Should You Send Stems or a Stereo WAV?

When you're ready to send your project off for mixing or mastering, one of the first questions that comes up is: should I send stems or a stereo WAV file? It's a great question, and the answer depends on what stage of the process you're at and what kind of result you're after.

First, Let's Define the Terms

A stereo WAV is a single two-channel audio file — a bounced-down version of your entire mix. It's what you'd export if you were sending a finished mix to a mastering engineer.

Stems are grouped audio exports of your project — for example, a drums stem, a bass stem, a vocals stem, a synths stem, and so on. Each stem is its own stereo (or mono) WAV file, and together they make up the full mix.

When to Send a Stereo WAV

Send a stereo WAV when you're happy with your mix and you just need it mastered. Mastering works on the full mix as a whole — it's about enhancing the overall balance, loudness, and clarity of a finished mix, not rearranging individual elements.

If you've mixed your track yourself and you're confident in the balance, a clean stereo WAV export (24-bit, at your session's sample rate, with proper headroom) is exactly what a mastering engineer needs.

When to Send Stems

Send stems when you want a professional to mix your track from scratch — or when you want more flexibility and control over the final result. Stems give the mixing engineer the ability to:

• Adjust the balance between individual elements (e.g., bring up the vocals, tighten the low end)
• Apply processing to specific parts of the track independently
• Fix issues that can't be addressed in a stereo mix (e.g., a vocal that's too loud can't be turned down in a stereo file without affecting everything else)
• Create a more polished, professional result than a self-mixed stereo bounce

How to Export Stems Properly

If you're sending stems, here are a few rules to follow:

• Export from the same start point — all stems should begin at bar 1, beat 1, so they line up perfectly when imported into another DAW.
• Remove master bus processing — turn off any limiters, compressors, or EQ on your master bus before exporting. These should be applied by the engineer, not baked into your stems.
• Label everything clearly — use descriptive names like "Drums_Stem", "Lead_Vocal", "Bass". Avoid names like "Audio 1" or "Track 3".
• Export at 24-bit WAV — same format rules apply as a stereo mix export.
• Leave headroom — individual stems should also have adequate headroom, ideally peaking no higher than -6 dBFS.

What About Sending Both?

Some artists send both a stereo mix reference and stems — the stereo mix gives the engineer a sense of your vision, while the stems give them the flexibility to improve on it. This is a great approach if you have a clear idea of how you want the track to sound but want a professional to take it further.

Not Sure What to Send?

At MORTY Audio Lab, we'll always guide you on exactly what to send before your session begins. Whether you're coming in with stems for a full mix or a stereo WAV ready for mastering, we'll make sure the process is smooth and the result is release-ready.

Explore our mixing and mastering services and get in touch to book your session.