Exporting Stems

The Golden Rule of Exporting

Before you export a single file, remember the Golden Rule of Cryo Mix:

"Every file must start at 0:00."

Even if your vocals don't come in until the chorus (e.g., at 1:30), the audio file you upload must include the minute and a half of silence before it. This ensures that when you drop them into Cryo Mix, everything locks into perfect sync instantly.

💡 Bars vs. Time: In many DAWs, Bar 1 / 1.1.1 is the same as 0:00. Your stems should always start there and run until the very end of the song.

What Are “Stems”?

Stems are the separate audio files for each part of your song. For example:

• Drums (or even kick, snare, hi-hats as separate tracks)
• Bass
• Lead vocal
• Backing vocals / ad-libs
• Guitars, keys, synths, FX, etc.

Cryo Mix works best when each important element has its own stem.

Part 1: Desktop DAW Guides

Follow these steps for your specific software to get perfectly aligned stems every time.

Ableton Live

1. Select Area: In the Arrangement View, highlight your entire song from start to end (make sure you start at 1.1.1, which represents 0:00).

2. Export Menu: Go to File -> Export Audio/Video

3. Track Selection: In the Rendered Track dropdown, select "All Individual Tracks".

   This tells Ableton to create one audio file per track.

4. Settings:

   • Render Start: Set to 1.1.1.
   • Sample Rate: 44100 or 48000. If you're not sure, choose 44100 – it’s the standard for most music.
   • Bit Depth: 24-bit. This gives Cryo Mix enough detail to work with.
   • Dither: Off (recommended).

5. Export: Click Export. Ableton will automatically create a separate, perfectly aligned WAV file for every single track in your session, all starting at 1.1.1 / 0:00.

FL Studio (Desktop)

1. Route Your Tracks: Make sure every sound you want as its own stem is assigned to its own Mixer Insert channel (kick, snare, bass, leads, vocals, etc.).

2. Export Menu: Go to File -> Export -> WAV file

3. Location: Choose a folder to save your files.

4. The Secret Button: In the export settings window, under Miscellaneous, check the box that says "Split mixer tracks".

   This tells FL Studio to render a separate file for each mixer channel.

5. Settings (recommended):

   • Sample Rate: 44100 Hz
   • Bit Depth: 24-bit
   • Make sure the start of the song is included (from bar 1 / 0:00 to the very end).

6. Start: Click Start. FL Studio will render each mixer channel as a separate WAV file, all aligned from the beginning of the song.

Logic Pro X

1. Cycle Range: Set your yellow Cycle Range (loop bar) at the top of the timeline to cover your entire song from Bar 1 to the end.

   This defines what section of the project will be exported.

2. Export Menu: Go to File -> Export > "All Tracks as Audio Files".

3. Settings:

   • Range: Select "Export Cycle Range Only". This is crucial for correct alignment and consistent length.

   • Format: WAV

   • Bit Depth: 24-bit (recommended)

   • Sample Rate: Match your project (often 44.1 kHz).

   • Bypass Effect Plug-ins: Check this if you want to send dry stems (recommended for best mixing results).

     Dry = without reverbs, delays, and heavy processing. Cryo Mix can then process your tracks more cleanly.

4. Export: Click Export. Logic will create one WAV file per track, all starting from Bar 1 / 0:00.

Pro Tools

1. Select All: In the Edit window, select all the clips in your session (across all tracks) for the full song range.

2. Consolidate (Crucial Step): Go to Edit > Consolidate Clip (or press Shift+Option+3 on Mac).

   This glues all edits together and turns every track into a single, continuous audio file starting at 0:00.

3. Open Clips List: On the right side of the screen, open the Clips List if it’s not already visible.

4. Export: In the Clips List, select the newly consolidated clips for each track you want to export.

5. Right-Click: Right-click the selected clips and choose "Export Clips as Files".

6. Settings:

   • File Type: WAV
   • Bit Depth: 24-bit
   • Sample Rate: Match your session (typically 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz).
   • Choose your destination folder.

All exported stems will now be perfectly aligned from 0:00 to the end of the song.

Part 2: Mobile Guides

Exporting stems on a phone can be tricky. Here are the best workflows for the most popular apps.

GarageBand iOS (iPhone/iPad)

GarageBand doesn’t have a simple “Export All Tracks” button, so you’ll use the Merge Trick to make sure every track starts at 0:00.

1. The Merge Trick (For Alignment)

1. Tap a track icon to select it.
2. Tap it again and choose "Merge".
3. Check the circle next to the track you want to export.
4. Hit "Merge" in the top right.

Why? This automatically turns that track into a new audio file that starts at the very beginning of the song (0:00). Repeat this for every track you want to export.

2. Exporting Each Track

1. Once your tracks are merged/aligned, Solo the first track (tap the headphone icon).
2. Tap the FX icon (sliders) and turn down the Visual EQ, Reverb, and Echo if you don’t want those effects baked in.
3. Tap "My Songs" (top left folder icon) to save.
4. In the project browser, long-press your song file > Share > Song.
5. Choose Uncompressed > WAV.
6. Save it to your Files app.
7. Repeat the Solo & Share process for each track.

BandLab (Mobile)

1. Save: Make sure your latest revision is saved.

2. Download Menu: From the project view (not inside the studio), tap the Share/Download icon.

3. Select Stems: Tap "Download Stems".

4. ZIP File: BandLab will bundle all stems into a ZIP file.

5. Alignment: BandLab usually aligns stems automatically so everything starts together.

   • If a vocal or instrument seems off in Cryo Mix (e.g., starts too late/early), use the Cryo Mix Nudge Tool to drag it into the correct place.

FL Studio Mobile

1. Export Menu: Tap the FL logo in the top right > Save > choose WAV (recommended over MP3 for quality).

2. Split Stems: In the export options menu, look for the "Split Mixer Tracks" switch and turn it ON.

   This tells FL Studio Mobile to create a separate file for each mixer channel.

3. Sample & Bit Settings (if available):

   • Sample Rate: 44100 Hz (recommended)
   • Bit Depth: 24-bit (if supported)

4. Send: Tap Send. FL Studio Mobile will render a ZIP file containing separated, aligned stems for every channel in your rack.