How to export stems from your music app

Before you export: 5 rules for every app

Follow these and whoever opens your files, in any app, hears the song the way you do.

• Export every track from the start of the song (0:00) to the end, even if that track comes in later. All files are then the same length and line up in time the moment they are placed together.
• WAV at 24-bit is best, with every file at the same sample rate (how many sound points per second, such as 44.1kHz or 48kHz) as your project. MP3 works, but sounds worse.
• Turn off the limiter (keeps peaks under the ceiling) and any mastering plug-ins on the master track (Master or Stereo Out) before exporting. In apps where you solo a track and export the whole song, they would squeeze each track on its own, and the tracks would no longer sound as they do in the song.
• Name each file after its instrument, such as vocal, drums, bass, guitar, so whoever opens them knows at once which file is which.
• Tell whoever gets the files which tracks already have reverb or delay (echo) printed on them, or export them dry (with no effects). That way nobody adds reverb twice.

GarageBand for Mac

GarageBand for Mac has no command to export separate tracks. Solo (play just one track) each track in turn and export the whole song once per track.

Apple's guide says GarageBand trims any silence at the beginning or end when it exports, so a track that comes in later may not start at 0:00. That is why the first step sets the cycle area (the yellow strip in the ruler), so every export covers the same range. Then check that all files are the same length.

• Press C to turn on Cycle, then drag in the top part of the ruler so the yellow strip starts exactly at the start of the song and runs to its end.
• Click the Solo button in the track header of the first track. The button turns yellow and all other tracks go silent.
• Choose Share > Export Song to Disk.
• In Save As, name the file after the instrument, choose WAVE, and pick the highest setting in Quality.
• Select Export cycle area, or length of selected regions (if Cycle is turned off), then click Export.
• Click that track's Solo button again to turn it off, solo the next track, and repeat from Share until every track is done.

GarageBand for iPhone and iPad

GarageBand for iPhone and iPad has no command to export separate tracks either. Do as on the Mac: solo each track in turn and share the whole song as an audio file once per track.

Apple's guide does not say whether a shared song follows Solo or always starts at 0:00. After sharing the first file, play it to check that only that track is in it, and check that all files are the same length.

• In Tracks view, drag a track icon to the right. The track headers show the Mute and Solo buttons.
• Tap Solo on the first track.
• Go to My Songs, touch and hold the song, then tap Share.
• Tap Song, choose the highest audio quality offered, enter the instrument as the title, then tap Share.
• Tap Save to Files (if you don't see it, tap More), choose a folder, then tap Save.
• Open the song again, turn off Solo on that track, solo the next one, and repeat until every track is done.

Logic Pro

Logic Pro exports every track with one command, one file per track. No soloing needed.

Apple's guide does not say whether all files come out the same length, so check the file lengths after exporting.

• Choose File > Export > All Tracks as Audio Files (no need to select tracks first).
• In Save Format choose WAVE, and in Bit Depth choose 24-bit.
• Set Normalize to Off, so each file stays as loud as you hear it in the project instead of being turned up on its own.
• Check the example filename below the Pattern field tells you which instrument each file is. If not, drag the name elements into a new order.
• Choose where to save the files, then click Save.

Cubase

It depends on your edition (per the Cubase 15 manual): Cubase Pro exports several tracks in one go, Cubase Artist one track at a time, and Cubase Elements only the main mix, so you solo one track at a time.

Every edition exports the range between the left and right locators (the markers for the start and end point). Before exporting, put the left locator exactly at the start of the song and the right locator at its end. You can use the Left Locator Position and Right Locator Position fields on the Transport Bar.

• Choose File > Export > Audio Mixdown.
• Cubase Pro: in Channel Selection choose Multiple, tick every track to export, and in Export Range choose Locators.
• Cubase Artist: pick a track in Export Channel and export one track at a time.
• Cubase Elements: solo the first track and export the main mix (output). Repeat for each track.
• In File Format set File Type to Wave file, Bit Depth to 24-bit, and Sample Rate to match your project.
• Name the file in Name, then click Export Audio.

FL Studio

FL Studio writes one file per Mixer track. Before exporting, route each instrument to its own Mixer track: instruments that share a Mixer track end up in the same file.

Per Image-Line's manual, muted Mixer tracks are not exported, and effects on the Master only end up in the Master's own file.

• If a time selection is left on the Playlist, clear it first, or only that part is exported.
• Choose File > Export > Wave file.
• In Mode choose Song (the whole song).
• Set the WAV bit depth to 24-bit.
• Tick Split mixer tracks, then click Start.

Ableton Live

Ableton Live exports every track in one go, and Ableton's manual says all exported files have the same length.

If clips are playing in Session View, the files only hold the clips that are playing, so stop playback before exporting.

• Choose File > Export Audio/Video (Mac: Cmd+Shift+R · Windows: Ctrl+Shift+R).
• In Rendered Track choose All Individual Tracks.
• Check that Render Start is at the start of the song and Render Length covers the whole song (by default they cover the whole Set).
• Leave Include Return and Main Effects unticked. Reverb on a return track comes out as a file of its own.
• In File Type choose WAV, in Bit Depth choose 24, leave Normalize unticked, then export.

BandLab

BandLab downloads separate tracks on the web and in the app. Always choose WAV: M4A is a compressed file and sounds worse.

BandLab's help center does not say whether all files come out the same length, so check the file lengths after downloading.

• On the web: open the project in the Studio, click the project menu in the top-left corner, then choose Project > Download > Tracks.
• Choose WAV, then click Download for each track.
• In the app: open the project in the Studio, tap Mix View in the bottom-left corner, tap the three-dot button on a track, then choose Export as M4A/WAV/MIDI and pick WAV.
• On a phone you may need a file app such as Dropbox or Google Drive to save the file to your device.

Exporting a finished mix to master with MOYS

If your mix is done and you want a release-ready song, you don't need stems. Export the main mix of the whole song as one file and upload it for MOYS to master.

MOYS takes WAV, FLAC or MP3 up to 300MB and 10 minutes long. Turn off the last limiter you added for loudness before exporting, and the song keeps more punch.

• GarageBand for Mac: Share > Export Song to Disk with no track soloed, and choose WAVE.
• GarageBand for iPhone and iPad: touch and hold the song in My Songs, then tap Share > Song with no track soloed. Check that the file ends in .wav or .mp3, because MOYS opens only WAV, FLAC or MP3.
• Logic Pro: File > Bounce > Project or Section. In Destination choose Uncompressed, and in File Type choose WAVE. (With Cycle on, only the cycle area is bounced.)
• Cubase: File > Export > Audio Mixdown, choose the main mix (output), and set File Type to Wave file.
• FL Studio: File > Export > Wave file, with Split mixer tracks unticked.
• Ableton Live: File > Export Audio/Video, choose Main in Rendered Track and WAV in File Type.
• BandLab: on the web choose Project > Download > Mixdown As, then choose WAV.