How toexport stems
Stems are your song split into separate audio files, one for each track. Every file starts and ends at the same point, so they line up perfectly when John loads them into a new session.
What makesa good set of stems
One file per track
Every track in your song becomes its own audio file: kick, snare, bass, each synth, each vocal.
Same start, same end
Every file starts at the very start of the song and runs to the very end, even if the part only plays for a few bars. Where a part is silent, the file is silent.
Nothing missing
Leave enough room at the end for reverb and delay tails to ring out, and send a rough mix so John can hear your version.
Export stemsfrom Ableton Live
These steps are for Live 12. Live exports every track in one go.
Select the whole song
In Arrangement View, click and drag across the timeline from the very start of the song to just after the last sound fades out.
Export Audio/Video
From the File menu choose Export Audio/Video. Shortcut: Cmd+Shift+R on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows.
All Individual Tracks
Set Rendered Track to All Individual Tracks. Live makes a separate file for each track, including return tracks.
Check the length
Check Render Start and Render Length cover the whole song, from the start to the end of the last tail.
Turn these off
Turn off Render as Loop, Convert to Mono and Normalize. Leave Include Return and Main Effects off too, so your return tracks come as their own files.
WAV, 24 bit
Turn on Encode PCM, set File Type to WAV and Bit Depth to 24 (or 32), and keep Sample Rate the same as your Set.
Export to a new folder
Give your tracks clear names first, then press Export and choose an empty folder.
Listen back
Drag a few of the files into a new Set at the same start point and play them. They should line up exactly with your song.
Zip and send
Zip the folder and send John a link from Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer, with your rough mix and the tempo of the song.
A fewthings to check
Group Tracks
If your Set has Group Tracks, Live exports each group and also each track inside it. Send them all and John will sort out which to use.
No clipping
Check that no track’s meter is hitting the top. If one is, turn that track down a little and export again.
Other software
Every music program can export stems. Look for an option to export or bounce each track as its own file, and follow the same rules: same start, same end, WAV.
Not sure if your files are right? Send them anyway, or ask first. John will tell you if anything is missing.
