Beat track-outs. Do I need them?
Jun 062017
Today I will give a quick breakdown for stems, also known as:
- Trackouts
- WAV Separation or Track Separation
- Tracked-Out WAVs or Tracked-Out Files
- Individual WAVs
- Separated Tracks or Separated WAVs
When you buy instrumental beats online, you usually get an option to buy more expensive lease with trackouts (information about leases is here ). What does track-outs mean and why is that important?
Musical composition consists from basic elements :
(you probably already know that, but)
- drums
- melody instruments (synthesizers, piano keys, brass sections and so on)
- bass
- special effects
- samples
Track separation is when you got every single individual sound in a beat as its own separate file. So, instead of having 1 file of instrumental, you will have 5 or more (depends of beat) audio files, all of the same length, and each would include only one single instrument or sound.
Its impossible to separate instruments if you have only one file, but is very easy to join pre-mixed tracks together in any DAW software.
Why having trackouts is important.
Main advantage is ability to mix better and edit instrumental to your needs.
Because it is only one single mixed file, you and your mixing engineer do not have the ability to change the volume, panning, or EQ of any single instrument in the beat. Also, you can’t mute or delete any parts you don’t need, for example remove hihats from verse part.
But when you have stems, your mixing engineer has the ability to do this. He can move any sound, process any sound, add fx on any instrument. In other words track separation gives the full control needed to make your song sound the best that it can.
This is how stems look in DAW
Should I choose tracked-out option when I buy a beat?
Yes, that’s the big question always asked.
The answer is depending on your needs.
If you are a serious artist who is looking for the absolute control and best sound out of your music, then trackout option is a must have. If you really need your music to sound the best that it can, then you should absolutely purchase it.
However, if you are just releasing a mixtape, or just creating a song for fun and are not too serious, then you can save money and buy regular lease. Its still possible to create a nice sounding song without trackouts.
