If I want to export a final mix of a song, and all of it’s stems at the same time, how do I do that? The normal export understandably only outputs one file, and the stem export window won’t let me export the master bus along with everything else, so do I have an option here?
I want to do this so elements like reverb and whatnot that are slightly different with every render are the same between the full track and the accompanying multitracks.
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We do not currently support that. Stem export (“file per track and time range”) and “file per time range” exports are considered two quite distinct operations (because often you want different settings for each). The purpose of each one quite different too: stem exports are typically to be able to move a session’s data conveniently to some other platform; regular export is to be able to create one or more audio files showing the current state of the whole session.
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Alright thank you. Whenever I completed a song, I tended to export the stems and master track from Reaper at the same time, master the mix itself, and then keep the multitracks in a folder close by so that if I ever needed to give someone the tracks for whatever reason, they’re just sitting there, organized and ready to go. It’s a small option that would be appreciated in the future, though I have no clue how difficult it would be to implement considering you say they’re treated as separate operations.
If you really worry about the minuscule, if any, difference in effects between the export and the stem files you really should also worry about the difference between your final listen and the export, since those are separate runs.
Also, if there actually are some (slight) audible differences there’s a 50/50 chance that the stem effects sound better…
You should do an A/B check between the master and the stems and check if you actually are able to hear any difference in the reverb tails and so on.
Chances are you won’t be able to do that, which means that you don’t have anything to worry about.
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That’s not necessarily true.
I can see a situation where you have an effect or instrument which produces a (pseudo) random result each time. This could be, for example, a vinyl simulation plugin or, more dramatically, a MIDI arpeggiator with a random setting.
In this case, a separate rendering run would produce a significantly different result.
Cheers,
Keith
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Part of my point is that if you have such an effect it will also differ from every run-though during mixing. Which means that your final mix won’t be the same as the exported file.
If you have an effect like that and need a 100% reproducible result you’d better record that result onto a separate track and use that when your mixing and exporting, instead of the entirely-random-at-every-new-run-through plugin/arpeggio.
You can create a new bus and connect the master to it (don’t select an output for the new bus). Then select that bus on stem export.
and/or
You can re-import the stems which will keep the changing elements if you want to do anything further.
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I mean that is very fair. The subtle differences are more just me being pedantic then anything else, I admit.
Hey that’s a great idea! Thanks!
I’ve mentioned this before and been dismissed, but I still don’t understand the reason to have distinct hard-coded modes for different parts of an expected workflow, that can’t be combined.
Why not have just one type of channel strip, with options for input and output channel count and everything else, and use that for busses and master too? EVERYTHING is a channel strip, with enough options to cover all of the different uses.
- Multiple “masters”? Sure! Why not? Each has its own purpose, determined by the user.
- Export just one, or several, or all, or whatever? Yes again. Likewise for where to export within a strip’s signal flow.
- Might need two or more identical export pages/tabs, each with the same set of independent options, for projects that do have a strong sense of “master” and “stems” so that both can be preserved. But they are identical and can be used for anything.
For those that are still locked into “master does this, channel strip does that, etc.”, there might be a set of buttons to preset those options, and the default project(s) might have them that way already, but it’s still a set of independent options to mix and match as needed.
Beyond simple inertia, why not do this???
It isn’t simple intertia at all. It is learning from actual workflows used to produce recorded performances over many decades.
Multiple masters? Semantically this makes no sense, since the master bus is definitionally the place where all tracks and busses send their output in order for it to be audible. If you want multiple “master-like” busses and every track & bus wired to them, you can do that.
Export just one, or several or all, whatever? You can already do this.
“Where to export within a strip’s signal flow?” Again, export is definitionally done at the outputs of a track. If you want something else, add an export bus, send to it, adjust the send position, and export the bus.