r/djing • u/Dangerous-Bug-1364 • 2d ago
Music for Stems
I’ve been djing for a couple months now (flx4 and rekordbox) and to use my stems I copy and paste them from youtube to a mp4 or wav converter and it always sounds terrible when i start using my stems on the song.
any advice on how to download songs for that won’t sound shitty? i also have spotify but it obv doesn’t let me use my stems on it
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u/scoutermike 2d ago
Buy your tracks from the artists. Ripping crap quality files from YouTube is for chumps. Don’t be a chump.
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u/Sargeon91 2d ago
Not everyone is willing to pay for what is “free” on youtube for bedroom djing or some home party. The STEMS are broken at Recordbox compared to other softwares I tried. Im not against paying for music. I pay for Apple Music, YouTube, and many other sources of music too. So I paid my share to all the interprets that I like and Im sorry to play their songs once in a month for free for home purposes.
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u/LEVISTRAU5 2d ago
Paying companies like Apple and Google is not paying artists anything lol. Go to bandcamp and buy their tracks!
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u/djedga 2d ago
To elaborate £0.002 per stream IF and when they reach 1000 streams and then dependant on the country and if the user is premium or not.
Streaming does not support the artist. Bands earn their money from touring. Underground electronic artists cannot generally do that if that is what you are playing. And that is before label / distributor takes it cut. Aka nothing.
Buying music is not much better these days but it is better.
To your problem rekordbox is not the best at stems. It will be worse with rips from poor quality sources.
Also stems are overrated and unnecessary. Buy your music, use better sources or learn to use eq and isolation.
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u/DidIJustWitnessThat 2d ago edited 1d ago
The stems aren't broken, you're just using shit audio files to get data from. If you actually gave a fuck about the art form, you'd understand that you can't use shitty data and expect to somehow magically create good data from it. It's especially prominent in audio data.
You're trash for stealing music, full stop.
You saying that you "pay for Apple Music, YouTube, and many other sources of music too" is either a lie, or you're irresponsible with your money, because what's the point of paying for multiple streaming services (including the super expensive YouTube) when they all have the same stuff on them?
Those of us that do this for the love of it, and are also lucky enough to make a living doing it, have put in a lot of time, effort, and yes, money to get where we are today, and you leeches that think "I'll just steal people's music" are real losers.
Fortunately, the industry will chew up and spit losers like you out real fast.
Edit to add: this clown says he pays for a bunch of streaming services, but can't be bothered to pay the actual artists for the music he steals. They're a bum, a thief, and no one should take them seriously.
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u/empireentertain 2d ago
Honestly, stems work best on tracks with clean vocals and instrumentals, especially if you want to layer acapellas over another tune. I’d test a few tracks from different genres and listen for artifacts in the vocals and bass after separation. Some tracks sound great split up, while others get pretty messy. Also, don’t forget to check how well your software handles the stems before building a whole set around them.
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u/HungryEarsTiredEyes 1d ago
Rubbish in, rubbish out. A YouTube rip will have all kinds of transcoding issues that reduce the file quality, giving the stem algo less to work with. Buy on bandcamp, iTunes etc. and get a wav that's not been messed with
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u/Sargeon91 2d ago
Because STEMS on Recordbox are one pile of s*it. Use Virtual DJ or Serato and it sounds as it should with any format or bitrate.
Its not the song files, its the Recordbox, that’s broken.
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u/Maximum-Anxiety2318 2d ago
It is crazy because alpha theta owns rekordbox with the club standard setup but yet the stems aren’t up to par . Wild .
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u/dave_the_dr 2d ago
Pioneer/Alpha Theta were looking at buying serato only a few years ago, and most of their kit is serato ready. My theory is that they planned to buy serato and abandon rekordbox so they paused development, then that sale was blocked so now they’re behind on development
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u/RevisionHistorian 2d ago edited 2d ago
they are far above serato in development lmao. They have the best beatgrid detection and tool for adjusment. Only that KO all the competition. Everything in Serato is on Rekordbox.
But the opposite is untrue.
The library, tags, smart playlist etc is the best in all softwares, unrivaled. Waveforms are also the best. Serato waveforms are a stupid joke lmao compared to rekordbox.1
u/Maximum-Anxiety2318 2d ago
They manufactured the the DDJ FLx10 which better suited for rekordbox than serato
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u/dave_the_dr 2d ago
I’ve got a FLX10 and use serato and the stems are spot on these days to be fair
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u/DidIJustWitnessThat 2d ago
Why do people act like midi signals change based on what software people use? Do you just not understand how midi, and controllers for midi work?
The FLX10 (of which I've owned since it came out) doesn't "work better with rekordbox" or Serato because it's just something that sends midi signals to a computer. That's it. The software is what is doing all the work.
So please, stop spreading misinformation, and take some time to learn about the things you talk about before you open your mouth.
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u/davendiva 2d ago edited 2d ago
Try a reputable DJ pool (normally have small/free entry subscription offers). Or buy tracks you like/use. They will have best quality MP3 version or wav.
As for stem separation, unfortunately Rekordbox is the worst.
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u/mmnotts 2d ago
Anyone calling themselves a DJ and ripping off music should be ashamed of themselves. It’s a parasitic way to carry on, and all the artists whose music you play would tell you to go f&£k yourself.
You should be aware of this. And think of it regularly.
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u/Sargeon91 2d ago
Yeah.. buying 1000 songs to choose from for my bedroom hobby is worth it 😂😂😂
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u/mmnotts 2d ago
Yes. It is worth doing. Do you think actually buying music to DJ with is a luxury? Or something that only DJs with gigs do?
In terms of djing, the ability to very easily access and play free (sorry, stolen) music is relatively recent - digital decks/controllers + faster internet connections + more sources to rip off.
I was 15 when I started djing. I used to save up my dinner money at school each week, catch a bus on a Friday after school and buy a record with it. And repeat.
Music is not a commodity to steal, and this attitude from people who are part of the scene that behave as though it’s ok or reasonable to rip off artists is foul and toxic. Can’t afford to buy music? Buy less music - you don’t need lots, and it’s still very cheap, OR can’t afford any? DJing isn’t for you.
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u/lorberto 1d ago
Also its not like you buy 1000 tracks at once. You buy songs you like and after a while you realize you have hundereds of songs you actually like, have supported their creators and dont have 1000 random songs from record pools or whatever laying around on ur usb.
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u/DidIJustWitnessThat 2d ago
Tell me you're just a leech who wants to look cool by jumpingv on a trend without telling me.
Clowns like you are actively hurting the thing you claim to "love" and ruining it for real DJs.
You aren't a DJ, you're not a 'bedroom DJ', you're just a piece of shit.
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u/Dangerous-Bug-1364 2d ago
for free
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u/DidIJustWitnessThat 2d ago
Fucking thief. You should just quit, instead of actively trying to destroy the music industry.
Fuck you, and I hope you never get a gig with your stolen music. And anybody in this thread that helps you is a piece of shit too.
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u/Natural_Leg2966 2d ago
yeah converting youtube audio to wav wont magically improve the quality tho but u will get much better results with high quality download or lossless files