THE SHORT VERSION (Q&A)
What are stems? Stems are the individual audio files for each channel or track within your digital audio workstation (Logic, Ableton, etc.) where your music was recorded or programmed (e.g. vocal, guitar, synth, piano, bass, etc.) Some are mono, some are stereo depending on how they were processed or recorded.
How should I prepare my stems? PART 1 (EQ & Compression OFF) The most important thing is to disable all EQ and all Compression so I have more control of the tonal balance and dynamics of your tracks. This is to get you the best mix possible based on the raw material.
How should I prepare my stems? PART 2 (Reverb, Delay, Modulation) If you use Reverb, Delay or Modulation effects it is ideal to:
1) Make the effect as Dry (vs Wet) as you can be happy with
2) Send me a stem version of that track –without the effect– and one –with the effect on it. This is really important to get clear mixes using parallel processing.
How Do I Export Stems? Depends on your DAW: There are good videos on Youtube (FL Studio, Logic, Ableton, etc.) Each stem needs to be exported/bounced/rendered from the beginning of the timeline (Bar 1, Beat 1) making sure you don’t cut off the end (tails) of effects or decay of virtual instruments.
What is the proper stem file format to send you? The best format is a .wav file.
Do you include vocal tuning, drum editing? Yes, all within reason. We expect the vocal tracks to sound descent enough so that they can actually be tuned if needed while sounding natural. Drum edits of minor timing issues are totally possible and included also. (We use Melodyne for vocals and edit drums in Pro Tools).
How do I send you my stems? Wav files and include a rough mix (mp3) if you have it. Wetransfer, Google Drive or Dropbox are fine (shareable link). Please mention one reference track from an artist you like that sounds similar to your production or song if applicable or relevant.
THE LONGER VERSION (WHY)
A Little Bit Of Context
Many mixing service sites and mixing engineers need stems from your music project in order to import them into their DAW of choice for mixing and mastering. The typical stipulation is to simply export each track individually including any FX and processing that is considered part of the production, at Bar 1/Beat 1, right at the start of the timeline.
As long as it is a WAV or AIFF file that’s “good to go”. Well… it is not so simple.
Traditionally, many productions and recording sessions were done in professional studios, hopefully with great gear like Preamps and Compressors, an Analog Console and other equipment that help shape the sound in. Seasoned recording engineers understood what was needed in terms of capturing and achieving great sounding tracks that would be not only easier to work with in the mixing phase, but tracks that already possessed the sound and character that would make “the sound of the record” to a certain degree. Decisions were made beforehand (and in a professional studio they still are) in terms of how and why to track instruments in a certain way, like the microphone type and placement, type of preamp, use of compression or any other engineering or production based considerations.
Nowadays, after the digital recording revolution happened, where the technology became not only more accessible but much better each year, all kinds of musicians and creative people became able to record ideas on the fly or create interesting productions using a laptop, as soon as inspiration struck. This was a good thing of course, it allowed us to have an explosion of music that we love and enjoy everyday.
In addition to this, musicians and artists, whether they use Logic Pro, Ableton, FL Studio, Garageband, Bitwig, Luna, Reaper, etc. have at their disposal a decent number of FXs, processes a tools that make sense from a production standpoint but that sometimes may become a big hurdle in the mixing process.
There are a few culprits, but do not stress, do not fear, we’re here for you 😃!
If you aren’t aware of all these technical considerations, the following section will tell you all you can do to avoid doing anything that could end up compromising the ultimate sonic quality of your productions.
So without any further ado let’s take a look at what these hurdles are and what to do about them in order to provide the best project material for the mixing process. The steps and tips listed below will help you make sure you are on the right path to achieving excellent sounding mixes for your songs or album.
HOW TO EXPORT STEMS THAT WILL GET YOU THE BEST SOUNDING MIXES
Step 1: Save and export your Rough Mix
If you have a Pro Tools or Luna session, Ableton set, Logic Pro, Bitwig Reaper. Cubase, project, etc. where you have arrived at a stage in the process where the production is finalized and the blueprint is there (although not where it needs to be sonically to compete professionally) it is good that you:
- Create a Rough Mix by exporting or bouncing it into an MP3 file (160 or 192 Kbps is enough). This is to have a reference point for your song that your mixing engineer can use.
Step 2: Save a new session, set or project version for exporting
Save a new version of your session, set or project (your song) to prepare the assets for the mixing process. This is usually a “Save as”, “Save project as”, etc. option within your DAW. You could name it as “YouSongName4Mix” or “YourSongName-Export” or anything that makes sense to you. This new saved version of the project is where you’ll be preparing and exporting the stems for mixing.
Step 3: Remove all EQ and Compression.
Yes, that’s right, it sounds radical but you are hiring a professional mixing engineer, let them have the flexibility and control of the tonal balance and dynamics of the tracks. There is no need for you to worry about trying to make tracks fit together or worry about masking. No need to EQ or to compress the heck out of a drum pad or bass, etc.
The reason why this matters is twofold:
First, it takes a lot less time to compress and EQ your project tracks as needed to make them work in the mix, and the solution is not always EQ
Second, it takes a lot more time trying to fix bad EQ (usually, too much boosting) and overcompression, and it is not ideal either. Bad EQ will make your song sound harsh many times and overcompression will kill the life out of your song because the dynamics are gone.
This is key because we do the best with the track material given to us, but if the material is compromised with bad EQ and overcompression, there is only so much we can do to salvage the material.
OUR ADVICE: Don’t take that chance, go ahead and remove all EQ and Compression and let us do that for ya! Don’t forget to remove high pass and low pass filters too!
Step 4: Identify which Delay/Reverb/Modulation effects are critical to the production of the song if any
It is normal during the production phase to come across a reverb, delay or modulation FX one likes but that isn’t quite right yet. It might be becasuse it serves as a placeholder, waiting for a better version of it, maybe it needs a different setting, character or type. If that is the case then we recommend to leave the effect out: you can disable it and have your tracks be free from any FX processing when exporting them.
Why is this important you may ask?
Fair… the issue is clarity lost in the mix (a muddy mix), caused by too much reverb, or distracting delay tails that overlap, or vocal and electric guitar tracks masked by too much of these effects. If the FX is already baked-in when you send in your tracks it is gonna be pretty hard to do something about it unless you provide the raw track without effects along with it, more about that later.
Many amateur mixes suffer from this unfortunately. To a certain degree delay effects can also create conflict when not timed with the tempo of the song, it could create distractions and diminish the impact of the material.
It is one thing if you have a song with a minimalistic arrangement and few tracks that complement each other very well in the production and in the mix. Then, using reverb to accomplish that vibe and atmosphere we like is manageable. On the other hand, if we have a busy song with many tracks that are masking each other and on top of that we use too much reverb on top of it all we end up with is a muddy and blurred mix, because the effects were baked-in.
Many considerations need to be taken when implementing reverb and delay in a mix so as to add glue and atmosphere, placement and sonic scenery, but we need to be able to control just how much of this space and time based effects are used at a given time and how that signal is blended with the original dry signal so that the mix has the effect we want while maintaining clarity, presence, punch, dynamism and a healthy phase correlation that yields mixes that sound well in all devices, whether in stereo or in mono.
You want mono compatibility (good translation to one speaker), and you want mixes that will sound well in headphones, phone speakers, bluetooth speakers, a large sound system, a club, a mall, etc. None of that is possible when your tracks are saturated with lots of reverb and modulation effects. So what do we do? Let’s look at it in the next step
Step 5: Export your tracks without the FX and with the FX if critical
This is gonna make things really work in the mix. You want to export a raw track without any processing and the same version of that track with the effect you want so both are available for the mixing process.
This is in essence parallel processing, which provides a lot of flexibility and how we reach clarity and focus on your mix while still featuring the effect.
SUPER TIP: try to choose a WET/DRY setting for Reverb/Delay/Modulation that is as dry as you can be happy with.
TIP #1: Check your virtual instruments built in Reverb/Delay/Modulation levels.
Many software instruments have built in reverbs, delay and other time based effects. Based on what was previously mentioned you’ll need to decide whether these FXs of your virtual instruments are instrumental (no pun intended) to the impact and mood of your production. If they are not you can make them as dry as you can be happy with, all this benefits a healthy mix.
TIP #2: Vocal tracks, vocal FXs and pitch edits
If vocal tracks need a little tuning here and there and you really want to feature a vocal FX then it is best to fix pitch issues either with a better recorded performance or any tool within your DAW or third party software plugin like Celemony Melodyne or Synchroarts Repitch prior to exporting a version of the vocal with the desired FX.
If you know you want your vocals to feature some delay or reverb but you need some pitch editing you can also just give us the dry vocal track without EQ, Compression and FX so we can edit the pitch first, then send it back to you so you can export it with the effect you want.
We do have a great collection of quality Reverb, Delay and Modulation effects of many types and for different applications to choose from to match your taste. You can always point us to a released song from another artist that has an effect similar to what you’d like featured in your track and we can do the best we can to recreate it.
Send us raw versions (no EQ, compression or FXs) of your vocal tracks and versions with FXs if they are essential or part of your production.
TIP #3: Bass guitar tracks
It is always useful to have both a DI version of a bass track and an amped version. If the bass was recorded directly to an audio interface with Hi-Z (“high impedance”) then be sure to include it as is, raw without processing as well as the same version with an amp modeling plugin if you’ve got one.
This allows a great deal of flexibility for parallel processing to make sure the bass can cut in the mix and work well while controlling phase issues that may arise.
SUPER TIP: try to choose a WET/DRY setting for Reverb/Delay/Modulation that is as dry as you can be happy with.
TIP #4: Electric guitar tracks/ Acoustic Instruments
This is pretty similar to bass guitar, having a DI recording along a track where a mic was placed in front of an Amp helps in the mixing process a lot.
If the guitar was recorded directly to an audio interface with Hi-Z (“high impedance”) then be sure to include it as is, raw without processing as well as the same version with an amp modeling plugin if you’ve got one chosen for your production.
Of course, if you got a perfectly recorded guitar (or bass) amp and that’s all you’ve got that is perfect, just remember the super tip.
Also send in a room mic track or a second amp mic if you like the sound of two different amps with your guitars, whatever cool stuff you are experimenting with send it, we are looking forward to hearing it.
SUPER TIP: try to choose a WET/DRY setting for Reverb/Delay/Modulation that is as dry as you can be happy with.
SUPER PRO TIP: send us a raw version of your guitar tracks (amp or no amp) and one with Effects if you are using any after the guitar was recorded in your DAW.
For Acoustic string instruments like guitar, banjo, mandolin, harp, piano (although piano is technically also percussion) it is best to have a raw track(s) without any processing (no EQ, compression or FXs). If you are set on a reverb, delay or modulation for any of these, send it in addition to the raw track.
TIP #5: Synths, Keys, Piano, Strings, Special FXs, etc.
Whether you are using analog gear, real instruments or software instruments the same is true, lots of reverb, overlapping delay or any time based effects might sound cool by themselves but they might not work too well in the context of the mix, you know the drill.
SUPER TIP: try to choose a WET/DRY setting for Reverb/Delay/Modulation that is as dry as you can be happy with.
SUPER PRO TIP: send us a raw version of your synth, keys, strings, special FXs and one with whatever Reverb, Delay, Modulation or wacky thang you got going on so we have flexibility in mixing your song.
TIP #6: Acoustic Drums and Percussion, Virtual Drums and Beats
Acoustic Drums: In terms of real acoustic drums and percussion tracked in a studio or room, all we need is raw tracks with no EQ, Compression, or FXs. If your production calls for Effects to be used at a certain point in the song then include that in addition to the raw tracks.
VST Drums: If you have a software instrument for acoustic drums it is important to watch out for MIDI note velocity inconsistencies. Many productions use electronic drum kits (e.g. Roland, Yamaha or Alesis, etc.) to record midi performances which are then used with software based drum kits like EZ Drummer, Superior Drummer, Studio Drummer, Steven Slate Drums, etc.
Very often it is pretty common to end up with some MIDI notes with very high velocity values compared to surrounding notes. This not only affects how loud certain drum hits sound but it also affects their tone and it ends up producing an unrealistic drum sound. It is great if the drumming/drummer incorporates accents and humanistic articulations but they are different from what we are talking about here. There is no way around this in the mixing phase.
The Solution: To solve this make sure to edit your MIDI drum velocities to make sure nothing gets out of control, the key is to keep it human and watch out for unnatural sounding fluctuations or contrast in the drum hits, due to large gap in note velocity values, which doesn’t happen with a real acoustic drum kit recording.
For VST Drums we need tracks with each drum element separate (snare, kick, toms, crash, ride, overheads, hi-hat, floor tom, etc.) and it is helpful to get the MIDI drum track just in case we can benefit from layering other drum sounds.
For Beats we need them raw, no effects or processing, and if you implement an effect to the beats (drum machine, step sequencer, MPC, etc.) in a part of your production send it along the raw track also.
Conclusion
And that’s a wrap, hopefully you’ll find these steps and tips helpful in preparing your projects to be professionally mixed and mastered.
The main takeaway here is that the mixing process requires careful consideration of signals flows, treatments and processes in order to reach a highly impactful and emotional mix, This has to do with dynamics, punch and energy, tonal balance, movement, space, cohesiveness (glue) and hierarchy (main and secondary players in the musical message and delivery of a song or piece of music).
In order to achieve all of this we as mixing engineers need specific track and project material specifications so that the technical aspects of the mix are taken care of. We need the right ingredients to help us create great sounding mixes that convey the message, vision and emotional context of each production.
By following these steps and tips you’ll provide us with the right ingredients to do just that.