What is Stems?

Stems are distinct from individual tracks (sometimes called "multitracks"). A multitrack export gives you every single recorded element separately — the kick mic, the snare top, the snare bottom, each tom, each overhead, each room mic. A stem export groups related tracks into processed submixes — all of those drum recordings summed together, with their EQ, compression, and panning, into a single stereo drum file. The distinction matters because stems preserve your mix decisions while still offering flexibility downstream. Proper stem creation requires careful attention to routing and processing. Each stem should include all the processing applied to its component tracks plus any bus processing, but typically exclude mix bus processing since that will be applied to the combined stems during mastering. This means if you have a vocal bus with compression and EQ, your vocal stem captures that processing. If you have reverb and delay on send/return buses, you need to decide whether to include those effects within the relevant stems or export a separate FX stem. Stems serve multiple purposes: mastering engineers sometimes request stems to have more control over the final product. Film and TV mixers need stems for re-balancing dialogue, music, and effects. Live performers use stems for backing tracks. Remix artists need stems to isolate and reimagine elements. Each context may require different stem configurations, so understanding the purpose before exporting is essential.