Exporting Stems/Multi-tracks from Ableton

1. Prepare Your Project

   - Organize Your Session: Make sure all tracks are labeled correctly. This makes it easier to identify the stems later.

   - Mute Unnecessary Tracks: If certain tracks aren’t needed for the stems export, mute them to prevent accidental inclusion.

   - Check Levels: Make sure that none of the tracks are clipping (exceeding 0 dB). Lower track levels if necessary.

2. Select the Entire Arrangement

   - In the Arrangement View, select the portion of your project that you want to export. You can highlight the entire project or a specific section.

   - To select all, press Cmd + A (Mac) or Ctrl + A (Windows).

3. Open the Export Audio/Video Menu

   - Navigate to File > Export Audio/Video or use the shortcut Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows).

4. Configure Export Settings

In the Render Settings dialog, make the following choices:

  • Rendered Track: Choose All Individual Tracks to export each track as a separate stem. If you only want to export certain tracks, choose Selected Tracks Only

  • Render Start & Length: Ensure the start and length reflect the section of the arrangement you wish to export.

  • Sample Rate: Set the sample rate to 48 kHz

  • Bit Depth: select 24-bit

  • Dither: No Dither

  • Create Analysis File: OFF

  • Normalize: Off

5. Set Export File Type

  • File Type: WAV 

  • Include Return and Master Effects: If you want to export effects on the return tracks or the master bus, enable these options. Typically, for stems, you'll export without the master bus effects, but you can include them if necessary.

6. Choose the Export Location

   - Select a folder where your stems will be saved. It's a good idea to create a dedicated folder labeled by project name and date for easy organization.

7. Start the Export

   - Once everything is configured, click Export. Ableton will render the individual tracks as separate audio files in the specified folder.

8. Review the Exported Files

   - Navigate to the folder and check the stems to ensure everything has been exported correctly.

   - Listen to the individual stems to confirm there are no unwanted artifacts or volume issues.

   - Import the individual stems to a new session and make sure that the song plays back correctly.

9. Send Files

- Before sending the folder with the stems, please zip the folder and then upload it to a file transfer site like WeTransfer or Dropbox. Please avoid using Google Drive when possible.