Bouncing stems with with full path and processing query

Cubase
#1

I need to bounce track stems from Cubase for all tracks at once but retaining the full path and individual processing of each track through to the master bus, but the way i do it is a painful experience of soloing 1 track and performing an audio mixdown on just that track, then soloing the next and performing the mixdown again … and so on until all tracks are done. It’s always a very long process but i can’t find a way to do all at the same time.
I’ve tried the batch export but that then only retains the processing on the specific track and not any additional group, submix or master bus processing that may affect that track through the chain.

I saw someone using logic a few weeks ago and they just selected everything they wanted to bounce, hit a button and it bounced all tracks with full processing in about 30 seconds whereas my way can take hours.

Am i doing something wrong? Does anyone know of a quicker way to do what i need to do (without switching to Logic of course)?

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Cubase 9 Pro
Windows 10

#2

Hi, I’m not sure if this will help, but I do think the batch channel export is the way to go. Other, more experienced users, may have better advice on this.

If you have insert processing on individual tracks, you may want to flatten those tracks so the processing is applied before rendering them with the export. If you have FX channels and Groups and those have inserts or other sends, those will be used when generating the output files for those tracks if selected in the batch of tracks to export. So, I think the batch export may be your best choice. It’s a key feature of the pro nine version. Keep working with it. Good luck.

#3

Yeah - you’re right. Batch export doesn’t follow the whole path.

But tbh, if you’ve got multiple audio tracks going through a group, thats going to change the sound of any processing versus just one track. For future projects I’d be aware that batch export doesn’t follow the whole path and mix accordingly to that.

ie so no gain changes on the master buss etc…

#4

Thanks Stephen57 and Manike for your replies.
The reason for having processing elsewhere in the chain other than just the track itself is to save have the same plugins and setting on every one that would all have to be changed independently if the mix needed it but of course, that saving is now causing me time on the bouncing.
This does give me an idea though - I suppose i could transfer the processing to the tracks right before bouncing, then run the batch export.
I’m going to give that a go.
Thanks again.

#5

Can’t you just use Render In Place ?

I would save the project under a new name first, you don’t need it if you just want the audio files.
Select all tracks (make sure no Parts are selected)
Open the Render In Place settings.
Choose:
As One Event (maybe not necessary)
Complete Signal Path + Master FX
Make sure Mix Down to One Track is NOT selected.
Add a Tail size for reverb/fx
Bit Resolution that you want.
Name, leave empty and Lock it
Path, choose a folder where the new audio files will end up.
If you choose “Disable Source Tracks”
and “Hide Source Tracks”
You will end up with a new project that just have the Rendered tracks in them, that’s why I suggest you name it differently.
It will take some time, as it has to render each track from start to end, but you don’t have to do it manually.

#6

This is about the 30th post (on various forums) I’ve seen asking about this process in Cubase. I posted one yesterday asking about simple group soloing, and why any fx tracks linked to the group’s source tracks aren’t solo’d. Answers were generally old school hardware type logic like “if the group channel doesn’t use the FX channel why would it be solo’d”. Well, because tracks going to the group DO use the FX channel, and when I solo the group I want the FX channels linked to its sources to come along with it. Simple concept that seems to be lost on some people. Solo defeat is an option (in the mixer / timeline…it is not an option with batch export) - but then that has it’s own downsides…like leaving the fX channel open when you solo other tracks that don’t use it. Not good.

What you’re talking about is the same thing. When you try to batch export, any tracks that are going to groups, that are also using their own fx send settings, won’t have those FX included in the export. It’s the same line of thinking here, that FX channels aren’t directly used on the group channel, so they are ignored. It is clear that all through the Cubase programming structure, FX channels are excluded from consideration with batch export / soloing etc. when it comes to tracks routed to groups.

This needs to be remedied, as it pretty much negates the use of batch export unless you have a very limited type of FX channel setup - i.e. fx channels are only used on groups, or tracks that aren’t grouped. This is definitely problem (more like PITA) in projects like film scoring, where groups often encompass entire instrument sections like voice or strings. So when you batch export the strings, brass, voice groups…you won’t get any associated FX channels UNLESS they are on the group. And when you have 50 different FX channel settings for all the various individual tracks (various levels of reverb send on each percussion or string type for example) you will have to export every one of those tracks individually in order to get the whole signal path. As others have pointed out, there is a way to batch export the entire signal path in other DAWs.

So you are correct in what you’re seeing - you CANNOT do what you want to do without manually exporting, or rendering each track independently. This most likely makes batch export useless to you. Which is unfortunate, because it seems like a preference setting, or batch export option that could literally save you hours of time with one preference /setting click.

#7

Thanks again guys.
Peakae - thanks for your render in place idea. If it works that might at least allow me to go do something else whilst it’s running on it’s own rather than having to sit here changing the track every 3.5 minutes.
augustyeighty - i agree that it’s crazy that Cubase doesn’t do this when others do but i guess if they can’t even give us back the ability to change the font which they took away a while ago and which i miss badly then i doubt this will be forthcoming particularly soon :slight_smile:
Thanks for your input - it’s been helpful.

#8

You CAN do what the OP wants and the method has been described in this thread by Peakae. Render In Place is the solution. It is a little bit slow but does not require any user input once it is started.

One other thing to note is that with Render In Place, you will need to make sure all your audio/MIDI parts start at the beginning of your timeline (assuming you want all your stems to start at bar 1).

#9

If you use the range selection tool it will do this for you as part of the render process.

#10

Aaaah… that’s good to know.

#11

Thanks J-S-Q and Grim for your additional input on the Render in place - it certainly sounds like the way to go. i didn’t get a chance to try it last night but i’m gonna do so tonight and i’ll feedback my results.
Cheers

#12

Hey guys
Just to let you know the Render In Place idea works perfectly!! I am so happy - this is going to save me hours of sitting around waiting to change to the next track.
Thank you so much.

#13

I’m glad to hear it got worked out. Render In-Place is great feature of Cubase. You’ll probably find some ways to even refine things further as you go along. Cubase usually gets better the more you know about it.

#14

You are right there. Sadly i spend so much time just using it I don’t do enough exploration into the hidden wonders. i think i need a week on Youtube watching all the tutorials :smiley:
Cheers

#15

I know this doesn’t sound like the most exciting way to spend time but occasionally I will open up the Cubase manual and pick a feature I’m not familiar with. I’ll study it and put it in the memory bank for later use. I’ve been using Cubase for twenty years and I still do this.

#16

Sounds like a smart move. I too have been using Steinberg since the Atari 1040 days and I still don’t know half of what it does. I buy the latest version when it comes out then just use the same things LOL. I don’t feel limited by that as I get out of it what i need but it’s the time saving stuff like this Render In Place that i need to start learning and using.
Cheers

#17

It’s great this will work for OP, but it is a wholly inefficient method for achieving what he wants to do. And on a very large project, it would susceptible to all kinds of potential errors in range selection, file naming, channel selection - and makes using cycle markers, batch renaming, etc. unusable.

Apologies for highjacking the thread, if OPs needs are met, but just want to highlight that the full signal path should still be an option in batch export. It would simplify this whole process immensely. Which is why other DAWs already have the option alongside features similar to render in place. They serve two different purposes, despite having some overlap in functionality. And there’s no way I would be relying on Render In Place for stems on a 100 track project. Not a chance - would be a nightmare, and unnecessarily time consuming.

#18

If im honest i haven’t tried a big project yet, just tested the process on something small (20 tracks) to start and all worked well. I don’t need batch renaming or cycle markers, all i want is to be able to run the track from start to finish bouncing out all the stems with the full signal path and retaining the track names i have assigned without having to do it one track at a time.
I agree that it would be much better if Steinberg added this ability into the export functionality but whilst that is not there this seems like it will do the job … for me anyway.
Cheers

#19

I do that kind of thing, too, and think it’s an effective way to develop or keep Cubase chops.

#20

Hi! Found this thread and had just the problem you described here. I am not sure but I might have found a work around here. So I have it set up like this:

First Groups reouting to the second groups (Stem).
High Strings (send to FX bus with reverb), routing to Strings Stem Group
Low Strings (send to FX bus with reverb), routing to Stings Stem Group
High Woodwinds (send to FX bus with reverb), routing to Woodwinds Stem Group
Low Woodwinds (send to FX bus with reverb), routing to Woodwinds Stem Group
etc… etc…

FX Bus with Reverb (Send to Strings Stem Group, and Woodwinds Stem Group, etc.), routing goes to nowhere so it only is heard in the sends to the Stings Group, Woodwinds Group etc.

I then render all my groups with Stem in the name with a multiple export.

So the group sounds sends to the FX group that then sends it on to the Stem groups. Does this make sense or could it create some unwanted effects I am not thinking of here?

I am experimenting as I write this since I got the idea when reading the thread so might discover some problems with it.

EDIT: Ok, turned out it didn’t work since it will take all the groups that sends into the FX bus in every send that the FX bus does, so all groups will be multiplied for every send I have on the FX bus. So this was a failed attempt.