When the mix is close, but the balance isn't.

Why stems instead of a stereo file

A finished stereo mix is a single decision, already made. If the vocal sits a shade low, the kick fights the bass, or the synths eat the midrange every time the chorus lands, a stereo master can only compromise — anything that helps the vocal also lifts everything sharing that frequency range.

Working from stems changes what's possible. Drums, bass, vocals and music arrive on separate faders, so a correction can be aimed rather than smeared across the whole record. It is still mastering: the goal is your mix, resolved — not a new one.

Who it's for

Artists who mix their own material and know roughly what's wrong but can't get it to sit. Producers delivering to a label with notes attached. Anyone whose session is on a machine they no longer have, or in a DAW they've moved on from, where the stems are all that survived.

It's also the honest option when a full mix isn't warranted. If the arrangement and the sounds are right and only the balance is in question, this costs less than mixing and gets there faster.

How to export stems that work

Export consistent, full-length stems from a single start point — every file the same length, all beginning at bar one, so they line up when dropped into a session together. Four to eight groups is the sweet spot: drums, bass, vocals, music, and whatever else genuinely needs its own fader.

Leave the mix-bus processing off, keep the per-channel moves that make the sounds what they are, and leave headroom. If the summed stems play back as your mix, you've exported them correctly. I check every set before the clock starts and say so if something's missing.

What comes back

The same delivery set as stereo mastering — 24-bit and 16-bit WAV plus a 320k MP3, ready to release — with the balance decisions made in the open rather than inherited. Revisions are free until you're happy, within the delivery window.