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Exporting/Bouncing with Plug-Ins & Sends?


Umsky

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Hi all,

 

I'm trying to export/bounce individual tracks with all plug-ins and bus sends on them.

In other words, exactly as they sound when played back in the original session.

 

Do the sends need to be made into tracks in the arrange and then exported/bounced themselves for this to happen?

I tried it and it worked for some of the tracks, but others didn't seem to print onto their respective sends.

 

Basically, I've mixed the tracks but would like to send them to a colleague for final tweaks and another set of ears, but I want to send them exactly as they sound now.

 

Is this possible?

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Sounds like you want to be printing stems. There are probably other methods as well, but the surest method I know of is to route the outputs of everything you want on a stem to a bus, make that bus the input of a new audio track, and then record to it. From there you just need to export the stems, and you have the added benefit of being able to proof them during recording or on playback before printing.
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  • 1 month later...
Sounds like you want to be printing stems. There are probably other methods as well, but the surest method I know of is to route the outputs of everything you want on a stem to a bus, make that bus the input of a new audio track, and then record to it. From there you just need to export the stems, and you have the added benefit of being able to proof them during recording or on playback before printing.

 

Is this really the best way? Still seems convoluted.

 

I've always put each track in solo and then exported one by one ... I never really need to do a full track, but exporting remix stems/etc, you're exporting shorter loops so this method isn't so bad.

 

The process of 'printing stems' is so easy in other DAWS, not sure why Logic doesn't have a better way. Unless it does and I don't know about it!

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It's not convoluted if you work from a template that has all the routing set up already. To clarify - printing to stems may well include summing all 53 hi string tracks to a stereo file and all 33 tracks of woodwinds to another, same for the other divisions of the orchestra plus all the melodies separately. You will not start such a project (with a usually insanely tight deadline) from an empty project, so you have put much thought into a template which makes printing stems pretty much a one-click affair.

 

Being able to proofhear is also really beneficial, you'd have to check and double check anyway before you deliver silence in a mission critical situation which will cost you likely this and certainly the following job.

 

That being said, if you're working towards stems, you will quite possibly have Summing Track Stacks of these stems already. Open the Track Stacks, so their tracks appear empty, then command-select these empty tracks, then File>Export>7 Tracks As Audiofiles and there you go.

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It's not convoluted if you work from a template that has all the routing set up already. Being able to proofhear is really beneficial, you'd have to check and double check anyway before you deliver silence in a mission critical situation which will cost you likely this and certainly the following job.

 

That being said, if you're working towards stems, you will quite possibly have Summing Track Stacks of these stems already. Open the Track Stacks, so their tracks appear empty, then command-select these empty tracks, then File>Export>7 Tracks As Audiofiles and there you go.

 

NEVER send off stems before checking them first!!! Though personally I would always do this with a new project and import the audio files I'm about to send off.

 

My projects tend to have a combination of Summing Stacks and Audio/Audio Instruments ... so yeah I guess you could sum everything and follow the method you describe.

 

But my point being, that there really should be a more straightforward way. In other DAWS it's literally two clicks and then you go make yourself a brew and come back to printed stems.

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That being said, if you're working towards stems, you will quite possibly have Summing Track Stacks of these stems already. Open the Track Stacks, so their tracks appear empty, then command-select these empty tracks, then File>Export>7 Tracks As Audiofiles and there you go.

 

Ooh I think I read about that before but hadn’t tried it myself. I frequently use summing stacks myself so I’ll have to give that a go next time, if only to experiment with it.

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there really should be a more straightforward way.

If clicking on the stems and hitting Export isn't straightforward enough, then I don't know what is.

 

Wait, so simply highlighting all your MIDI/audio regions in your tracks area and right clicking and selecting Export>Export As Audio Files will print stems? ...

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No. You're trying to export Tracks, not Regions, so you need to select the Tracks you want to export.

 

'Export All Tracks As Audio Files' will not necessarily print your mix as it is. This is all dependent on how your have your project set up.

 

To give some context, I was asked to export the tracks from an old project. I went back and (optimistically) did an 'Export All Tracks As Audio Files' hoping it would yield useable stems, but when I checked them over the levels were all over the place. Which lead me to do some digging to see if there was a better workflow ...

 

Is there any different between 'Export All Tracks As Audio Files' and highlighting all your tracks and choosing 'Export 12 (or whatever) Tracks As Audio Files'???

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In any case, *exporting Tracks* as opposed to "Bounce Project" will give you each track like it is, at the output of that very track (you can specify if that track's fader and plugins should be included or not). You will not get any processing downstream (Sends to other FX, Bus processing, Master processing). This has been discussed many times on this board.

 

Again, if your workflow regularly involves stems (like writing for film, or for music libraries) you will set up your project template accordingly so you can benefit from track stacks or busses to actual recording tracks like discussed above, and you will make clever decisions which FX returns will get included where.

 

If you want to send your stuff to a mixer to get it mixed properly, then you will not want any of your presumably lesser quality (in terms of sound and choice) FX on there anyway unless it's your signature guitar sound or whatever.

 

If it's a one-off where MOMA wants your track split up as is so they can play the maracas from the balcony, then you will patiently Bounce each track or group of tracks in solo while basking in the glow of eternal fame.

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In any case, *exporting Tracks* as opposed to "Bounce Project" will give you each track like it is, at the output of that very track (you can specify if that track's fader and plugins should be included or not). You will not get any processing downstream (Sends to other FX, Bus processing, Master processing). This has been discussed many times on this board.

 

Again, if your workflow regularly involves stems (like writing for film, or for music libraries) you will set up your project template accordingly so you can benefit from track stacks or busses to actual recording tracks like discussed above, and you will make clever decisions which FX returns will get included where.

 

If you want to send your stuff to a mixer to get it mixed properly, then you will not want any of your presumably lesser quality (in terms of sound and choice) FX on there anyway unless it's your signature guitar sound or whatever.

 

If it's a one-off where MOMA wants your track split up as is so they can play the maracas from the balcony, then you will patiently Bounce each track or group of tracks in solo while basking in the glow of eternal fame.

 

which is your convoluted way of admitting that there is in fact no easy way :-)

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We're going in circles here. You asked how to export stems, now you have two valid and straightforward ways to do it. Then you ask about exporting single elements with all their processing, and this being a rare case requires special attention.

 

'exporting single (individual) elements with all their processing' or 'printing stems' (as it was referred to at the start of this thread) was always the only question here.

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Stems never include any downstream processing, individual-elements-with-all-their-processing however, do, so there's the fundamental difference. If you don't believe me, ask anyone else working with stems.

 

Maybe with your work stems means without processing, but that's definitely not the case for everyone working with stems. Remix stems, for example, labels will always request for both 'Wet' (with processing) and 'Dry' (without) stems. And indeed this can often be the case for sample library work too, presenting 'music/inspiration' stems in both Wet and Dry formats.

 

But that's besides the point.

 

I'm not sure how you got so confused, if you read the beginning of this thread it's obvious what we're all talking about.

"I'm trying to export/bounce individual tracks with all plug-ins and bus sends on them." ....

"Sounds like you want to be printing stems." ...

"The process of 'printing stems' is so easy in other DAWS, not sure why Logic doesn't have a better way. " ...

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One last thing before I give up, though I've tried to convey it already:

 

If you regularly create stems, you set up your mix so that each stem gets its own set of plugins and sends, the returns of which will also be routed into this very stem, and can be printed (or not) into that very stem. You avoid adding FX downstream as they will not be part of any particular stem.

 

Over and out, the ground is yours.

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One last thing before I give up, though I've tried to convey it already:

 

If you regularly create stems, you set up your mix so that each stem gets its own set of plugins and sends, the returns of which will also be routed into this very stem, and can be printed (or not) into that very stem. You avoid adding FX downstream as they will not be part of any particular stem.

 

Over and out, the ground is yours.

 

Whilst this advice/workflow is appreciated. You could have simply said in your first comment, what actually took you numerous replies before you mentioned it:

(with any form of exporting tracks) ... 'You will not get any processing downstream (Sends to other FX, Bus processing, Master processing).'

 

This answered my question and confirmed what I already suspected.

 

So many thanks.

 

Likewise, gonna get back to work now :-) Have a splendid afternoon.

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i’m late returning to the conversation, and I concede that I might have used the term “stems” too generally, but I didn’t say the process was easiest, or the best way necessarily—that would be a case-by-case judgement call—but I said it was the surest, and I’d stand by that workflow. Could it be made easier? I dunno, probably. But that’s something that would take me a long time to put my trust in.
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