Syeda Bushra Taimur on December 15, 2025, 10:01 pm

How To Remove Midi Audio In macOS: A Complete Guide (2025)

Looking to remove MIDI audio on your Mac? It’s important to know that MIDI isn’t actual audio; it’s more like sheet music for your computer, instructing instruments which notes to play.

When people search for how to remove MIDI audio in macOS, they either want to remove unwanted Mac audio devices from the Audio MIDI Setup or remove background noise, instruments, or vocals from a MIDI-created file.

This comprehensive guide covers both scenarios step by step and introduces AI-based solutions for advanced audio editing.

What Is MIDI Audio?

We must clarify MIDI before exploring how to remove MIDI audio in macOS. The musical instructions that inform your Mac’s synthesiser or other external devices what notes to play are called MIDI.

A MIDI document contains no actual sound. It only stores musical instructions. Instead, it includes performance information like:

Notes
Durations
Velocity
Instrument commands
Play/stop messages

Because MIDI doesn’t contain real audio, you cannot “remove MIDI sound” in the usual sense. However, Mac users often face one of two practical situations when discussing eliminating MIDI audio. These scenarios appear frequently.

delete audio device

Scenario 1: Deleting unused midi device

Ghost devices, unused MIDI interfaces, or residual virtual audio drivers may be displayed in your Audio MIDI Setup window. In this situation, you want to delete unnecessary MIDI device operations or remove unwanted Mac audio devices.

Method 1: Using Audio MIDI Setup (Simple)

Open Applications → Utilities → Audio MIDI Setup.
Go to Window → Show MIDI Studio.
Identify unwanted devices (greyed-out, duplicates, or inactive).
Right-click → Remove Device.
Close and reopen the window to verify deletion.

Method 2: Manual Driver Deletion (Advanced)

Open Finder and navigate to /Library/Audio/MIDI Drivers and /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL.
Locate unnecessary .plugin, .driver, or .component files.
Drag files to the trash.
Restart your Mac to reload MIDI/audio setups.
Open Audio MIDI Setup to confirm removal.

Scenario 2: Removing Instruments or Vocals from a Track

Once a MIDI track is exported as MP3, WAV, or AAC, it becomes standard audio. Traditional EQ or phase cancellation techniques often fail to remove vocals, drums, or instruments. This is entirely normal, and it’s also why confusion occurs: at this point, the challenge is no longer about MIDI settings but about removing parts of the audio itself.

To isolate or remove instruments or vocals, you need advanced audio-separation tools capable of detecting and splitting different elements of a mix. Now that the MIDI confusion is cleared, we can move on to the real solutions.

Once MIDI tracks are exported to audio files, system cleanup alone isn’t enough. Here’s where AI-powered tools become essential.

The Real “Removal” Solutions: Remove Unwanted Mac Audio Devices

Here are two dependable ways to clean up macOS, whether you want to remove virtual drivers, purge the MIDI list, or fix ghost devices.

Method 1: Use the Fastest Method, Audio MIDI Setup

For most users, this is the simplest way to delete MIDI audio on Mac OS X. It also helps you delete entries for audio devices you no longer use.

In detail:

1. Open the Audio MIDI Setup tool

Then move to Applications → Utilities.

After that, launch the Audio MIDI Setup window.

2. Then open the MIDI Studio panel

It appears as a separate window inside the tool.

Choose Window > Show MIDI Studio from the menu bar.

3. Determine which gadgets are undesired.

Check for any “greyed-out” devices, duplicate entries, or inactive interfaces.

4. Remove or delete the unwanted gadget

Use the device’s right-click menu.

Choose “Remove Device.”

Verify the deletion.

5. Update the list

To verify the cleanup, close the window and then reopen it.

When you wish to remove corrupted MIDI settings or audio device information, this procedure works most of the time.

Method 2: The Advanced Method of Manually Erasing the Driver Files

For more persistent MIDI drivers that won’t be removed through Audio MIDI Setup, you can manually delete the driver files from your system.

Important: Don’t remove files until you are positive they are from devices you don’t want.

Step by Step:

1. Open Finder to navigate to the system library folders

Open Finders and navigate to /Library/Audio/MIDI Drivers and /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL

2. Find any MIDI or audio drivers that are not needed

These may include .plugin, .driver, or .component files associated with audio interfaces.

3. Transfer files to the trash

To manually delete audio device components, drag the files to the trash.

4. Restart your Mac

The whole MIDI and audio setup gets reloaded as a result. Restart your Mac to ensure all changes take effect.

5. Verify the modifications

Open Audio MIDI Setup again to verify the device has been removed

This step ensures everything is refreshed correctly. When deleting unused MIDI devices—especially entries that cannot be removed through standard settings, this approach becomes useful.

Your True Need Might Be Bigger

Even after removing unnecessary drivers or devices, many users come to the crucial realization that:

“I was attempting to eliminate the instruments or vocals from a song that started from a MIDI track, not to actually erase MIDI itself.”

You are not alone if this is how things are for you. When working with music that was originally MIDI but has been rendered to an audio file, many people look for ways to remove the MIDI audio in macOS.

Conventional audio editing techniques, such as EQ isolation or phase cancellation, often result in distorted sounds. Vocals, bass, drums, and piano cannot be effectively eliminated from a complicated mix using these techniques.

Why AI is essential for Audik Separation

Modern AI can detect and separate individual elements within an audio file—regardless of whether it originated as MIDI, a live recording, or another source. Advanced models analyse the entire audio spectrum and accurately isolate components such as:

Vocalists
Accompanying
Drums
Bass
Instruments

You need more than just macOS system utilities if you want to build an instrumental version or need clean stems. You require an AI-driven audio separation tool designed for actual audio, not MIDI commands.

Using AI to Eliminate Audio (The Modern Solution)

Edimakor AI Vocal Remover is the ideal tool in this situation. This program is specifically designed to extract vocals or remove background music from a track, if that’s your true motivation for looking up how to remove MIDI audio on macOS.

Edimakor AI Vocal Remover: Why Use It?

Driven by cutting-edge stem-separation AI
Ideal for Mac users
Separates the bass, drums, melody, singers, and more.
Works with video and audio files.
Produces incredibly accurate computer-generated MIDI renderings.
Offers crisp stems of studio quality.

How to Use Edimakor AI Vocal Remover in 3 Simple Steps

Step 1: Download Edimakor Vocal Remover

Download HitPaw Edimakor and click on ‘Vocal Remover’ in the Toolbox.

Step 2: Remove Vocals

Upload your video or audio file, and open the vocal remover button. Edimakor AI will detect the voice automatically. You can keep only the human voice or only the background voice.

Step 3: Exporting Your Clean Tracks

Preview the video in real time and click the “Export” button to save the video/audio.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the solution to how to remove MIDI audio in macOS isn’t one-size-fits-all. It depends on your specific goal. For managing at the system level, the integrated Audio MIDI Setup tool can assist you in removing unwanted Mac audio devices or clearing out unused MIDI entries.

To eliminate certain instruments or tracks from a MIDI song, you will require an alternative method. After a MIDI composition is converted into a standard audio file (such as MP3 or WAV), conventional editing tools typically struggle to meet needs.

This is the point at which audio separators powered by AI become relevant. Using advanced technology, these tools are capable of intelligently separating and eliminating components like vocals, drums, or melodies from a mixed track.

For precise vocal extraction, instrumental creation, and clean stem separation, modern tools such as Edimakor AI Vocal Remover streamline the process. They enable you to separate any audio into its fundamental elements, offering a clearer and more flexible mix.