system to work with. I used to run it in Cubase SX on a Hewlett Packard PC lap top, while I now use Pro Tools with a Mac Book Pro. The HP computer had a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM, and was adequate enough for me to be able to run this plug-in without any issues. I first starting running it on this system about five or six years ago, but haven't used it in past four or so since I got Pro Tools.

OVERALL OPINION

Especially for a free plug-in, Elevayta’s Extra Boy vocal remover does a surprisingly good job. It doesn’t always work 100%, but it’s pretty close most of the time. It isn’t usually a clean take out, as it definitely will affect some other frequencies in there. It is indeed a free plug-in, so it is what it is. If you would have any sort of use for a vocal remover, which I really didn't, Extra Boy would be a good download for sure. Even if you just want to mess around with a vocal remover as I did, it's fun to see how close you can get without losing the music...