You can now use Stemgen to export your own stems from Ableton.

Installation

python3 -m pip install opencv-python

Only on macOS: python3 -m pip install pyobjc-core

Only on macOS: python3 -m pip install pyobjc

python3 -m pip install pyautogui

python3 -m pip install pylive

Also install https://github.com/ideoforms/AbletonOSC as a Remote Script in Ableton

Only on Windows: you can install https://github.com/p-groarke/wsay/releases to get audio feedback (when the script fails or succeeds)

If you plan to use stemcopy.py, you also need to install python3 -m pip install git+https://github.com/wolkenarchitekt/traktor-nml-utils

Usage

Open Ableton Live

Open the project you want to export

Check your export settings (set the desired sample rate and bit depth and make sure to use AIFF) and make sure that the export folder is set to stemgen/input (click Save but then cancel)

Solo the tracks you want to export as stems (and review the name and color)

Run python3 ableton.py

Enter the name of the file

Don't touch your computer until it's done

Enjoy your stems! You can find them in the stemgen/output folder

Notes

AAC encoding

If you are encoding to AAC, I recommend following some best practices:

• It is best to leave at least -0.5 dB of headroom to avoid clipping when encoding -- the reason being that levels that don't show overs on PCM can still cause clipping when encoded (source: https://www.apple.com/apple-music/apple-digital-masters/docs/apple-digital-masters.pdf).

• The maximum sample rate for AAC is 48kHz so I also recommend exporting at this sample rate if the sample rate is superior. QAAC will downsample (from 96kHz to 48kHz for example) but I think that it's best to do it in Ableton directly (and it will save you some time as it's faster to export in 48kHz anyway).

Amphetamine

To keep your Mac awake while exporting, I highly recommend checking out Amphetamine. You can set a trigger to keep your Mac awake while Ableton is running.