Traktor Pro 4 Stem file format defaults to mp4. Can it be changes to a WAV format?

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jcp_13
jcp_13 Member Posts: 31 Member
in Traktor Software & Hardware

Greetings,

When I convert my music file to stem (a WAV lossless format), I notice in the directory where the stem is stored the format is mp4 (not lossless. I also only see one file by the way).

Is it possible to have the stem process keep the original format?

I would like to keep the lossless quality of the Stem. I know it possible because RipX does it.

Also, is there a way to tell Traktor Pro 4 to create the file directory with the name of the song?

From what I can see it's just a number system and the file name is a UID. It is hard to tell which stem song is which until you play the file.

Last question. If I don't want to use Traktor Pro 4 Stems, how do I import my own stems to Traktor Pro 4?

Thank you in advance.

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Best Answer

  • jcp_13
    jcp_13 Member Posts: 31 Member
    edited October 2024 Answer ✓

    Thank you all for the great responses; they eased my mind a bit. From my research, the TP 4 stem algorithm is decent but has room for improvement. It would be great if it were equal to NuoStems or better in the next upgrade. File size is not an issue with me. I prefer high-quality, and HD space is cheap. Well, maybe not on MAC 🤣, but you can get a high-quality External SSD for a much cheaper price.

    I use Studio Monitors when I mix and produce, and I can definitely hear artifacts, specifically with the vocal stem. I used to be an Audio Engineer in my past life, so that could be a factor. But when I listen on my MAC speaker or a Bluetooth speaker, I can't hear it as much. The big test will be testing it out on a club Audio system, which I will have access to in a few weeks.

    Thank you, everyone, for the helpful responses.

    Cheers.

Answers

  • Heisenberg
    Heisenberg Member Posts: 397 Pro

    WAV takes up a lot of space and supports less metadata, it would not be wise for NI to choose this format, FLAC would be the most efficient!

  • red_nick
    red_nick Member Posts: 337 Pro
    edited October 2024

    Not doing it from Traktor. And you're going to lose a bit of quality anyway from stem conversion, I highly doubt you can tell the lossy compression over that.

    But you could make stems in something else (for example NuoStems) in the lossless format (ALAC, not WAV). This is also what you need to do if you want named stem files.

    Finally, you just import them.

    EDIT: Forgot to mention, ALAC stems don't work on Windows, only Mac

  • lord-carlos
    lord-carlos Member Posts: 4,171 Expert

    No, you can't change the file format.

    You are also not meant to play the files from the folder. They are linked in traktor, you just load the original track as stem.

    You can get losses stems with 3rd party software like StemGen and nuostem. But it's only on Mac OS that you can play lossless stems in traktor.

    You import your own stems just like any other track.

  • maniacintosh81
    maniacintosh81 Member Posts: 929 Expert

    TP4 in fact always creates lossy stems even with uncompressed audio as source. But .mp4 is a container format. It could also contain lossless audio. As @red_nick stated: Auto-separated stems don't have pristine quality from the start, therefore the additional compression doesn't really matter as much.

  • red_nick
    red_nick Member Posts: 337 Pro
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/183519#Comment_183519

    Yep, a stem file is 5 audio files in one, so lossless stems are unreasonably large IMO

  • jcp_13
    jcp_13 Member Posts: 31 Member
    edited October 2024 Answer ✓

    Thank you all for the great responses; they eased my mind a bit. From my research, the TP 4 stem algorithm is decent but has room for improvement. It would be great if it were equal to NuoStems or better in the next upgrade. File size is not an issue with me. I prefer high-quality, and HD space is cheap. Well, maybe not on MAC 🤣, but you can get a high-quality External SSD for a much cheaper price.

    I use Studio Monitors when I mix and produce, and I can definitely hear artifacts, specifically with the vocal stem. I used to be an Audio Engineer in my past life, so that could be a factor. But when I listen on my MAC speaker or a Bluetooth speaker, I can't hear it as much. The big test will be testing it out on a club Audio system, which I will have access to in a few weeks.

    Thank you, everyone, for the helpful responses.

    Cheers.

  • maniacintosh81
    maniacintosh81 Member Posts: 929 Expert

    Well, all separared stems have more or less artifacts. And I hear them in any track. As of today good high quality stems have to be produced and mixed that way in production.

  • jcp_13
    jcp_13 Member Posts: 31 Member
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/183736#Comment_183736

    Agreed, but there is still room for improvements.

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