Warren...I only discovered your channel in the past 4 months. I am a 68 year old guitarist, song writer, engineer and producer. I had a home studio using Digi and Pro-Tools. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single video of yours that I have seen. But this particular video is my favorite. I have learned so much about who you are, your values, your vision and your integrity. BTW - I watched this because I have been wondering the same things about stems and tracks. I felt like I was lost in the Dark Ages. I like learning about your dance music career. I began my DJ career when Punk/New Wave hit Chicago in 1977 and expanded into Reggae, Electronica, post-punk, New Romance and 80's Dance. It was then inevitable for me to grow into House and Techno. I was fortunate enough to know and work with Frankie Knuckles, Joe Smooth and Vince Lawrence in Chicago's wild and crazy House Music scene. Today, I am retired and living on the Central Gulf Coast of Thailand playing in a band and I DJ parties and events for Expats from all over the world 🌎. I am very lucky to be able to do this and I and grateful as hell for the ability to still be so deeply involved in music. Take care Bro... if you ever make it to Thailand 🇹🇭 look me up fer sure.
100% Positivity, this is why this is my favourite channel. When I first got on to both CZcams and Facebook I made a promise to myself that I would never do negative stuff, even though I so often want to, but I've stuck to my guns and I keep it positive. Good on ya Warren, you're my role model!
New Falconer Records thanks ever so much my friend! That’s very kind of you!! I’m so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren
A *track,* sometimes called multi-tracks or individual raw audio, are the individual sounds for each channel without any processing. A *Stem* is say the drum section mixed down to two tracks/stereo. Each individual drum sound, provided they were recorded separately to their own channel/track, *IS* *NOT* sent as a separate audio file. Instead they're blended/mixed down to a single stereo that represents each section of the song. Drums, vocals, guitars. Effects processing is also included in each stem. So with sending tracks, you send the raw un-processed audio that represents each sound that was given it's own channel when it was recorded. And sending stems is sending the sections of the song. Rather than sending a kick, snare, Hi-Hat, toms tracks, you send the whole drum mix as a single mixed down audio file with effects and everything.
These points Warren is making add up to great advice on how to comport oneself in the world. His points are specific to the recording industry but apply to any industry. You could subtitle this video "How to Be a Person". Thanks as ever Warren!
That’s a good point right there! But there may be some times when you think you are giving it all away or giving too much and it’s good to weigh the situation. Sometimes people (like me) get possessive over their compositions and need a check haha
Your closing comments prove your point about being gracious and respecting your fellow musician. Thanking us for our questions is one thing but the care you take in answering them (even if you think they meander, they are always interesting and insightful) is why we love watching. Thank you Warren, for excellent advice that we can trust and means something. Rock On!
I worked and taught in Mental Health, especially psychotherapy, for over 20 years. My catch-phrase to students was...Never Assume that you know what the client means, if they are using jargon. Always, always, ALWAYS check with them to clarify exactly what they mean when they are using technical language.
I had a situation where I was approached by a person whose wife wrote poetry and wanted a certain poem set to music. I accepted the challenge and also noted that as co-writer of the song that I did not want to sign off on any copyright I'm entitled to from the get go, of which they agreed - not that it was going to be a big hit or anything. After completing the piece, of which I made amendments to the original poetry so they could be used in lyrical form (as there were no verses nor chorus or bridge - I essentially adapted the poetry to fit these qualities, at very little expense to the original work - all with the authors permission). When I finished the musical composition and recorded a demo (the demo was not the best quality) in which they were thrilled with the song, beyond there imagination. I put life into her words and so there you go. A short while later her husband calls me and tells me that they want to move forward with making a professional recording of it using some of the best local talent. Nice. They also wanted to take proceeds of what money it may make locally and donate their portion of it to a local charity. Nice. He then asked if I wanted to sell my copyright portion so they could, in essence, "give" the song to the charity so they could receive all compensation for the work for their cause. I wasn't against the charity and I would have worked something out with this gentleman but I did say that I didn't want to give up the copyright and he hung up on me and I've never spoken to him again. The song is in limbo and I feel I did the right thing because, for one, this charity may or may not be around forever. Who gets the money for the song (if it makes much) after the charity is no longer around? I wasn't against proceeds going to a charity (for a time), i was just against giving up my copyright, if indeed it made money. Also, I could control my portion of it for my needs, if needed, since I am not a rich songwriter at all. I nice dinner out at Wendy's perhaps. What say ye?
For contracts, a good way is to discuss all the details, especially consideration for both sides, and take notes. Once you have the terms worked out and noted create a simple contract. Valid contracts have EQUAL consideration. So as long as it’s not one sided no one should feel overwhelmed.
Yes!!! I’ve been so confused about stems. I’ve always seen either tracks, or multi-tracks. This whole stems thing is so new to me. Actually it’s all new to me these days. Been out of the loop for 20+ years. Going to sign up on your site now. You’ve made my day. Thanks!
Stems V. tracks - Y'all read before you get all snobbery on me. Yes, stems are the stereo files, and not just the tracks as they naturally live in your DAW. This was the first time I heard about bouncing sections into a single stem (although I am well aware that can be done. I've just heard of that as committing to a sound). Now, let's say you have a song with only four tracks in it - vocal, guitar, bass, and claves - each of those tracks can be individually bounced down to stereo stems, even though there is nothing else being added to them. An example of this is my own music. If I sent someone the actual tracks, they would be completely unusable, because of the countless cuts and edits I make on each track; however, when I bounce them down, there is a pretty stereo track that can be plugged into any applicable setting. So, yes, there can be "individual" stems (in response to someone else's comment down below), but these are the stereo (and seamless) versions of the raw tracks. Sure hope I haven't muddied the waters too much, or have spoken out of turn.
Sometimes you HAVE TO write sheet music to make the song sound great. The band that I play in has a horn section (trumpet, alto-sax and trombone) and there’s no other way to make them play well TOGETHER but to write the exact part for each one of them. Of course they all do improvise or play by ear if needed. But there has to be a written sheet music to let them do the job the best! Same goes with string section, I’m sure.
Great info about stems and one that I definitely got wrong when I first got back in to recording as everyone was using “stems” and “tracks” interchangeably.
This is another fantastic FAQ Friday and as always , I thank the PLAP crew and Warren for the opportunity to learn and share. I have had more than one client ask me for individual stems from a recording and that made sense in that all they wanted were the raw tracks but this truly can be a problem in particular when you are on a narrow deadline. Anyway, I have been recording since 1974 and sometimes think I have seen it all yet I learn something new new every time you share a video and for that and so much more, I thank you and your team for sharing invaluable time and experience.
Thanks for clarifying stems vs. tracks. I was one of the people that thought stems were individual tracks as well, and now can use more accurate verbiage when communicating.
I’ve been learning the business side of music and it can get crazy. I wished all the producers and songwriters could watch this video to learn to be fair about the splits
What a knowledgeable Production wizard with a CZcams Channel! Is there anyone with more knowledge who uploads videos? I haven't found anyone.. Not saying it's the end all be all channel.. Just saying no other channel would dare contradict what this man says
I understand what your saying but it is probably best to do the paperwork up front so that there is no confusion. However I am always happy to be right up in the action with artists making the music. Helping artists with ideas to make the song even better.
Wow its very late right now in India. Its 12 midnight. But as alwys great video. And thanks for listening to my suggestion on the t racks video. You are the only one who takes suggestions seriously
Because I started mixing in the live arena i always equated stems with the busses on my mixer. Now that Ive traded stage for studio I actually tend to still mix that way but hybrid.
You are correct, *traditionally speaking, in my opinion: the term "stems" has evolved to include full exported tracks that may be broken fragmented regions in the original session, exported OMF style to a single "file" of the track which new jacks call "stems". Traditionalist know tracks are tracks and stems are stereo sums of pre-mixed grouped track sections of the mix (drums, GTR, VOX etc), but if the kids call OMF exported files "stems" then we have to adhere that the terminology is evolving.
Thanks, I have been having a slight conversation with a few people, who claimed that Stems are the "professional" name for the individual Tracks... They might not change their belief, but at least I have been reassured that I was not wrong about the subject :)
Søren Steinmetz Interesting! Within this thread alone there are multiple different conflicting explanations!! Thanks for your marvellous comment my friend!
I really enjoyed this one, you covered some great topics especially our attitudes. Perspectives we hold mean everything to those around us. Good explanation about stems, too, I never knew about this. Right on, bro, this one goes in my favorites playlist!
i was thinking of the time when you were DJing 88 to 92 for me was high school for me and 120 minutes was my only access to decent music in montana (pre interwebs)....i do think that music would have acoustic guitar one minute heavy stuff the next ..sandwiched between depeche mode or NIN ...i heard portisead dummy and i still think its a masterpiece
Regarding songwriting splits: As Shelly Peiken wrote, if you partner writes the one line that makes a good song into a hit song then maybe a 50% split is appropriate. I guess it's the guy with the key that gets you through the door no matter how important YOU are.
On my first CD I hired a saxophonist to lay down tracks for two songs. I asked her if she had a rate and she said something like "just whatever you can. I'm willing to work within your budget." So she came to the studio, laid down great tracks and was very professional. When she left I paid her what I believe to be significantly less than she deserved. I felt awful and emailed her a message explaining that I was ignorant about such things and offered to pay her additionally. She understood and said not to worry about it but asked if I could send her a CD or two. So I sent her more than two. In future, should I insist on an agreeable payment when hiring talent?
I've never heard of this miscommunication involving tracks and stems, thanks for the heads up. BTW, stems can be any format, mono, stereo, 5.1 or even non-channelbased audio, it just refers to submixing elements that belong in the same group of instruments or whatever (in film it'd be dialog, music, FX, etc.). There are many reasons for using stems vs tracks, depending on the situation. Remixing, re-editing and mastering come to mind but I also adhere to printing stems for archival purposes. Imaging re-opening that archived ProTools session from 2001 and finding hat you don't have the old plug ins anymore or that the session isn't forward compatible enough. If you had printed stems you could just drop them into any DAW without needs for plug ins since all that was printed already. Just line them up and hit play, there's your mix ready to be re-edited, remixed, remastered or whatnot. One thing to include would be notes about master bus processing (compression, etc) because the stems won't likely have sub-master processing that would totally recreate the effects of all those tracks hitting the master bus at the same time. A little note about what type comp was used with what settings will allow you to put something roughly equivalent into the master-bus of your restored stem based session. I'd recommend to include stem print tracks in everyone's mixing template, that way you can print all stems in one pass after the mix is done. Little time spent today saves you a ton of hassles later. Sorry for sounding all grown up and stuff.
Sage advice shared in the signature, positive way that makes this such a great group! Hmm … stems v tracks. It's sort of like how Warren's using "euphemism" when he means "slang", "vernacular", or "synonym" to describe how words change meaning in practical use. A euphemism is a milder word than what is meant, or a way to politely say something that could be construed as harsh. For example, "Warren has a very unique way of using the word 'euphemism'," is a euphemistic way of pointing out what could otherwise be an embarrassingly ironic misuse of a word to describe the misuse of a word. Bottom line is, if I say, "send me some stems", I'm going to get raw tracks 99% of the time. But I'll be sure to make a clear distinction when making requests from our marvelous presenter, Mr. Huart. Love your stuff!
yay, Great information again. great to clarify these things in advance. Also, Electronic music has helped us all make major growth in Technology. I was Blessed to tour as an opening act on U2 ZOOTV tour. Was Brillant to watch it done so well. Made friends with the crew and watched them work each and every day.. Embrace the Tech into your rock. cheers, all.
(this guy) {That GUY!} Always a positive vibe coming from your answers and all your advice, even in the humble midst, admitting we are all sometimes both guys (or girls). God Bless always helps. Thanks for the channel! I was talking with my brother the other day about how we have access to such great knowledge with the advent of technology and how our children will not know a life without access to the internet. Makes me think of the importance of campfires and acoustic guitars. Sometimes life can make us (that guY!} ? How do you feel about technology and theatrical live performances like lighting synced with music tracking do you ever experience that while working?
Hi Rodney, thanks ever so much for your very kind words! I'm always so glad to be able to help in any way I can my friend! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren
I always do contracts. Publishing companies provides many of the documents needed when artists use the services. I have company contracts and terms and conditions of services.
Musician unions provide standard contracts that can be adapted by members, they also provide legal services. The recording industry is the same. You have to be able to afford it. It's important to keep copies of your work product. This includes hand written notes, copies of recorded tracks of what you contributed. If you're anxious, video document the working process, like Warren does when he does an online mix. But don't get big headed about your contribution and stressed out over documenting your work till you really need to. You don't want it to get in the way of your creativity. At the same time, the worst thing in the world is to have your years of experience taken away from you by someone in the industry who preys on folks. This industry can be brutal. Find a balance that works for you.
Traditionally we just say multi tracks and/or stems. There is a difference. OGs in music and business terminology have to keep educating newer generations to the history but some that choose to ignore that and be non-conforming come off as amateurs.
I get that all the time. I work a lot in film and music and Stems are Stems in film. If working in hip hop Stems seem to be tracks. That is in my experience.
Hi Phil, absolutely! That's my experience, unfortunately though some of the tracks are also stems haha. So you get beats that aren't separated enough to mix and vocals with effects printed on them.
@@Producelikeapro Far too often with hip hop. They go off and send me a stereo beat sometimes and I have to go in and cut in new kicks and snare just to have a bit of control. But I would say 95% of the hip hop I get they call tracks stems. But in film stems are always stems.
@@Producelikeapro Dude you do a great job of teaching. I have been doing this for over 25 years and I am always learning. I kind of wish I could go back to being an assistant again just to learn new stuff. But you fill the gap nicely sir.
Great advice! I've definitely thrown around the term "stem" myself without fully understanding it. I guess it doesn't make much sense if I'm sending a mono bass track.
I listened with great interest to your presentation today and loved it. There was a goldmine of information there and I hope everyone takes your advice to heart. I was not blinking my eyes until you said, "I even play country music." Now there was a statement that rang contrary to your proper steeping of tea!!!! JUST KIDDING! However, I am still wondering what exactly you will offer, in return, to hold my short attention span for 25 and 1/2 minutes. Again,Warren, well done and outstanding advice that I should have had many times in my 64 year music career.
Hello Warren, great topic video on collaboration FAQs. I love your approach of simple, fair, and friendly in collaboration. My take away is enjoy the project, be fair, and and don't treat people any other way than the way you want to be treated. Awesome Warren!
Hello. Yes massive attack is beautiful. And have you heard Trentmoller. Humm so good. I'm about to start experimenting with the instruments. Most sinthetizers. Also a microphone, guitar, bass, effects ... There has to be something completely different... :) Well just to interact and leave a good vibe.
It's why you're one of the best. It's a great topic ...I'm guilty as charged. I think maybe clarify ...do not assume we are all on the same playing field. I'm an electronic music too. It totally does make sense. I hate using terminology wrongly as well. Thanks again.
Hey Warren, I have been following your advice for about 3 years now and I want to thank you for all the amazing help and improvments I have seen. However, recently I have been having some troubles. I record, produce, and mix primarily hip hop and reference my tracks against Dr. Dre ussually as he has some of the best hip hop mixes that exist. I am trying to achieve the modern sound he had on Compton as well as on records like Ice Cube's Everything's Corrupt, and Eminem's Kamikaze where there is a lot of very boomy and present bass, but it isn't eating up the dynamics and clarity of the midrange. In older hip hop mixes it feels that the mid range was just louder, now everything feels more tonally balanced, more dynamic, and clearer. I am not sure how I can move toward this sound. I feel like my mixes are balanced to the point that everything sounds good together, but I end up sacrificing the clarity and presence of my mids and highs for the big boomy bass sound in the kicks. Any advice?
Old hip hop records: Record on (2" ) tape and use an old quality sound board, push those faders, the tape will compress the tracks. Push a drum machine on tape and man that sounds thick!! And tape compression makes the mids stand out warmly. Also..sticky Shed.( Look it up) .crappy tapes that lose highs...give that quality just at the right time in the tapes life..beside that..doh!! I dunno!!
@@rawkinj6609 thanks for your insight. I'm always mixing through an SSL emulation and it definitely adds to the sound. I know tape tends to be a bit more midrangey in terms of reproduction and I can definitely hear it on records from the 80's and early 90's. I know though that with Eminem in particular since the mid 2000's his engineer has printed the mix from their SSL to Pro Tools (as per a 2010 sound on sound interview with mike strange). I have heard Dre still prints to tape, but side by side the differences between Compton and Kamikaze are negligable and therefore I feel like there has to be something more to it than just the equipment. I find my mids just seem to lose a lot of their energy when I mix in heavy kicks with alot of sub material, then you add a bass to that and as most would expect the mids and highs suffer from it. On the newer records it seems like the bass is retaining much of its boom, and is the bass elements are still heavy and loud in the mix, but the midrange and highs are clearer and bite a lot more than records from 10 - 15 years ago.
I do filter my lows alot with high and low passes and my balance is good and everything fits well, but to get the boom I'm hearing I lose midrange energy, and for more midrange energy I can't get the same boom I am hearing on other records. I have tried just EQing my mids and highs up on the mix buss or in mastering and while that gives clarity it doesn't help with how energy is being sucked up by low end reproduction and I am just baffled at how good and how booming the low end is still on Dre, Em, and Cubes records without sucking so much energy out of the mix. I feel like their has to be some production, arranging, and/ or mixing tip to help get closer to the sound I am hearing from the big guys.
Wonderful FAQ Warren, Warren's Wonderful FAQ (alliteration is my life). Absolutely loved the talk about collaboration, really inspirational, Thank you so much. BTW the melody you sang when speaking of reading music was the melody to "Christmas Don't be Late" (Alvin and the Chipmonks) Thanks again!
Thank you for the terrific advice, specifically on working with other musicians. I’m not at that point in my career yet but having that in the back of my head will keep my intentions correct. Another great vid, thanks!
I liked the stuff about collaboration. Issues with credit partly came between me and a good friend. I fear collaboration for that reason but I know i need it.
FAQ question: In the era of digital everything, do you think something / anything is missing when using IRs over a mic’d up cab? I’ve been using IRs in my Axe-Fx with my favorite tube amp as a new father. I used to mic everything up but have a child now and can’t rock the house at any hour inspiration strikes. I like both ways but just wanted your opinion on what not using a mic and cab might add or subtract from the performance capture.
I'm really amazed by the confusion about the terminology shown in various posts so I'll take a crack at it again, if I may... Stems are not what people happen to call them or imagine them to be, stems are what they are and what they have been for quite some time. Stem doesn't stand for stereo, it has nothing to do with raw, unedited tracks "Stems" is a precise industry standard term have been in use across the entire audio industry for ages, first and foremost in film mixing and audio for video. "Stems" are usually part of a set of "deliverables" spelled out in great detail by the party paying for a given project. The term itself however is assumed to be unambiguous, rightfully so. So if engineer X wants to charge someone for his/ her work as a professional he/ she should know what the term means. If I'm asking a mixing engineer for stems to be sent to the mastering house I assume that he/ she knows what I'm talking about. I realize that in music production the term might be "newish" but it is clearly defined nonetheless. Elementary stuff not really open to interpretation. Sorry for being a@#l about this but imagine if we were discussing basic audio terminology and folks would start speculating that mix minus "has to do with digital vs analog because digital mixing levels are expressed with a minus in front of them and analog levels sometimes with a plus, making analog the "mix plus" or that dBFS (full scale) is the opposite of dBES (empty scale) or that foldback refers to a certain way to arrange your tie. Technical terms are what they are, look it up.
Well, I am frankly "amazed" you wrote so much about STEMS with actually saying WHAT a STEM is. Kudos mate. Perhaps you could say if you agree with p.l.a.p or not? That could be helpful.
Warren already did it in his video, but again, Stems are submixes of tracks that belong to one category , drums, guitars, keys or in film, FX, dialog, etc. These submixes should include all automation, plug ins, and associated FX returns. If you line up all the stems associated with a full mix at unity gain the result should be identical to the full mix, except for masterbus processing, that's where it can get dicey.
Warren thanks for everything.. I'm mixing the song (workday release) and I'm loving everything.. David is talented man the lyrics to the song are just wonderful and the guitars man 😄😄😄😄...will be submitting my mix soon need to download the final stems to see what I can add to the song.. Cheers Warren much love from #Africa # kenya
I have heard the term "stems" for a while now. I was never sure what it meant. I knew if had to be more than just a raw audio track. There was something more. Now I know. It is one or more tracks mixed down to a stereo pair.
QUESTION FOR FRIDAY: I track and mix in the same room. If I track drums with outboard eq on the toms, what would be the best method to dial in the eq before pressing record?
I have multiple clips in my main vocal track with basic HP EQ and Light Opto Compression ... I then 'STEM' That vocal track out at 96/24 > I have just created a vocal Stem or composite vocal track. It's not semantics.
I found a best way to mix multi track and very effective , using high pass filtering on master channel. Once you put that start going up slowly from 20hz to 100hz and so on until you hear the friquencies that needs to be filtered between 1 to 3 db each individual track sounds louder than other.. that way i am able to do leveling and eq with perfect balance... i always do only after panning ... without any fx ..keep it dry
Warren, regarding contracts...in general, a verbal agreement is better than a non-verbal one; an email is better than a verbal agreement; but a formal, written, signed and dated contract is better than all of the foregoing. If it is important, GET A CONTRACT. Period. I think that's pretty much what you said, but I thought I'd chime in. Remember, the first agreement will be the most expensive, but you can typically reuse that on future deals with only a cursory review by your attorney. Best. Jeff (20-year legal veteran)
I think playing on other peoples tracks is finding the feel of IT as honestly as you can in a way that relates to YOU. You cant have enough knowledge base of other styles/genres on which to draw from which is what I belive you were getting at. I often find my first attempts are too much and less is more and parts get honed down to what actually works rather than entirely what was in my head. This could be a product of improvising? My experience for what that's worth. :D
Warren...I only discovered your channel in the past 4 months. I am a 68 year old guitarist, song writer, engineer and producer. I had a home studio using Digi and Pro-Tools. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single video of yours that I have seen. But this particular video is my favorite. I have learned so much about who you are, your values, your vision and your integrity. BTW - I watched this because I have been wondering the same things about stems and tracks. I felt like I was lost in the Dark Ages. I like learning about your dance music career. I began my DJ career when Punk/New Wave hit Chicago in 1977 and expanded into Reggae, Electronica, post-punk, New Romance and 80's Dance. It was then inevitable for me to grow into House and Techno. I was fortunate enough to know and work with Frankie Knuckles, Joe Smooth and Vince Lawrence in Chicago's wild and crazy House Music scene. Today, I am retired and living on the Central Gulf Coast of Thailand playing in a band and I DJ parties and events for Expats from all over the world 🌎. I am very lucky to be able to do this and I and grateful as hell for the ability to still be so deeply involved in music. Take care Bro... if you ever make it to Thailand 🇹🇭 look me up fer sure.
Thanks ever so much for the wonderful comment! It’s great that we’ve had such varied careers my friends! It makes us who we are!
100% Positivity, this is why this is my favourite channel. When I first got on to both CZcams and Facebook I made a promise to myself that I would never do negative stuff, even though I so often want to, but I've stuck to my guns and I keep it positive. Good on ya Warren, you're my role model!
New Falconer Records thanks ever so much my friend! That’s very kind of you!! I’m so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren
"Only positivity" is a negative comment though. Which translates as a lie
A *track,* sometimes called multi-tracks or individual raw audio, are the individual sounds for each channel without any processing.
A *Stem* is say the drum section mixed down to two tracks/stereo. Each individual drum sound, provided they were recorded separately to their own channel/track, *IS* *NOT* sent as a separate audio file. Instead they're blended/mixed down to a single stereo that represents each section of the song. Drums, vocals, guitars. Effects processing is also included in each stem.
So with sending tracks, you send the raw un-processed audio that represents each sound that was given it's own channel when it was recorded.
And sending stems is sending the sections of the song. Rather than sending a kick, snare, Hi-Hat, toms tracks, you send the whole drum mix as a single mixed down audio file with effects and everything.
That's 💯 correct
These points Warren is making add up to great advice on how to comport oneself in the world. His points are specific to the recording industry but apply to any industry. You could subtitle this video "How to Be a Person". Thanks as ever Warren!
Brandon Kraemer wow!! Thanks ever so much my friend!!
That’s a good point right there! But there may be some times when you think you are giving it all away or giving too much and it’s good to weigh the situation. Sometimes people (like me) get possessive over their compositions and need a check haha
Noted ;)
In The Mix yes Sir! You Rock my friend!!
Your closing comments prove your point about being gracious and respecting your fellow musician. Thanking us for our questions is one thing but the care you take in answering them (even if you think they meander, they are always interesting and insightful) is why we love watching. Thank you Warren, for excellent advice that we can trust and means something. Rock On!
I worked and taught in Mental Health, especially psychotherapy, for over 20 years. My catch-phrase to students was...Never Assume that you know what the client means, if they are using jargon. Always, always, ALWAYS check with them to clarify exactly what they mean when they are using technical language.
Wow, I've been doing this for 37yrs and never heard of that terminology until now. Still learning. 👍
Hi Chris! Thanks ever so much my friend!!
I had a situation where I was approached by a person whose wife wrote poetry and wanted a certain poem set to music. I accepted the challenge and also noted that as co-writer of the song that I did not want to sign off on any copyright I'm entitled to from the get go, of which they agreed - not that it was going to be a big hit or anything. After completing the piece, of which I made amendments to the original poetry so they could be used in lyrical form (as there were no verses nor chorus or bridge - I essentially adapted the poetry to fit these qualities, at very little expense to the original work - all with the authors permission). When I finished the musical composition and recorded a demo (the demo was not the best quality) in which they were thrilled with the song, beyond there imagination. I put life into her words and so there you go. A short while later her husband calls me and tells me that they want to move forward with making a professional recording of it using some of the best local talent. Nice. They also wanted to take proceeds of what money it may make locally and donate their portion of it to a local charity. Nice. He then asked if I wanted to sell my copyright portion so they could, in essence, "give" the song to the charity so they could receive all compensation for the work for their cause. I wasn't against the charity and I would have worked something out with this gentleman but I did say that I didn't want to give up the copyright and he hung up on me and I've never spoken to him again. The song is in limbo and I feel I did the right thing because, for one, this charity may or may not be around forever. Who gets the money for the song (if it makes much) after the charity is no longer around? I wasn't against proceeds going to a charity (for a time), i was just against giving up my copyright, if indeed it made money. Also, I could control my portion of it for my needs, if needed, since I am not a rich songwriter at all. I nice dinner out at Wendy's perhaps. What say ye?
For contracts, a good way is to discuss all the details, especially consideration for both sides, and take notes. Once you have the terms worked out and noted create a simple contract. Valid contracts have EQUAL consideration. So as long as it’s not one sided no one should feel overwhelmed.
Yes!!! I’ve been so confused about stems. I’ve always seen either tracks, or multi-tracks. This whole stems thing is so new to me. Actually it’s all new to me these days. Been out of the loop for 20+ years. Going to sign up on your site now. You’ve made my day. Thanks!
Tiffany Anthony Lamothe wonderful!! Thanks ever so much! Look forward to seeing you inside the Academy! There’s so many amazing people in there!
Stems V. tracks - Y'all read before you get all snobbery on me. Yes, stems are the stereo files, and not just the tracks as they naturally live in your DAW. This was the first time I heard about bouncing sections into a single stem (although I am well aware that can be done. I've just heard of that as committing to a sound). Now, let's say you have a song with only four tracks in it - vocal, guitar, bass, and claves - each of those tracks can be individually bounced down to stereo stems, even though there is nothing else being added to them. An example of this is my own music. If I sent someone the actual tracks, they would be completely unusable, because of the countless cuts and edits I make on each track; however, when I bounce them down, there is a pretty stereo track that can be plugged into any applicable setting. So, yes, there can be "individual" stems (in response to someone else's comment down below), but these are the stereo (and seamless) versions of the raw tracks. Sure hope I haven't muddied the waters too much, or have spoken out of turn.
Sometimes you HAVE TO write sheet music to make the song sound great. The band that I play in has a horn section (trumpet, alto-sax and trombone) and there’s no other way to make them play well TOGETHER but to write the exact part for each one of them. Of course they all do improvise or play by ear if needed. But there has to be a written sheet music to let them do the job the best! Same goes with string section, I’m sure.
Great info about stems and one that I definitely got wrong when I first got back in to recording as everyone was using “stems” and “tracks” interchangeably.
So, if anybody wants stems......get the details to avoid trouble. Great vid.
vic manzanita Thanks ever so much my friend!!
I didn't know the difference!!! Good video, thanks
You're very welcome!! I'm so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren
This is another fantastic FAQ Friday and as always , I thank the PLAP crew and Warren for the opportunity to learn and share.
I have had more than one client ask me for individual stems from a recording and that made sense in that all they wanted were the raw tracks but this truly can be a problem in particular when you are on a narrow deadline.
Anyway, I have been recording since 1974 and sometimes think I have seen it all yet I learn something new new every time you share a video and for that and so much more, I thank you and your team for sharing invaluable time and experience.
Thanks for clarifying stems vs. tracks. I was one of the people that thought stems were individual tracks as well, and now can use more accurate verbiage when communicating.
I’ve been learning the business side of music and it can get crazy. I wished all the producers and songwriters could watch this video to learn to be fair about the splits
Thanks ever so. such my friend! I'm glad to be able to help!!
Thank you Sir. It certainly helps to communicate if you can speak the language.
What a knowledgeable Production wizard with a CZcams Channel!
Is there anyone with more knowledge who uploads videos?
I haven't found anyone.. Not saying it's the end all be all channel.. Just saying no other channel would dare contradict what this man says
Thanks Warren, I keep seeing mixed things about stems and tracks
Thanks Paul!! You Rock!
I understand what your saying but it is probably best to do the paperwork up front so that there is no confusion. However I am always happy to be right up in the action with artists making the music. Helping artists with ideas to make the song even better.
It makes more sense if you think that the word ”stem” stands for STEreoMix. I think that’s the original meaning.
Good point. Or (maybe) Stereo Tracks, Eclectic Mixes. We used to just call them sub mixes; but they're sure different from individual tracks.
Mikko Hirvelä very cool analogy!!
vile live evil thanks very much!!
You can have mono, stereo or multiple track stems ( surround for example ) It's just a mix down to a bus or sub group.
But, how many people MEAN "stems" that way, though? Not everyone knows it's an abbreviation.
Wow its very late right now in India. Its 12 midnight. But as alwys great video. And thanks for listening to my suggestion on the t racks video. You are the only one who takes suggestions seriously
Madhusmita Goswami wow!! Thanks ever so much!!
Madhusmita Goswami you’re very welcome! Have a great day in beautiful India!!
Because I started mixing in the live arena i always equated stems with the busses on my mixer. Now that Ive traded stage for studio I actually tend to still mix that way but hybrid.
Thanks for sharing your process Jacob!!
You are correct, *traditionally speaking, in my opinion: the term "stems" has evolved to include full exported tracks that may be broken fragmented regions in the original session, exported OMF style to a single "file" of the track which new jacks call "stems". Traditionalist know tracks are tracks and stems are stereo sums of pre-mixed grouped track sections of the mix (drums, GTR, VOX etc), but if the kids call OMF exported files "stems" then we have to adhere that the terminology is evolving.
Thanks, I have been having a slight conversation with a few people, who claimed that Stems are the "professional" name for the individual Tracks...
They might not change their belief, but at least I have been reassured that I was not wrong about the subject :)
Søren Steinmetz Interesting! Within this thread alone there are multiple different conflicting explanations!! Thanks for your marvellous comment my friend!
Thanks again for sharing your experience, always great advice, be blessed and well!
Thanks ever so much Michael!! I'm so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren
Thank you Warren, i really appreciate your content and your love for music!
Fifty7 Beats thanks ever so much!!
We, the PLAP public, demand videos of your EDM show, Warren. ;)
Clay LaHatte haha yes, indeed!!
agreed. I'd love to see some MCing as well
Excellent!!! I'm working that's way!!!
Thanks ever so much
I really enjoyed this one, you covered some great topics especially our attitudes. Perspectives we hold mean everything to those around us. Good explanation about stems, too, I never knew about this. Right on, bro, this one goes in my favorites playlist!
i was thinking of the time when you were DJing 88 to 92 for me was high school for me and 120 minutes was my only access to decent music in montana (pre interwebs)....i do think that music would have acoustic guitar one minute heavy stuff the next ..sandwiched between depeche mode or NIN ...i heard portisead dummy and i still think its a masterpiece
Hi Kip, absolutely! It was an incredibly eclectic time time indeed! I still love that first Portishead album as well!
Many thanks for this, Warren. I have been wondering what 'stems' are, in relation to tracks, for the last few years, so this is very helpful.
drutgat2 I’m so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren
Reaper adds to the confusion of stems vs. tracks. In the Reaper Render screen the stems option will create individual track files.
Aha! Yes, that makes a lot of sense!! Thanks ever so much!
Great edit, colors look balanced and natural. Thumbs up for your video team!
Thanks Eddy!!
Makes sense now. Thankyou.
Thanks ever so much
Glad to be able to help
Regarding songwriting splits: As Shelly Peiken wrote, if you partner writes the one line that makes a good song into a hit song then maybe a 50% split is appropriate. I guess it's the guy with the key that gets you through the door no matter how important YOU are.
Hi Loren, marvellous comment!!
Great video once again Warren. You’re spoiling this newbie. Thanks for all you and your assistants do brother.
On my first CD I hired a saxophonist to lay down tracks for two songs. I asked her if she had a rate and she said something like "just whatever you can. I'm willing to work within your budget." So she came to the studio, laid down great tracks and was very professional. When she left I paid her what I believe to be significantly less than she deserved. I felt awful and emailed her a message explaining that I was ignorant about such things and offered to pay her additionally. She understood and said not to worry about it but asked if I could send her a CD or two. So I sent her more than two. In future, should I insist on an agreeable payment when hiring talent?
I've never heard of this miscommunication involving tracks and stems, thanks for the heads up.
BTW, stems can be any format, mono, stereo, 5.1 or even non-channelbased audio, it just refers to submixing elements that belong in the same group of instruments or whatever (in film it'd be dialog, music, FX, etc.).
There are many reasons for using stems vs tracks, depending on the situation. Remixing, re-editing and mastering come to mind but I also adhere to printing stems for archival purposes. Imaging re-opening that archived ProTools session from 2001 and finding hat you don't have the old plug ins anymore or that the session isn't forward compatible enough. If you had printed stems you could just drop them into any DAW without needs for plug ins since all that was printed already. Just line them up and hit play, there's your mix ready to be re-edited, remixed, remastered or whatnot. One thing to include would be notes about master bus processing (compression, etc) because the stems won't likely have sub-master processing that would totally recreate the effects of all those tracks hitting the master bus at the same time. A little note about what type comp was used with what settings will allow you to put something roughly equivalent into the master-bus of your restored stem based session.
I'd recommend to include stem print tracks in everyone's mixing template, that way you can print all stems in one pass after the mix is done. Little time spent today saves you a ton of hassles later. Sorry for sounding all grown up and stuff.
Thank you for the clarification! I've always wondered what the difference is.
Jeremy Thornton thanks ever so much my friend!
priceless advice
Fenekucci thanks ever so much!
You have answered my question! Thank you.
I was taught that stems were STEreo Mixes. Made it very easy to understand!
Sage advice shared in the signature, positive way that makes this such a great group! Hmm … stems v tracks. It's sort of like how Warren's using "euphemism" when he means "slang", "vernacular", or "synonym" to describe how words change meaning in practical use. A euphemism is a milder word than what is meant, or a way to politely say something that could be construed as harsh. For example, "Warren has a very unique way of using the word 'euphemism'," is a euphemistic way of pointing out what could otherwise be an embarrassingly ironic misuse of a word to describe the misuse of a word. Bottom line is, if I say, "send me some stems", I'm going to get raw tracks 99% of the time. But I'll be sure to make a clear distinction when making requests from our marvelous presenter, Mr. Huart. Love your stuff!
Hi Warren, great FAQ Friday as usual, thanks you ever so much, all the best, Darren Ross.
Darren Ross thanks ever so much my friend
yay, Great information again. great to clarify these things in advance. Also, Electronic music has helped us all make major growth in Technology. I was Blessed to tour as an opening act on U2 ZOOTV tour. Was Brillant to watch it done so well. Made friends with the crew and watched them work each and every day.. Embrace the Tech into your rock. cheers, all.
Thank you Warren. Interesting questions and great answers!
Have a great weekend!
Martin Luxen Thanks ever so much my friend!
Such an excellent Channel. You have great advice and you deliver it well. Very thankful for what you do.
have a good one warren
Dan Peltier Thanks ever so much my friends!
Thanks for explaining the difference between stems and tracks, Warren : )
Thanks ever so much Sheila!! You Rock!!
(this guy) {That GUY!}
Always a positive vibe coming from your answers and all your advice, even in the humble midst, admitting we are all sometimes both guys (or girls). God Bless always helps. Thanks for the channel! I was talking with my brother the other day about how we have access to such great knowledge with the advent of technology and how our children will not know a life without access to the internet. Makes me think of the importance of campfires and acoustic guitars. Sometimes life can make us (that guY!} ? How do you feel about technology and theatrical live performances like lighting synced with music tracking do you ever experience that while working?
Hi Rodney, thanks ever so much for your very kind words! I'm always so glad to be able to help in any way I can my friend! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren
Really great FAQ Friday Warren! Much appreciated clarifications and some great insights! You rock!
I always do contracts. Publishing companies provides many of the documents needed when artists use the services. I have company contracts and terms and conditions of services.
Another great video. Thank you Warren for taking the time and effort to film this.
Musician unions provide standard contracts that can be adapted by members, they also provide legal services. The recording industry is the same. You have to be able to afford it. It's important to keep copies of your work product. This includes hand written notes, copies of recorded tracks of what you contributed. If you're anxious, video document the working process, like Warren does when he does an online mix. But don't get big headed about your contribution and stressed out over documenting your work till you really need to. You don't want it to get in the way of your creativity. At the same time, the worst thing in the world is to have your years of experience taken away from you by someone in the industry who preys on folks. This industry can be brutal. Find a balance that works for you.
gr8 explanation
Thanks ever so much
I am waiting for that next Warren single.
Haha thanks John!!
i love this . so helpful thanks
Traditionally we just say multi tracks and/or stems. There is a difference.
OGs in music and business terminology have to keep educating newer generations to the history but some that choose to ignore that and be non-conforming come off as amateurs.
I get that all the time. I work a lot in film and music and Stems are Stems in film. If working in hip hop Stems seem to be tracks. That is in my experience.
Hi Phil, absolutely! That's my experience, unfortunately though some of the tracks are also stems haha. So you get beats that aren't separated enough to mix and vocals with effects printed on them.
@@Producelikeapro Far too often with hip hop. They go off and send me a stereo beat sometimes and I have to go in and cut in new kicks and snare just to have a bit of control. But I would say 95% of the hip hop I get they call tracks stems. But in film stems are always stems.
PHIL BREWSTER yes, I hope we can help people so they can get their music heard in many different circumstances
@@Producelikeapro Dude you do a great job of teaching. I have been doing this for over 25 years and I am always learning. I kind of wish I could go back to being an assistant again just to learn new stuff. But you fill the gap nicely sir.
Hi Phil, thanks ever so much my friend!! I am so glad to be able to help!
Great advice! I've definitely thrown around the term "stem" myself without fully understanding it. I guess it doesn't make much sense if I'm sending a mono bass track.
Great advice! Thanks.... Been there!
I listened with great interest to your presentation today and loved it. There was a goldmine of information there and I hope everyone takes your advice to heart. I was not blinking my eyes until you said, "I even play country music." Now there was a statement that rang contrary to your proper steeping of tea!!!! JUST KIDDING! However, I am still wondering what exactly you will offer, in return, to hold my short attention span for 25 and 1/2 minutes. Again,Warren, well done and outstanding advice that I should have had many times in my 64 year music career.
Hello Warren, great topic video on collaboration FAQs. I love your approach of simple, fair, and friendly in collaboration. My take away is enjoy the project, be fair, and and don't treat people any other way than the way you want to be treated. Awesome Warren!
Hello. Yes massive attack is beautiful. And have you heard Trentmoller. Humm so good.
I'm about to start experimenting with the instruments. Most sinthetizers. Also a microphone, guitar, bass, effects ... There has to be something completely different... :) Well just to interact and leave a good vibe.
thanks for education!
Mark McPeak you’re very welcome my friend!!
Warren you are MAXIMUS!!! CHEERS FROM PERU!
You are so helpful Warren! Thank You!
Navid Hamidi you’re very welcome my friend!!
Thanks.
Really great video Warren. Lots learned here.
Thanks ever so much Morgan!
It's why you're one of the best. It's a great topic ...I'm guilty as charged. I think maybe clarify ...do not assume we are all on the same playing field. I'm an electronic music too.
It totally does make sense. I hate using terminology wrongly as well. Thanks again.
Finally! Thank you!
Hey Warren,
I have been following your advice for about 3 years now and I want to thank you for all the amazing help and improvments I have seen. However, recently I have been having some troubles. I record, produce, and mix primarily hip hop and reference my tracks against Dr. Dre ussually as he has some of the best hip hop mixes that exist. I am trying to achieve the modern sound he had on Compton as well as on records like Ice Cube's Everything's Corrupt, and Eminem's Kamikaze where there is a lot of very boomy and present bass, but it isn't eating up the dynamics and clarity of the midrange.
In older hip hop mixes it feels that the mid range was just louder, now everything feels more tonally balanced, more dynamic, and clearer. I am not sure how I can move toward this sound. I feel like my mixes are balanced to the point that everything sounds good together, but I end up sacrificing the clarity and presence of my mids and highs for the big boomy bass sound in the kicks.
Any advice?
Old hip hop records: Record on (2" ) tape and use an old quality sound board, push those faders, the tape will compress the tracks. Push a drum machine on tape and man that sounds thick!! And tape compression makes the mids stand out warmly. Also..sticky Shed.( Look it up) .crappy tapes that lose highs...give that quality just at the right time in the tapes life..beside that..doh!! I dunno!!
@@rawkinj6609 thanks for your insight. I'm always mixing through an SSL emulation and it definitely adds to the sound. I know tape tends to be a bit more midrangey in terms of reproduction and I can definitely hear it on records from the 80's and early 90's. I know though that with Eminem in particular since the mid 2000's his engineer has printed the mix from their SSL to Pro Tools (as per a 2010 sound on sound interview with mike strange). I have heard Dre still prints to tape, but side by side the differences between Compton and Kamikaze are negligable and therefore I feel like there has to be something more to it than just the equipment.
I find my mids just seem to lose a lot of their energy when I mix in heavy kicks with alot of sub material, then you add a bass to that and as most would expect the mids and highs suffer from it. On the newer records it seems like the bass is retaining much of its boom, and is the bass elements are still heavy and loud in the mix, but the midrange and highs are clearer and bite a lot more than records from 10 - 15 years ago.
I do filter my lows alot with high and low passes and my balance is good and everything fits well, but to get the boom I'm hearing I lose midrange energy, and for more midrange energy I can't get the same boom I am hearing on other records.
I have tried just EQing my mids and highs up on the mix buss or in mastering and while that gives clarity it doesn't help with how energy is being sucked up by low end reproduction and I am just baffled at how good and how booming the low end is still on Dre, Em, and Cubes records without sucking so much energy out of the mix.
I feel like their has to be some production, arranging, and/ or mixing tip to help get closer to the sound I am hearing from the big guys.
Wonderful FAQ Warren, Warren's Wonderful FAQ (alliteration is my life). Absolutely loved the talk about collaboration, really inspirational, Thank you so much. BTW the melody you sang when speaking of reading music was the melody to "Christmas Don't be Late" (Alvin and the Chipmonks) Thanks again!
Come on Warren. Lets hear some of those EDM tracks 😁
Haha I will have to find them first!! And transfer them from ADAT!
✅Thanks Warren! :)
Thanks ever so much my friend!!
Really good. Thanks watren.
Question for next week What are the pros and cons of using external effects with a DAW such as having to go through DA AD to get out and back in.
Thank you for the terrific advice, specifically on working with other musicians. I’m not at that point in my career yet but having that in the back of my head will keep my intentions correct. Another great vid, thanks!
Wishing you all the best my friend!!
I liked the stuff about collaboration. Issues with credit partly came between me and a good friend. I fear collaboration for that reason but I know i need it.
FAQ question: In the era of digital everything, do you think something / anything is missing when using IRs over a mic’d up cab? I’ve been using IRs in my Axe-Fx with my favorite tube amp as a new father. I used to mic everything up but have a child now and can’t rock the house at any hour inspiration strikes. I like both ways but just wanted your opinion on what not using a mic and cab might add or subtract from the performance capture.
HI Bill, I love using IRs! They Mae a huge difference in mixing!!
re: Stems vs Tracks, thank you, Warren. I was ill-informed.
Malcolm Palm I had heard these terms used interchangeably for so long and I was wondering about the difference too. Warren is really helpful here.
Hi@@jazzjames thanks ever so much my friend!!
Thanks ever so much Malcolm!!
I'm really amazed by the confusion about the terminology shown in various posts so I'll take a crack at it again, if I may...
Stems are not what people happen to call them or imagine them to be, stems are what they are and what they have been for quite some time. Stem doesn't stand for stereo, it has nothing to do with raw, unedited tracks
"Stems" is a precise industry standard term have been in use across the entire audio industry for ages, first and foremost in film mixing and audio for video. "Stems" are usually part of a set of "deliverables" spelled out in great detail by the party paying for a given project. The term itself however is assumed to be unambiguous, rightfully so. So if engineer X wants to charge someone for his/ her work as a professional he/ she should know what the term means. If I'm asking a mixing engineer for stems to be sent to the mastering house I assume that he/ she knows what I'm talking about. I realize that in music production the term might be "newish" but it is clearly defined nonetheless. Elementary stuff not really open to interpretation. Sorry for being a@#l about this but imagine if we were discussing basic audio terminology and folks would start speculating that mix minus "has to do with digital vs analog because digital mixing levels are expressed with a minus in front of them and analog levels sometimes with a plus, making analog the "mix plus" or that dBFS (full scale) is the opposite of dBES (empty scale) or that foldback refers to a certain way to arrange your tie.
Technical terms are what they are, look it up.
Well, I am frankly "amazed" you wrote so much about STEMS with actually saying WHAT a STEM is. Kudos mate. Perhaps you could say if you agree with p.l.a.p or not? That could be helpful.
Warren already did it in his video, but again, Stems are submixes of tracks that belong to one category , drums, guitars, keys or in film, FX, dialog, etc. These submixes should include all automation, plug ins, and associated FX returns. If you line up all the stems associated with a full mix at unity gain the result should be identical to the full mix, except for masterbus processing, that's where it can get dicey.
Warren thanks for everything.. I'm mixing the song (workday release) and I'm loving everything.. David is talented man the lyrics to the song are just wonderful and the guitars man 😄😄😄😄...will be submitting my mix soon need to download the final stems to see what I can add to the song.. Cheers Warren much love from #Africa # kenya
Collaboration yay
I have heard the term "stems" for a while now. I was never sure what it meant. I knew if had to be more than just a raw audio track. There was something more. Now I know. It is one or more tracks mixed down to a stereo pair.
I learned something new
Phones off or on airplane mode while filming please! :)
I stopped vid to check my email every time you got one lol
Jake B haha Ericccc!!
QUESTION FOR FRIDAY: I track and mix in the same room. If I track drums with outboard eq on the toms, what would be the best method to dial in the eq before pressing record?
im waiting for the warren huart single 🤘
I have multiple clips in my main vocal track with basic HP EQ and Light Opto Compression ... I then 'STEM' That vocal track out at 96/24 > I have just created a vocal Stem or composite vocal track. It's not semantics.
Amazing information!
Harmony Studios thanks ever so much!!
I found a best way to mix multi track and very effective , using high pass filtering on master channel. Once you put that start going up slowly from 20hz to 100hz and so on until you hear the friquencies that needs to be filtered between 1 to 3 db each individual track sounds louder than other.. that way i am able to do leveling and eq with perfect balance... i always do only after panning ... without any fx ..keep it dry
Warren, regarding contracts...in general, a verbal agreement is better than a non-verbal one; an email is better than a verbal agreement; but a formal, written, signed and dated contract is better than all of the foregoing. If it is important, GET A CONTRACT. Period. I think that's pretty much what you said, but I thought I'd chime in. Remember, the first agreement will be the most expensive, but you can typically reuse that on future deals with only a cursory review by your attorney. Best. Jeff (20-year legal veteran)
everyday im learning.
I think playing on other peoples tracks is finding the feel of IT as honestly as you can in a way that relates to YOU. You cant have enough knowledge base of other styles/genres on which to draw from which is what I belive you were getting at. I often find my first attempts are too much and less is more and parts get honed down to what actually works rather than entirely what was in my head. This could be a product of improvising? My experience for what that's worth. :D
Individual Stems. Isn’t that an oxymoron lol. Another great one thanks Warren🎧🎸🎼🥁
Indeed! All I hope is that we are able to communicate specifically what we are giving each other!