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Exporting your song to stems (wet) for mix/master

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MichaelFeb 11, 2023

Hi Riley,
If you are utilising multiple 'sends', like on your mixer template for instance, and a number of your tracks are routed to these sends, how are these exported 'sends' used with the other separate instrument, drum, etc, stems? When you (or an engineer) drags all the stems into a new project I assume you also drag the sends? But the thing here is that the 'sends' are reverbs, delays, wideness, etc, linked from multiple project tracks. Is this ok for the engineer to work with, as in they are needed because it is the original sounds the way they are meant to be. Would it be better to consolidate 4 or 5 'send' stems into one and place them in line with the track stems?
Thanks,
Mike.

Replies (7)

GratuiTousStaffFeb 13, 2023

Hey Michael!

When FL Studio exports stems, it exports ALL mixer inserts.

This can be a little confusing, because you can actually be left with duplicate audio tracks, which if you use them, it will mess with your original mix! (For example if you have a "DRUMS BUS", where you routed 3 drums into it, you'll get a DRUMS BUS audio file [which you should use], but also the DRUM 1, DRUM 2, and DRUM 3 [which should not be used]).

For the send stems, I'm not sure how to best approach this, as I never send music out or receive music with stems, but I'd say it's best to have these as individual files, then you can still blend the audio in/out as desired with full flexibility..

What are your thoughts - What have you seen out there?

And.. are you getting your music mixed professionally somewhere!?

Let me know!

MichaelFeb 13, 2023

Thanks for the response Riley,
Ya, my thoughts to a large degree are similar. A bit confusing alright, but with regards to the 'sends' I was thinking leaving them separated makes more sense. But what was catching me is that if for instance you have a clap, a keys, a perc, all going into the reverb sent you hear them all in the stem when you single it out and you can't listen individually, only the wet version of the mixer track (s) its coming from.
I am not at the moment thinking of sending any beat to an engineer, no, not yet. What started all this really was that I am messing around with stem mixing and mastering my own beats to see any advantages, most notably the CPU on bigger projects. Also, the FL 21 updates imo have made this process enjoyable as you can do some manipulation in the audio stem itself.
Thanks again Riley.
Mike.

GratuiTousStaffFeb 13, 2023

Okay, well there is a difference between sending stems off for mixing, compared to "freezing a track" to lower CPU usage.

If freezing a track, then what I'd say is put that MIDI to .WAV (audio file), then just route that audio to that same mixer channel, which would already have all the sends set up!

Does that solve it for you!?

MichaelFeb 13, 2023

Yes, indeed. The freezing makes sense too. In fact its probably more practical. I think the Stem thing really is more for a stem mastering... Just to like to kind of get out of the finished project and a fresh start at the mastering stage. One of many options to explore going forward.

Thanks for your thoughts and help.
Mike.

GratuiTousStaffFeb 13, 2023

Yeah exporting to stems has a couple purposes..

For "collaborating" where others don't have the same sounds or VSTs..
Stem Mastering

In your case of wanting to export certain instruments to a .WAV file, I'd say FREEZING is the best choice.

Simply just use the same mixer insert (with effects disabled), and you should be good to go..

That's too bad you're running into CPU issues with your newer computer there.. as mentioned previously.. try to increase your buffer size when you get into the mixing/mastering, and that new computer should last you another solid 4-5 years (no problem!!!)

MichaelFeb 13, 2023

Thanks. I don't really consider it an issue to be honest. I just finished a 4 1/2 min beat and there is a lot going on in it... I am happy the PC is giving out to me (it can be a good sign of learning and hard work too, right? LOL!). But I still think it wont happen too often given the circumstances. And, as you say, there are solutions, buffer adjustment (that has worked for me), and the freezing (I need to practice that more, because it works too).

All good. Cheers,
Mike.

GratuiTousStaffFeb 13, 2023

Good stuff, good question.. and good to hear from you!

Closing this, feel free to ask another question any time! 🙂

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