How to export stems for mixing

Good stems save a mixing engineer hours and save you money and back-and-forth. This checklist works in any DAW: Ableton, FL Studio, Logic, Bitwig or Cubase.

The checklist

Clean up the session: delete unused tracks and mute what is not in the song.
Take everything off the master bus: limiter, compressor, EQ and saturation. Send a bounce with your master chain as a reference if it matters to you.
Export every track or group from the same start point, bar 1, to the end of the song plus the reverb tail. Every file then lines up when it is dropped into a new session.
Export WAV at 24 bit or 32-bit float, at the sample rate of your project (44.1 or 48 kHz). No MP3.
Leave headroom: no track should clip. If the busiest stem peaks near 0 dBFS, turn the faders down before you export.
Name every file clearly and number them in order: 01 Kick, 02 Clap, 10 Bass, 20 Lead, 30 Vocal.
Add a short note: tempo, key, a reference track, and what matters most to you in the mix.

Send your stems for a mix →A hand-made mix, two rounds of revisions, WAV and MP3 back.

Effects: print them or not?

If an effect is part of the sound, like a distorted bass or a filtered lead, print it into the stem. Leave mix effects like bus compression and the master chain off. For reverb and delay, the safest is both: the dry stem plus the effect returns as their own stems, so the engineer can rebalance them.

How many stems?

Every track on its own gives the most control. If a session has a hundred tracks, group them sensibly: all kicks together, top drums, bass, chords, leads, vocals, FX. Kick and bass should always have their own stems.

Check before you send

Drop all the stems into an empty project at bar 1 and press play. If it sounds like your song, they are right. Then run your rough mix through the mix analyzer to catch clipping, phase problems and a stereo low end before the engineer does.

Check your rough mix first →Clipping, headroom, phase and low end, in your browser.

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Questions

What format should stems be in?

WAV at 24 bit or 32-bit float, at the sample rate of your project. Not MP3.

Should stems include effects?

Effects that are part of the sound, yes. Master bus processing, no. For reverb and delay, send the dry stem plus the effect as its own stem.

Do all stems need the same start?

Yes. Export every stem from bar 1, even if the sound starts later, so they line up when they are imported.

Should I normalize stems?

No. Keep the levels from your rough mix, so the balance you made comes through.