Getting song files onto your phone
DrumFade works on audio files saved on your phone. Songs inside a streaming app are locked and never show up in the picker. Here is the shortest route to a file, and why quality matters.
The easiest path, all on the phone
- Open 7digital or Bandcamp in your phone browser and buy the song. Qobuz works the same way.
- Pick the best quality on offer: FLAC at 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, or 320 kbps if the release is MP3 only.
- Download it. The file lands in your Downloads folder.
- Open DrumFade, tap Pick a song, and open Downloads.
Why 44.1 kHz and the best quality you can get
The separation model runs at 44.1 kHz, which is CD quality and what most download stores sell. A 44.1 kHz file goes straight in with no conversion. Anything else gets resampled by the app first, which works fine but adds nothing.
Quality matters more than you would think. Low bitrate MP3s and audio pulled from videos give the model less to work with, and the drums come out muddier. Hi-res 24-bit or 96 kHz files work, but they are converted down, so pay for 16-bit 44.1 kHz instead and keep the money.
Other routes
- Amazon. The Amazon apps cannot sell music on Android, so buy in your browser at amazon.com. Then download from music.amazon.com in the browser, not the Amazon Music app, so the file lands in Downloads where the picker can see it.
- iTunes purchases. There is no iTunes Store on Android. Download on a computer, then copy the file to the phone by USB or a cloud drive.
- CDs you own. Rip on a computer to FLAC or 320 kbps MP3, then copy the files over.
The picker cannot find the file
Look in Downloads first, then Recents. If a store saved the file inside its own app folder, download it again from the store's website in the browser instead of its app.