Stem mixing is a mixing technique concentrating on the macro level of a mix. Stem mixing, if applied, is usually the final stage of a mix before bouncing the stereo mix to audio. There are many advantages in stem mixing. Read on to find out how to stem mix your music in a proper fashion.
You might wonder, “what is a stem?” Well, a stem is a stereo audio track consisting of multiple instruments of the same kind. Stems are also known as a submix, bus, aux or group. To clarify more, a drum stem would be a stereo track where you have routed all your drum sounds in your mixer. When you mute this track, you would hear drums no more in your mix.
Stems could be used to organize a mix, to route everything in their rightful groups. In the usual mix, you could have drums, guitars, vocals, keyboards, pads and sound effects for example, in their own stems. The instant advantage of using groups like this is the ability to mute any one of them, which offers perspective between instruments.
It’s a matter of preference how to approach stem mixing. Personally, I like to mix within a project I am working on as I go, so to speak. But bouncing out all the stems to form your full track could be very useful, especially if you’re planning to get your track stem-mixed or mastered elsewhere, or get your track summed using analog gear.
Bouncing out stems could also be useful for yourself for applying final polishing or tweaking to your stereo stems. It’s easier to get the right final balance with only 5-7 stereo tracks, by making adjustments to them each. And in a clean new project, it’s a breeze.
Mix stems in a project, controlling different instrument groups.
The fader! Adjust the overall balance of your song by tweaking the stem faders.
As you can see, there are various ways to work with mix stems. The rule of thumb is, always approach instruments individually in a mix, using their own faders and mixer channels. When you get the desired balance with individual faders, you can play around with the stems to fine-tune and polish the mix even more.
You could even group multiple stems together to process them together. You could send all the keyboards and guitars to the same bus to apply effects to them, or bus the drums and bass together and compress them. There are no limits, so take advantage of the technique of stem mixing. Be creative!
Processing drums and bass together using a compressor.
A stem mix is the cherry on top of the well-built “mix cake”.
Think of stem mixing as the cherry on top of the cake. The mix should already sound good before approaching the mix at stem-level.
Sometimes a simple rebalancing of the stem faders by 1-3dB will do the trick, sometimes a few surgical EQ cuts here and there. The goal here is to make the mix clearer, cleaner and pop out even more.
You will also want to try applying exciters, tape machines and other “character” plug-ins to your stems. With an exciter, you could bring out the high-end sizzle in a drum track, or the sparkly midrange of the music track. A tape machine, however, could beef up a vocal stem or bass stem. See?
As in mixing in general, and as said before, there are no limits here. Try different things, and you’ll find plug-ins and settings that will make your stem mix pop out.
I hope you gained some new information in mixing from this article. Have fun with stems, and happy mixing!
Please leave all your comments below, and I’ll be sure to get back to you.
Have you used stem mixing before? What are your favorite stem mixing techniques, plug-ins or even hardware? You can share them below. Let’s discuss!
No doubt, lots of plug-ins on the market today are of different quality. There are great plug-ins and not-so-great plug-ins. But generally speaking, every plug-in available to purchase is “good” and will do its job properly. Every decent DAW has its stock plug-ins pre-loaded into the software, too.
Any EQ will get the job done, as will any compressor. They are pretty much identical in their core functions.
The market is filled with plug-ins of different kinds, and while it being a very positive thing, there is also a negative side to it. Plug-in developers have large-scale sales all the time, which is good for business, but makes it worse for the consumer. Why do we need to throw our money away like that, thinking we “gotta catch them all”?
In addition, new plug-ins are developed all the time. We constantly need to update our best plug-in to even a better one, right? Unless you really have the money to spend like paper, then I say no.
Just as I have in the past (and I’ll have to admit I sometimes still do), everyone is always looking for better and better options in the plug-in realm. It can be addictive, because new is hot, and as humans, we love anything new.
This is a battle against our own mind – and it can be beaten.
The key is this: when you find a certain plug-in you absolutely love, stick with it and make it your default.
There will certainly be a process involved in forming your own toolbox of plug-ins. You might have to go through various plug-ins before you find a suitable one.
Here’s an example: I went through various delays throughout the years, never being fully satisfied with any that I used. I used stock DAW delays and third party delays – until one day. That one day I happened to try EchoBoy by Soundtoys, and I don’t see myself looking back ever again. EchoBoy is all I need in a delay, and it’s my personal preference for any delay duty.
Understand, that you might prefer a different one, so keep on the lookout!
When you know your plug-ins inside out, you’ll always have an edge to everyone else, who are constantly searching for new plug-ins. When you understand what every knob, button and function does in a plug-in, you will instantly know what you need to do, and how you get it done with that specific plug.
Advantages? Speed. Workflow. Intuition. When you know your plug-ins, your workflow and speed will be turbo-charged.
You’ll start to use your plug-ins in creative ways you wouldn’t have thought before. This is because the basic functions and operations have already been “carved in stone” in the back of your head. You’ll start to think of advanced ways to use a plug-in, such as automating it creatively.
Am I satisfied with what my DAW can offer me?
What’s wrong with my DAW’s stock plug-ins?
Is my DAW missing a certain kind of plug-in that I need?
My DAW has the plug-in, but the plug-in itself doesn’t have a function that I need.
Can my needs be satisfied with third party plug-ins?
Am I satisfied with the sound that my current plug-ins offer me?
Do I work efficiently enough with my current plug-ins?
I want to find a plug-in that suits my workflow.
Does this plug-in inspire me?
In the end, choosing and using plug-ins are a matter of preference. So if you like to use a plug-in a lot, stick to it and don’t try to find alternatives for it. Your personal goal should be to find only one plug-in from each category. One equalizer, compressor, delay, reverb, saturator, and so on.
Of course, you can have different equalizers and compressors because they each offer a different sound. But be reasonable, and limit your selection to a few – and learn them well.
Ultimately, good music doesn’t need insane amounts of plug-ins to be brought to existence. When you use less and a select few of handpicked plug-ins, I guarantee you will start making better music, and make it faster than ever. As you might have already guessed, our minds can function more efficiently when they aren’t occupied by a flood of information.
I hope this article has helped you in becoming a more efficient and productive music producer, and hopefully you have learned something from it about using plug-ins.
Please leave your comments below and I’ll be sure to give you an answer.
Do you have the “new plug-in” syndrome? Do you work with stock plug-ins or 3rd party plug-ins? Have you found any plug-ins that you’ll never replace with another one?