Stems vs. Multitracks: What's The Difference?

[@remyr5749]

5:30 - 5:44

[@lowlandprophets7831]

The World Needs more people like you.

[@grimey2888]

you da goat

[@Chasenwajaé]

Thank you sir

[@billyhamrichard]

Well done

[@societyfalls2651]

a million videos later & finally someone explains this DIRECTLY TO THE POINT. THANK YOU!

[@stevelaporta5791]

amen!

[@mauboy1983]

stems = jpg ; multitracks = psd

[@AntonPickard]

Good analogy - my take > multitracks = camera raw files, audio mix file = PSD, and yes stems = JPG

[@UltimateMTB]

Multitrack = .RAW, stems = .psd, finalized song = .jpg

[@thinkgreatmedia4393]

Stems=JPG/ MT=RAW

[@alberto9183]

multitracks = psd composed exclusively by multiple RAW photos, stems = psd composed by jpg and raw or multiple jpg

[@davidswift9120]

Liking the analogy. Maybe though...multitracks = psd layers ; stems = combined grouped psd layers. jpg = compressed mp3?

[@fdemar]

THANK YOU!!!!! I've just listened to a dozen videos claiming to explain stems, but they just repeated the word over and over without adding any clarity. Your explanation was to the point and easy to understand, thanks so much.

[@DjHousefromChicago]

Straight to the point. From many others videos that just confused me yours was well explained! 🎼🎵 Thank you!

[@JustinDAMusic]

The video was informative but not straight to the point...Took six and a half minutes when 30secs would have been enough to explain the difference.

[@protrudamus]

Noting that stems are no longer editable is a key distinction. And, you mentioned that stems could potentially be mono. Thanks for this clarification.

[@TrueSoundTV]

Not a problem!

[@Newyorkhoje]

This is the best clear and simple explanation of a confusing terminology. THanks!

[@reallyreallyfreemusic]

Thank you for this video. I had a general sense of the difference between stems and multitrack files, but know I know for sure.

[@no-yj2cf]

Same here. Never thought about it until I watched this vid. Nice to know for sure

[@TrueSoundTV]

Awesome, yeah it was a video i felt i had to make to clear things up. Thanks for watching!

[@reallyreallyfreemusic]

I hope people will stop using those terms interchangeably. Doing so only adds to the confusion.

[@TrueSoundTV]

Haha i hope so!

[@ShaelRiley]

This video cleared up a longstanding confusion for me. GG

[@TrueSoundTV]

Awesome, Glad i could help! Thanks for watching!

[@edrock26]

Excellent and highly informative video! Thank you!

[@megorra]

Not only did you greatly encourage my hope for Cakewalk Sonar resurrection, you also taught me some good stuff here too. You are my current Hero :) Thank You :)

[@johnwilliams7888]

You make a lot of sense - and explain it really clearly - good video(s).

[@TrueSoundTV]

Thank you!

[@jimbeauwalsh7912]

finally a sane answer to the question .. thank you !

[@rougeparksmarimeds492]

Best break down thank you. From Detroit Michigan 😎

[@King31395]

Excellent. Thanks for the definitive answers on which one is truly which.

[@madisonjohnson1373]

So helpful! Thank you for clarifying those words! :D

[@TrueSoundTV]

No problem, thanks for watching!

[@jonnyb2532]

XLNT. Thank you, Weezna!

[@forastero89]

Excellent explanation dude, in fact there's always a lot of confusion about this topic!

[@uryic000]

I am not trying at all to refute anything you most graciously explained, I'm just trying to grasp a clearer understanding of the parameters of what is and is not a stem. Thanks again.

[@TrueSoundTV]

Hi, so a stem is a group of same instruments but is defines by the user. So you could say that all guitar tracks would make up your guitar stem, or each individual drum element (kick, snare, tom1, tom2, hi-hat) would make up your drum stem.

[@marvo-e6p]

Thank you very much, this is the best explanation video of stems I've seen.

[@SolarHeavy]

Very well explained, and this will definitely help many people breaking into the mastering and mixing field.

[@TrueSoundTV]

Thank you, much appreciated!

[@vlakanas]

Great vid. If I need to send my tracks , to another studio, to add vocals and maybe mix it there, do I send stems? Some tracks I want to keep the processing. The effect on the track. Do I bounce it to another track, audio, and send that one? thanks a lot for the information.

[@carltonbanks194]

VERY well explained, right to the point. Easy to understand, no time wasting. 10/10 Will not need to watch again :)

[@edrock26]

Excellent information! Thank you!

[@benamos3833]

Finally!! he first video I found that actually explains what a stem is thank you. Not what to do with it why you need them but what it is

[@dwaynearthur1476]

Thasks ❤! I live in a multitrack world … loving it . 👍🏾

[@NoteBeam]

Thanks. A very clear and concise explanation!

[@StephenTJames]

Best explanation of stems ever. Finally!

[@rahdanoc]

See this is why things and definitions get messed up and passed down wrongly. Just cause it sound way cooler don't mean it's right. Stop using wrong definitions. Stems are what True Sounds said, and Multitracks are what he said too. Thank you for the truth and this video may you be blessed. 👍 Please let them know what "SUMMING" is too. What's the mixing board behind you, if you don't mind me asking please.

[@ThorsonMooreMusic]

well done my man

[@JJtoob]

Now that's a good explanation, even though I already had a good idea, this cleared up even more I didn't realize I needed to know.

[@GQueTv.]

Very helpful . Thanks

[@Skraugher]

Good vid and to the point. Also, afaik you can save individual instrument tracks similar to "stems" as far as them not being raw since each has whatever effects and eq etc you added to them. This would mainly be so levels can be adjusted for mastering, while retaining each track as you want them, as opposed to the raw files, or stems of grouped instruments. A sound engineer could eq or even add minor fx to each of these too if needed giving more control over it than full stem mastering. Master effects might not be included typically but you could apply that to each "stem" type track i suppose, though i'm not sure if the latter would overblow the master effects i.e. over duplication of an effect.

[@darrensmusicstudio]

Very good explanation to differentiate the two.

[@Ron_BWL]

Literally everywhere I see stems/multitrack shared, it's always the opposite: Guitar Hero/RB "stems" are labelled multitrack where they clearly compressed all drums/bass/guitar/keyboard/extra into mono/stereo tracks, whereas the studio "multitracks", 20-30 individual raw track, down to L/R channel for the same instrument, are labelled "stems" lol.

[@eduardohproj]

Very good.. just how I like it.. straight to the point!

[@willievaughn6474]

Thank you for such a great explanation

[@LuisaPlantierMartins]

Excellent explanation! Thanks!

[@tjmpiano]

Best explanation I have heard... Thank you

[@DallasSk8Tv]

Nicely explaining 🔥✍🏾

[@SJ-pn2zq]

Thank you so much! This really helped me out!!

[@joshuamartin6222]

What if I wanted to send the individual multitracks to a mixing engineer, but send them as the processed versions, just to have them mix it better than I could myself, but still retain the effects that I chose to use from an artistic/creative standpoint? Would it be STEMS even though they wouldn't be grouped together? (This is primarily from an electronic music perspective, because effects are a massive part of the final song)

[@tinkandotis]

Good explanation . Thanks

[@KyleWhitlock-Music]

Thanks for this wonderful explanation!

[@macthemessenger]

very helpful. Thanks.

[@lastfanstanding999]

whats a good all around song building mixer/recorder please? was thinking about the Tascam Model 24 24-Channel Multitrack Recorder with Analog Mixer and USB Interface but you cant work one track at a time, dangit!

[@lastfanstanding999]

im ignorant!!! :D

[@laurencebellinger3350]

thank you, that was my confusion as well....

[@TrueSoundTV]

Glad i could help out! Thanks for watching!

[@uryic000]

Thank you so much very informative. So to be clear, one of the primary words distinguishing a multitrack is "unprocessed"? Whereas a stem is processed. I raise the question because what If I had recorded the same drum kit you mentioned in the video. What if I wanted to record every element of the drums that you mentioned as separated tracks and wanted to remix or add and delete elements of that drum track and processed each drum part separately. Would that be a stem. ie what I'm asking is if each separate track is processed am I required for instance to have all 3 horns playing together for it to be considered a stem or could I just use 1 of the 3 recorded horns at a given time within my stem?

[@TrueSoundTV]

So typically a multitrack is unprocessed to give the mixing engineer the most flexibility when mixing. But.... If the artist was set on the eq (for example) for the kick, snare, and maybe hi-hat, the multitrack can be processed. In this case you would send the processed kick as a separate multitrack, the processed snare as a separate multitrack, and the processed hi-hat as a separate multitrack. If you wanted to send these 3 tracks as a single stem, you would send a drum stem that had a mixed kick, snare, and hi-hat as a single stereo track. Hope this helps

[@jdubbs9655]

Thank you for this video. Yes!, there is definitely a lot of confusion out there. Things get blurry when you have a massive amount of formally trained talent intermingling with street and internet trained talent. This great melting pot we all self identify with called music usually comes with loose interpretations influenced by genre and culture all in the name of self expression. It is refreshing to hear a voice of reason bubbling up to the surface and publicly identifying facts. Keep doing that voodoo that you do!!!

[@djfingersflores]

great video, thank you for posting.. this helped alot. Peace

[@everythingtakin]

Finally a good explanation. I understand now . And I forgot how smooth weeznas videos are. Thank you mr weezna. Any tips on routing in reaper for external pre or for using a reamp box. Two new things I have and cNt figure out the routing I use mostly 616 and reaper or sonar X2 thanks. Stems who woulda knew. Hmmm.

[@thespiritwalker9173]

Hi Weezna, thanks for the knowledge. Very clear and informative video. I have a question that maybe you could help answer. I am an artist myself and I create the beats, mix them, and perform the vocals over them. I like to create my beats, put effects on the individual sounds, and mix the instrumental down in FL Studio. But I can't stand the workflow of recording and mixing the vocals into the instrumental in FL Studio. I find that Pro Tools is infinitely better in it's workflow when it comes to both recording and mixing the vocals into it. My question is this, if I mix the instrumental down in FL Studio to my liking, is it detrimental in any way to then export the mixed down instrumental and port it over to Pro Tools for the recording and mixing of the vocals? Or should this process all be done in one DAW? If it isn't detrimental, should I port over stems, or perhaps even just a two-track? Sorry for the long question, lol.

[@TrueSoundTV]

Hey so yeah i do prefer using one DAW. I do all the producing, mixing, and mastering in Cakewalk Sonar Platinum. Might be worth trying?

[@massapower]

MULTI TRACKS Is the word!!😁🤘

[@MustacheVerra]

Thanks for clarifying that.

[@johnsuggs3952]

to the point ACCURATE detail. I've been recording audio for more than 35 years. And I hear terms being used interchangeably and a lot of times incorrectly. It works if everyone on the project understands the RE-interpretation and use of those terms. Where it becomes an issue is when you come across an old head like me, who knows the original use of each term and coupled with the fact that I'm a scientist (which means I'm a pain in the ass when it comes to details and accuracy), makes for a cringe session every time I hear it. Like when people say deers, irregardless or my fav, *"I could care less."* Oh really? then why don't you care less if you could? Am I being a stickler.....yes. But dammit I'm right.

[@BillHertzing]

I came to the same conclusions as in this video simply due to CPU exhaustion. I would record & freeze tracks then mix all similar instruments down and the master to a stereo file. Good to know I'm thinking about this correctly.

[@smadaman101]

It'd be easier if they didn't name it backwards lol "stem" by definition sounds more like your description of multitracks. Like the raw tracks a mix stems from

[@luistorres4343]

Thanks man!! Really helpful!

[@TrueSoundTV]

Awesome, Thanks for watching!

[@BLADE-4]

THANK YOU!! I get it now. Very good explanation

[@Studioouttakes]

Thank you, I thought I was starting to have age related memory issues.

[@Preston_M.]

Where can I get or purchase stems or isolated tracks for popular songs?

[@alexw4786]

How about using stems for editing movie/drama background music? Can you talk about that? (for exsample, music would be needed to cut by each scene duration but should have tails, and should be edited by video editor, or superviser...not composer. ) Before I saw this video I didn't know what stem means exactly and just assumed stem may be a group of tracks an family of instruments, like "Strings", "Woodwinds", "Backing Vocals"...

[@Ezriella]

Really useful, thanks!

[@TrueSoundTV]

Thanks for watching!

[@dynamorphic]

I'm a vocalist and My session musician only sends me drums and guitar STEMS. Is it okay to send a mix engineer a combination of both stems and raw multitracks?

[@uptownphotography]

Nice video and great you clarified the difference! Even though I am more of an old school analog engineer, this would be a pain to explain to people using the terms as if they were the same thing. What model/make console do you have? The set up looks real nice. All the best. (Gave you a Sub too).... Update: I saw on another video you have the A&H GL4000...I have a A&H too (GL2400) and getting ready to do a hybrid setup. It's hard to give up my vintage outboard gear, so I want to use both with a DAW...Thanks. Phil

[@paulligma6746]

This was great but I have one question. How do you export stems when you want to send it to mastering?

[@TrueSoundTV]

You can simply export the stems just like an entire track but mute or solo the tracks you don’t want to export

[@laboratorio7133]

is it better to work with stems to mix with vocals or the intrumental in wave with the vocals??

[@TryptychUK]

So basically "multitracks" are the individual channels, and "stems" are the subgroups. One also assumes that the individual channels are pre-FX, and the groups are post-FX.

[@MS-ii6no]

haw unmasking vocal with nectar 3 in stems ,where put reley ,which instrument ?

[@emreon3160]

This was a great video! I have a question; would it be smart to therefore create an extra track (channel) and apply filter, effects, reverb, and plug-ins to the raw original channel), thereby separating the raw from the tweaked, such that you can then create a stem for either of them, and send in the raw stem to the mix engineer, and perhaps send in the tweaked version stem to the master engineer?

[@ryanmcdonald2027]

is the sound for multitracks recorded with actual real instruments in the studio? like real guitars or real electronic piano keyboards etc ? or is it same as .mid or .midi midi file and is the song and the sound recorded in the studio with aritificial synthetic instruments with sound effects with software on computer made by computers ?

[@johnsuggs3952]

Generally multi-tracks are individual raw unprocessed audio representing each channel of recorded content. However, it can be MIDI tracks as well. If the sender and receiver both have the MIDI capable sound source, they can send tracks as MIDI files rather than traditional audio files. Tracks can be in audio form or they can be in MIDI form. The main thing is a track/multi-track is the individual representation of the recorded part. If it's a MIDI track of the drums, you'd include an midi file for each the kick, snare, open and closed Hats, tombs. The person getting the MIDI track would have to assign a MIDI capable sound source to the MIDI track

[@ryanmcdonald2027]

@@johnsuggs3952 ok thanks John ! :) you are a great help ! cheers ! :)

[@johnsuggs3952]

@@ryanmcdonald2027 Glad I could help brother.

[@cosmos1250]

Maybe a dumb question - I'm just wondering what would be the point of removing all your effects in your Multitracks for someone else to Mix - How would the Mastering Engineer then know where to add Reverb and other effects, the way you wanted it to be while Producing - or would that simply be a point of communication between Producer and Mastering Engineer?

[@glendalaston1054]

1 artist can let 5 different engineers work on the same project with options,. different ears & different ideas.... all about that $$$$ if ya dig.

[@natanunorthodox]

Well can't you just make individual multi tracks like a kick, snare and hi hat all seperate like, kick track 1, snare track 2 and hi hat track 3. Isn't that the same as three stems? This is where I get confused because you can put effects and panning etc on multi tracks too, so what's the difference if I do it with stems? Can't the engineer or just any person go in and take out the effects for the raw sound on each of them? I have been confused with this for a long time now. Is there anywhere that you can guide me to understand this whole thing alot better, like what's the difference betweebmn a sampler with tracks and a multi track recorder? How are they different? I don't understand? Can't all the same things be accomplished?

[@natanunorthodox]

Can stems or tracks that have been put into a wav file or mp3 without using a daw, be opened in a daw? Say that you put your tracks or stems into a file that you did not do with a daw, can you take that file and open it in any daw? This is very confusing, because I am trying to mix and master my music in a stand alone unit like an mpc live or mpc one, and I want to save my projects and turn them into stem/ track outs without having to use a daw whatsoever? How can I do that, but still, if someone wants those files, and be able to open them on their daw, how would that be accomplished, or can any type of wav or mp3 file be opened anywhere or in anything? I have did so much research on this and nobody can give me an answer because everybody takes their stems or tracks and uses a daw to explode them or track them out. How can I do this without a daw, but still be able to open up my song files in a daw if need be for other musicians who want to master the tracks? Anybody with any knowledge on this issue, please respond, because it's driving me mad trying to figure it out? Thanks

[@manuellayburr382]

An actual explanation!

[@anfiorsceal]

Thanks for that -yea, I'd been getting it wrong - {just the word "stem" sounds like it could be a primary clean track while "multitrack "sounds like it contains many sounds in a track.... }

[@ButcherGrindslam]

The thing you call "Stem mastering" is technically remixing as you change the relation of one group to another in some way. True mastering applies only to ONE final track.

[@nickfeathersscroogemcduck4755]

I had bought 7 beats from someone, he didn't sell me the stems, with the 7 beats. Does that mean that he ripped me off? He said that it's 2 tracks & mixed already, but now tell me that it'll cost me more to get the stems. I paid 5k, for 7 beats

[@iqbalji427]

Thanks man luv from india

[@TrueSoundTV]

Yessss! Thank you!

[@MrBryan90]

If a beat was made with a drum loop, could you still sell the beat with the drum loop as a single stem along with the remaining stem files? My only concern is if the artist needs to adjust or replace an instrument within the drum loop, they may choose not to do business again because they won't be able to modify that area of the beat... am I over thinking this?

[@crazylikethatglue6882]

Someone elsewhere suggested you can get stems from studios of popular songs. Is this true?

[@lawrencerasmus]

Thank you!

[@christiaandemarezoyens4720]

Ideally you should only use stems for TV/film final mixing (along with dialogue, fx, etc...). If you’re sending stems for an album to a mastering engineer you’re just showing him you don’t really know what you want.

[@Aezur20]

Did you draw inspiration from 'EA sports. Its in the game' for your intro?

[@thehighdeath5562]

So a stem is a the same as a bus?

[@guyonamotorcycle1]

oops... my bad. I have adjusted my definition file. ;-)

[@fletcherdesir7044]

So are Trackouts Multitracks???

[@donnawalton6206]

What if you don't have any stems

[@d.2605]

I think one HUGE thing you overlooked here is that stems are often sent to remixers and always have full LEAD TIME so they can just quickly be dropped in to almost any multitrack software...

[@TrueSoundTV]

Damon Jay I mean it’s not that I overlooked it, the video is simply about trying to explain the difference and knowing the definition of each. It wouldn’t be possible to give every example for each case

[@tito9694]

Yall say multi or multi?

[@myieshajohnson5221]

I’m trying to figure out the best way to buy a track online

[@zahcinc149]

is this your actual home studio?

[@TrueSoundTV]

Yes, this is my one and only studio. I work out of this studio full time everyday! Not only do i make these KZbin videos, but i also mix, master, produce for tv/movies, and even do full recording sessions! Thanks for watching!

[@nordic2112]

Amen!!!

[@OneStepToday]

How to isolate vocals from a song to make a remix?

[@TrueSoundTV]

guitaristmichael There is no way to do this because the vocal track is baked into the music. It is possible for you to find the separate instrumental and vocal files somewhere but depending on how old the track is it might not be available

[@stevekorte6135]

thanks for the info = good stuff..........

[@laboratorio7133]

thank you

[@LionOfKingston]

Exactly

[@jamtree9746]

Thanks - confused me as well - now I know.

[@ethanrapp8944]

Stems or busses right?

[@TrueSoundTV]

No, so stems are generally the buss outputs so its more like: 1. Stems/buss outputs 2. Multitracks

[@droppenkiken]

ST (STereo) EM (EleMents)