some jargon shift :D

[dylanf]

hey guys can someone answer my 2 questions
ok, so what are stems in remixing and what is 'bouncing' ?

*shit not shift

 

[bandcoach]

a stem is an individual track within a song

so stems are all the tracks exported individually

a bounce is a collection of tracks mixed together (a partial sub-mix) and tracked out

pre digital solutions, tape was the medium for recording and we moved from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 8, 16, 24, 32 tracks on a single tape

with the smaller numbers of tracks we would record groups of instruments to each track in real time or maybe record to 2/3/7 of the 3/4/8 tracks available and then "bounce" those tracks to the remaining single track to free up tracks for more parts to be recorded - this term (bounce) has remained even though the process is not what it once was - you can bounce individual tracks out to have a separate files or bounce a group of tracks to stereo like a drum-kit or a final stereo master

in essence then bounce is the process of creating stems or sub-mixes and stems are the individual tracks within a song/mix

 

[rhythmgj]

Some producers, especially those in the film industry, define "stems" as groups of like/similar individual tracks. So a request for stems on a song might include drums and percussion, guitars, keys (piano, organ, synth), horns, etc., etc. in sub-mixed groups, so that a remixer can balance all of the major elements of the music with SFX and Foley, as well as the main dialogue.

At least some rap mixers use the term in the same way, as a stem request might be made so that a vocal can be made to better "fit" with a beat created by another producer, without actually having to re-mix the entire piece from the multi-track mix (every single individual track).

GJ