How to Export Stems from Any DAW

Here you find, for each DAW, the exact steps to get your separate tracks out the way a mixing engineer needs them, taken from the official manuals of the current versions. The general rules (levels, fades, file names) are in How to Export Your Tracks for Mixing: this is the "where to click".

Rules that apply to every DAW

• One track per sound: kick, snare, hats, bass, synths, every vocal.

• All from the start of the project (bar 1), even if a sound comes in at minute two. That way I line them up without guessing.

• Vocals always dry: no autotune, reverb, delay or compression printed. If you have an effect in mind, tell me in words or send a second version with the effect, separately.

• Turn off limiters and clippers on the master.

• WAV or AIFF, 24 bit, at the project sample rate (44.1 or 48 kHz). No mp3.

• No track at 0 dB. If one clips, lower that track's volume, not the master's.

• Along with the tracks, a stereo rough mix (your working mix).

FL Studio

FL Studio exports one file per Mixer track, so the real work comes first: every instrument needs its own Mixer track, and the tracks need names (Kick, Snare, Hat...), because the file name comes from there.

1. In the Channel Rack select the channels still on the Master or sharing the same Mixer track, then in the Mixer right-click the starting track > Channel routing > Route selected channels starting from this track (Ctrl+Shift+L): each channel lands on a different Mixer track.

2. Make sure no Mixer track is muted: muted tracks are not exported.

3. File > Export > Wave file (Ctrl+R). Choose folder and name.

4. In the dialog: Mode: Song, Tail: Leave remainder (reverb and delay tails are not cut off), WAV, 24 bit, and tick Split mixer tracks. Next to it you find "Include: Master, Current": keep Master if you want the rough mix in the same pass.

5. Start. You get one file per Mixer track, all from bar 1, without the Master effects (those only go into the Master file).

Ableton Live

1. In Arrangement View select the whole arrangement from the start (Ctrl+A / Cmd+A): Live takes Render Start and Render Length from the selection.

2. On the Main track (Master before version 12) turn off limiters and clippers.

3. File > Export Audio/Video (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R).

4. Rendered Track: All Individual Tracks (or Selected Tracks Only, if you selected some tracks first). Check that Render Start is 1.1.1 and Render Length covers the whole song.

5. Include Return and Main Effects: when on, each track is exported with the return tracks it uses (the reverbs and delays on your sends) and with the Main track effects. Fine for the beat; for vocals keep the sends at zero, or export them in a second pass with the option off.

6. Render as Loop: off. Convert to Mono: off. Normalize: off. File Type: WAV, Sample Rate as the project, Bit Depth: 24.

7. Export. One file per track, named after the track, all the same length.

Logic Pro

1. Turn off limiters and clippers on the Stereo Out.

2. File > Export > All Tracks as Audio Files.

3. In the dialog: Save Format: WAVE, Bit Depth: 24 Bit. Under Range choose to extend silence to the project end, so all files have the same length (the "trim silence" option shortens them).

4. Tick Include Audio Tail (reverb tails), leave Normalize: Off and Include Volume/Pan Automation off (I redo automation in the mix). Do not tick Bypass Effect Plug-ins, unless you want everything dry.

5. Export. Logic exports every audio, software instrument and Drummer track as a separate file, from bar 1.

Watch out for busses: if you grouped several tracks on an Aux with a compressor on it, that processing does not end up in the individual track files. If it matters to you, tell me how you used it or Bounce in Place the Aux.

Pro Tools

1. If you have MIDI or instrument tracks, print them to audio first: select them, Track > Commit, entire track.

2. Decide whether to send the tracks dry or with plugins: for mixing I want them dry, so bypass the inserts (or Commit if you want to keep a treatment you like).

3. In the Edit window select from the session start to the end of the last clip, across all tracks.

4. Edit > Consolidate Clip (Opt+Shift+3): every track becomes a single clip starting from the beginning.

5. In the Clips List (on the right) select the clips you just created, then from the Clips List menu Export Clips as Files: WAV, 24 bit, session sample rate, mono or stereo depending on the track.

Studio One (now Fender Studio Pro)

From version 8 Studio One is called Fender Studio Pro and the song is called a Session; the steps are the same.

1. Check that the song's Start and End markers cover everything.

2. Turn off limiters and clippers on the Main.

3. Song > Export Stems (Session > Export Stems in Fender Studio Pro).

4. In the Sources column pick the Tracks tab and press Select All (muted tracks stay unticked: check nothing is missing). The files come out with the track inserts printed: if you want them dry, disable the inserts first.

5. Format: Wave, 24 bit, song sample rate. Export Range: Between Song Start/End Marker (Session Start/End in Fender Studio Pro). Import to Track: no.

6. OK. One file per track, all from the start, with the track name appended to the name you chose.

Cubase

1. Set the locators around the whole song: select all events (Ctrl+A / Cmd+A) and press P (Locators to Selection Range), then check that the left locator is at 1.1.1.0.

2. Turn off limiters and clippers on the Stereo Out.

3. File > Export > Audio Mixdown.

4. Under Channel Selection choose Multiple and activate in the list the audio and instrument tracks you want to export (not the Stereo Out). Cubase takes MixConsole settings and inserts into account: one file for each activated channel.

5. Export Range: Locators. File Format: Wave, 24 bit, project sample rate.

6. Under File Location use Set up Naming Scheme with the channel name, so the files are named after the tracks. Export.

Reaper

1. Select all tracks in the left panel (click the first, Shift+click the last).

2. Turn off limiters and clippers on the Master.

3. File > Render (Ctrl+Alt+R / Cmd+Opt+R).

4. Source: Stems (selected tracks): one file per selected track, post fader and with the track effects. Do not use "via master": it would go through the Master effects too.

5. Bounds: Entire project. In the file name use the $track wildcard, so each file takes its track's name.

6. Format WAV, 24 bit, project sample rate. If you use long reverbs, enable Tail and give it a few seconds.

7. Render.

GarageBand (Mac)

GarageBand has no "export separate tracks" command, but there are two ways. In both, the effects on your tracks get printed into the files: if you want dry tracks (vocals, always), disable the plugins first.

All at once, with Track Lock:

1. Right-click a track header > Configure Track Header > tick Track Lock: a padlock icon appears on every track.

2. Engage the padlock on the tracks you want to export (audio, software instruments and Drummer), then press Play: GarageBand "freezes" them, that is, it prints them to audio from the project start.

3. Quit GarageBand. In the Finder go to the project file (usually in Music > GarageBand), right-click > Show Package Contents > Media > Freeze Files: inside are the AIF files of every frozen track, all the same length.

4. Copy them to a folder, rename them after the tracks, and they are ready.

One track at a time, with solo:

1. Turn on the Cycle (the grey strip above the ruler) and stretch it from the start to the end of the song: that way every export covers the same range. To be safe, put a very short sound (a click) on bar 1 of every track: GarageBand tends to trim leading silence, and the click keeps the files aligned. I will remove it.

2. Solo the first track.

3. Share > Export Song to Disk: format WAVE, highest quality (24 bit), tick Export cycle area, and put the track name in the file name.

4. Un-solo, solo the next track, repeat.

If you have access to a Mac with Logic Pro, open the project there: Logic reads GarageBand projects and does it all in one pass with the steps above.

BandLab

1. Open the project in the BandLab Studio (browser or app).

2. Project menu in the top left > Project > Download > Tracks.

3. Choose WAV (not M4A) and press Download for each track: they all start from the project start.

4. Vocals recorded with BandLab's effects come out with the effect printed: if you can, record with the effects off or also export the vocal without them.

Before sending, a one minute check

• Open the folder: is there one file per sound? Are the vocals dry?

• Drag all the files into an empty project, aligned at the start: do they sound like your rough mix? If something is out of time, a file does not start at bar 1.

• Clear names: Kick_Title_Artist.wav, not Audio 12_bip.wav.

• Stereo rough mix in the same folder. Everything in one zip named Artist_Title_Tracks.

To send it: Smash, WeTransfer, SwissTransfer, or a Drive or Dropbox link. What else I need is in Prepara il materiale (in Italian). If your DAW is not in this list or a step does not add up, write to me and I will add it.