File Preparation & Delivery Published August 27, 2026Updated October 27, 2026

How to Export Stems in Pro Tools for an Online Mix (Step-by-Step Video)

Every Pro Tools track should start at zero and run to the end of the song. This guide and DGUNZ's short video show how to bounce stems that line up every time.

Bounce stems in Pro Tools video guide thumbnail by Mix & Master Engineers

Pro Tools is the standard in many studios, and a lot of vocals, live drums and full band sessions are recorded in it. When you hand a Pro Tools song to an online mixing engineer, the goal is simple: a folder of audio files where every track starts at zero and runs to the very end of the song. That way the engineer can drop them into any session and they line up perfectly.

The steps below show how to get there inside Pro Tools. DGUNZ also made a short video of the process, so you can see each window before you try it on your own session.

▶ Watch the Pro Tools stem export video on YouTube

Before you export

Commit your virtual instruments. MIDI tracks do not travel. Commit or print each instrument track to audio so the sound you chose is the sound the engineer gets.
Consolidate edited audio. Heavily edited vocal or drum tracks are made of many small clips. Consolidating them into one continuous clip per track avoids gaps and surprises.
Clean up track names. Pro Tools names bounced files after tracks, so rename "Audio 1.dup1" to something like "Kick In" or "Lead Vocal".
Hide or deactivate what you do not need. Unused playlists, muted takes and old ideas can sneak into the export. Tidy them before you start.
Decide on effects. Keep creative plug-ins that are part of the sound. Bypass mix-bus processing such as a master limiter.

How to export stems in Pro Tools, step by step

1. In the Edit window, make one timeline selection from the very start of the song to the end of the last reverb or delay tail. Make sure the selection covers all tracks. 2. Commit any virtual instruments or plug-ins you want printed, if you have not done so already. 3. Select the tracks you want to export. 4. Where your version offers Track Bounce, right-click one of the selected track names and choose Bounce…. In older versions, use Bounce Mix and choose each track or bus as the source, one at a time, as shown in the video. 5. Set the file type to WAV. 6. Choose Interleaved for stereo tracks. Mono sources such as a vocal or kick can stay mono. 7. Set the bit depth to 24-bit and keep the sample rate the same as your session. 8. Turn on Offline bounce if you want it to finish faster than real time. 9. Choose a destination folder and start the bounce.

Prefer to follow along? ▶ Watch the video

Recommended export settings

File type: WAV
Bit depth: 24-bit
Sample rate: Same as your Pro Tools session
Start point: Session start, the same point for every track
Length / tail: Whole song plus room for reverb and delay to fade
Normalize: Off
Master bus processing: Off (bypass limiters and mix-bus plug-ins)

Common Pro Tools export mistakes

Bouncing only the selected clip. If the selection starts at the first note of a track instead of the song start, that file will be out of sync. Keep one selection for every track.
Forgetting to commit instruments. A MIDI track with no audio print means the engineer gets nothing for that part. Commit before you bounce.
Leaving the master fader loaded. A limiter on the master can end up on every bounce. Bypass it for the export.
Mixing up mono and stereo. Bouncing a mono vocal as stereo is harmless, but bouncing a wide synth as mono loses its width. Match the format to the source.

Check your stems before you send them

Create a new empty session at the same sample rate and import all the files at the session start. Play them against your rough mix and listen for any track that drifts or drops out. Check that each name makes sense. When everything matches, zip the folder and upload it.

From the studio: Pro Tools habits that help

In my 15+ years of mixing I have opened a lot of Pro Tools sessions, and most of them come from people who record carefully. The common problem is not the recording. It is the export. I often receive files that start where each part starts, so the hook vocal begins at bar 33 with nothing before it. That forces a guessing game to line it up.

The fix is one long selection from the song start for every track. I also see uncommitted instruments and stacks of alternate playlists that were never cleaned up. This matters on gospel sessions, where choirs, organ and live band can mean a high track count, and on rock records, where multi-mic drums need perfect timing between every file. A tidy bounce keeps the mix moving.

Stem export guides for other DAWs

Using a different DAW, or working with a producer who does? Each guide below has its own short video:

Ready for a professional mix?

Upload your Pro Tools stems to our online mixing service and ask for a free sample mix to hear what we can do. You can compare packages and pricing or contact the studio if you want help with your session first.

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About the author: Charles "DGUNZ" Alison is the lead mixing and mastering engineer at Mix & Master Engineers, with 15+ years of experience across hip-hop, Afrobeats, gospel, R&B, pop and more. He trained at Point Blank Music School (UK), is an approved Apple Digital Masters provider, and is a Top Rated, Vetted Pro engineer on Fiverr with 2,200+ client reviews. Meet the engineer · Contact the studio