Exporting Drum Rack Individual Tracks

[kjammofficial]

So, I've experimented a few attempts with this, and here's my problem. I usually use built-in kits from Ableton, I find the effects included in some of the kits really helpful creatively.

I'm moving to a different method of mixing where I have a separate .als for producing/editing the instrumentals, then a separate .als for tracking vocals then another one for mixing everything together.

I'm just now realizing that there's no way to export individual drum rack tracks. You can either Extract Chains which will create an entirely new midi drum rack track with just 1 sample on it but with all of the effects. Or you can route it to an Audio track. However, this doesn't seem to include the effects that the kit has.

Post FX does not include the effects in the chain for some reason. I have a Utility to tame the entire drum rack levels and it doesn't recognize that. Nor does it recognize any change that I do with the gain of the sample inside the drum rack. All it farms out is the actual sound and the FX inside the rack. Which would mean after taming the levels inside Drum rack during the creative process, I have to gain stage it again when i route it to the Audio track

Post Mixer is not what exactly it says. So this doesn't include the FX in the drum rack despite summing everything to the "Mixer." What it recognizes as a mixer is the one inside Drum Rack instead of the one holding the entire rack. When I change the effects, nothing happens to the sound. When I change the utility and turn it down to 0 outside drum rack, it still has sound. But I change the levels from the drum rack's volume, that affects it. This one despite allowing me now to have the tamed levels, it doesn't include the FX processing.

Neither one of them recognized the utility that I had after the drum rack in that chain.

After researching, at this point, I think there are no other options. But I'm writing this post, just in case there are other methods people are doing or something else.

Just to add, I also tried selecting the individual channels in Session view then export individual tracks. All it did is export the drum rack track lol.

So yeah, hoping you guys have ways around this or if not, I'm hoping Ableton can do something about this.

[pottering]

Is it really needed to export individual tracks for mixing if you are keeping it in Live?

Drum Racks are usually (relatively) low CPU, most of the time you can keep them as it is and unfold them in Session View for mixing in the Chain itself.

https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/instr ... with-racks

You may only need to freeze/flatten a few tracks if you are having CPU trouble when mixing.

[kjammofficial]

Is it really needed to export individual tracks for mixing if you are keeping it in Live?

Drum Racks are usually (relatively) low CPU, most of the time you can keep them as it is and unfold them in Session View for mixing in the Chain itself.

https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/instr ... with-racks

You may only need to freeze/flatten a few tracks if you are having CPU trouble when mixing.

Drum rack and other native plug-ins doesn't have an issue. However, when using third-party plug-ins be it a virtual instrument or a mixing plug-in, they eventually pile up. Then when you have to do an overdub after post-prod, in a situation where the artist would want to replace or add something, and you have all that plug-ins going on. It would be latency issues, time-consuming freezing, and unfreezing tracks if necessary.

Whereas if I have the entire production on a separate project, tracking on another, and mixing on another. I can use the tracking project for exclusively that purpose. On top of this, I'd be able to take the extracted track/stem .wav files to another. In case the artist, the engineer, or whoever would require them to be on another DAW. It's just more flexible for me doing it this way.

But I see your point. If there's a way I can import my entire Drum Rack Track to another Project including the Midi Data, I'll be completely okay with that. The Drum Rack is so versatile that you can use the individual pad channels to mix there.

[pottering]

It is possible to unfold a saved Live Set in the browser just as if it were a folder, then drag a Track from it into the currently open Set.

https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/manag ... rging-sets

[kjammofficial]

Bumping this old thread I had.

I now have this same question again but this time for another reason.

I'm having my tracks sent out to another mix engineer to work on and we need the individual drums separately. I need to deliver them with post FX of what I have on the Drum Rack.

So back to my original dilemma. I hope there's an easier way to export wet Drum Rack Tracks especially if I have something on the Drum Rack's Mix Bus and Sends since I use the Drum Rack presets kits heavily.

Thanks!

[pottering]

Not 100% sure, but I think it is impossible to export separate stems from tracks that have group FX and have those still sound the same (when mixed again later), it is the same thing as trying to "unmix" already mixed audio (definitely true with some types of FX, like any with randomness).

You can solo a Chain to export it (they have a S solo button), repeat and rinse, that seems the least work for me, but don't be surprised the separate stems don't sound the same as the Rack when mixed together later.

[kjammofficial]

I tried extracting the chain. But that doesn't include the Bus Mix and the Send Fx that the entire Rack has. Which is quite unfortunate.

I definitely understand how and why this isn't practical, and we normally just do everything inside Ableton anyway so that makes sense. My work is now expanding in working with other people that use a different DAW, Pro Tools mostly in particular.

I hope this is something that can be a requested feature or something.

Cheers!

[JamesTheSeventhSun]

I don't think it's possible... I love the drum rack but there 100% needs to be away to extract chains with the bus FX going with every single track you extract.

I get why people are claiming you don't need it because you're 'always in Ableton' however I like to see the transients when I am balancing sounds out.


Best way I've found for doing this is:

1. Extract your chains (you must do it one by one otherwise it creates a new drum rack.....). The most efficient way to do this is to place your drum rack as the last track in session view. Now expand the drum rack, select all of the separate chains in this rack, drag them so they are as thing (width) as possible. Now right click each one and the will begin coming out as new tracks. Do this until there are no tracks in your drum rack.
2. [optional but v. v. helpful] rename each extracted chain to the sample contained in that chains new rack (Idk why they didn't add this as an automatic thing that happens when you extract a chain....)
3. Once you have all of your chains extracted and renamed, you can group them. As it is now not a drumrack but a group, each track is included in the individual track list when exporting
4. Copy your FX from your original bus onto this group and you have created a drum rack with all of the individual tracks beign able to be exported as stems


Time consuming but it is a work around :L

[MakeJorton]

I've just done some extensive to find a solution to this problem and I believe I may have found it.
After digging through many different forum threads and about two hours worth of youtube tutorials I found this M4L device in a comment section:

https://maxforlive.com/library/device/6561/get-trax

Just tried it on a project in 11 suite and it is functional to an extent, however it only identifies 5 of the 27 pads/stems/drums I'm using.

Hope this helps advance things forward.

[mikestjean]

When you export individual tracks it doesn't seem to pass them through the group bus either so any group FX created that way will be bypassed

Also trying to figure out the best way around this and really not sure what it should be!

I don't think it's possible... I love the drum rack but there 100% needs to be away to extract chains with the bus FX going with every single track you extract.

I get why people are claiming you don't need it because you're 'always in Ableton' however I like to see the transients when I am balancing sounds out.


Best way I've found for doing this is:

1. Extract your chains (you must do it one by one otherwise it creates a new drum rack.....). The most efficient way to do this is to place your drum rack as the last track in session view. Now expand the drum rack, select all of the separate chains in this rack, drag them so they are as thing (width) as possible. Now right click each one and the will begin coming out as new tracks. Do this until there are no tracks in your drum rack.
2. [optional but v. v. helpful] rename each extracted chain to the sample contained in that chains new rack (Idk why they didn't add this as an automatic thing that happens when you extract a chain....)
3. Once you have all of your chains extracted and renamed, you can group them. As it is now not a drumrack but a group, each track is included in the individual track list when exporting
4. Copy your FX from your original bus onto this group and you have created a drum rack with all of the individual tracks beign able to be exported as stems


Time consuming but it is a work around :L

[bodom76]

I just use a different simpler per sample and then group the drums after and put on effects.

Positive- drum is in its own lane which makes jamming out mutes and different patterns very easy. Easy to mix and bounce in place.

Negatives - can’t play the entire kit in one grid, MPC style. Takes a lot more channels instead of all midi and sounds in one lane.

I still use simpler for this because it has more modulation than the drum sampler. Let me know if any of you all have made the switch.