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How do you combine a limiter on the mastering chain with the need for exporting stems? Do you simply disable the limiter when stems are exported (and thus change the sonic profile)? Do you put limiters on each stem (and hope you have the right split, if you don’t know the publisher requirements in advance)? Not use a limiter at all?

The only publisher I work with that wants stems asks for unmastered files which basically means plenty of headroom, not that you can't use anything on your 2bus. I would check with this particular publisher and see what their preference is.

Hope that helps.
EO

JimOfferman wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 25, 2025 5:29 am

How do you combine a limiter on the mastering chain with the need for exporting stems?

Just solo the stem tracks and leave everything as is

As mentioned by EO, some libraries want to do the mastering, so just remove any final limiting and leave some headroom. Otherwise, they'll want either stems or alt mixes, and in both cases (as Mark said) leave the limiter as it is.

IMHO an editor is not likely to want to rebuild your full mix from stems. What they might want to do is use a stripped version of your track (eg bass and drums), and its possible that they might also want to transition into the full track later on. As long as the sonic character of the parts (either stems or alt mixes) is similar then the subtleties of limiting action are not going to be of much concern.

What that means is, always do your own mastering so its within your control (ie don't use on-line mastering services because the limiting will be different for every stem/alt mix).

There seems little point preparing stems for Taxi submissions though. If a track is forwarded the library might ask for edits before accepting it, and if its returned you might want to work on some more before re-submitting.

Thanks everyone for your answers!

I mainly want to avoid mastering my projects in a way that would prevent me from exporting stems if and when a publisher asks for them. Sounds like my current setup will work just fine.

telefunkin wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:35 pm

What that means is, always do your own mastering so its within your control (ie don't use on-line mastering services because the limiting will be different for every stem/alt mix).

I already do that, since I don't want to be at the mercy of an online service that might shutdown at a moment's notice when the investors behind it go for the next shiny thing... plus the online services I tried all sounded worse than the mastering assistent from Logic Pro. I've recently switched to Ozone, which sounds even better.

JimOfferman wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 27, 2025 2:21 am

I've recently switched to Ozone, which sounds even better.

Folks I know that do lots of libray music almost all have their mastering chain in the DAW session - Most of them use Ozone , but it simplfies things a great deal when you can finsh writing / mixing and then engage Ozone

cosmicdolphin wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 27, 2025 4:37 am

Most of them use Ozone , but it simplfies things a great deal when you can finsh writing / mixing and then engage Ozone

Yes, indeed.

I just solo the stem tracks and leave everything as is.