Best practice for archiving a song

[darren]

Apologies for starting a non-Pro 8 thread but I thought I'd ask a question about best practice for archiving a song.

I've just finished producing an album and I want to preserve each mix for a time in the future when the plugins won't work or the midi instruments won't work. In essence I want to bounce every single track down to a wave file but keep the routing, fader and pan positions from the final mix.

Or, to put it another way, I want a set of audio tracks which, when played together, are identical to the final mix.

I've tried exporting stems (both channels and tracks) but neither of those work. I've thought about transforming to rendered audio but then I don't bake in the bus processing. I've tried mixdown selection for each individual track (!) and that came close but not exactly the same.

So I'm at a bit of a loss at how to preserve the session (at track level) with all the bus, routing, panning, volume, FX and so on all baked in to each track.

 

[SwitchBack]

Honestly, if you use dynamic processing (compression, limiting, saturation...) on your mix buses then your only option is to store your computer and DAW with the files. Apparently you're OK with baking the track processing into your track files, but even two tracks into a bus compressor will interact. If you can't guarantee that the same bus processing is available after you update your DAW and/or platform then make some room in you attic.

 

[Vocalpoint]

I've just finished producing an album and I want to preserve each mix for a time in the future when the plugins won't work or the midi instruments won't work.

I usually just document the busses and if I ever did need to recreate - that would be my base map.

But the way I work - transform to audio is the GOAT and all I really care about.

My archive strategy is simple - ensure I have a clean (full) representation (printed) of every track as it existed prior to final mixdown.

If I ever did need to haul out an old session for a remix - it would be with a new clean mix, with new (future bus techniques, plugs etc) and a new attitude anyway so printing busses is not a concern for me.

VP

 

[darren]

I've been going round and round this for the past few weeks and I've come to the conclusion that there is no answer. My worry is that if a plugin changes (due to an update) or simply stops working then I won't be able to recall the session in the future. Having thought about all different ways of archiving a song I realise that there's no full-proof way of protecting yourself against this because it depends where that plugin is in the routing.

Depending on where the plugin is in the routing (track, bus, main out) you'd want to archive it differently. On top of that, there's no "quick" way to archive tracks (as opposed to channels) because whereas channels can be done in one pass, tracks are done one at a time which takes quite a few hours for an entire song.

To offer up some protection (and because it was quick) I've decided to archive each channel for each song (importing them into the session) but that obviously only goes so far.

If anybody think I've missed a really good method of achieving this then please let me know but otherwise it's probably just best to accept that older sessions may not be recallable.

 

[Vocalpoint]

My worry is that if a plugin changes (due to an update) or simply stops working then I won't be able to recall the session in the future.

Respectfully- you might be misunderstanding the concept of "archiving" if you are expecting to recreate the session 10 years from now with it's ALL it's bits and pieces as they exist right now

For me - "archiving" is the penultimate state of preservation of the session in it's final form.

Render all stems, print all FX , all automation - everything - as it was at final mix.

If I ever need to revisit a session - this method ensures that I am getting the exact end game - WITHOUT needing to worry about the future. What computers are now not available, what plugins do not exist etc.

It has never been "I want to open this session in 2032 with the same plugins I have today" - it's more like "I want to open this session in 2032 and know it sounds exactly the way I left it in 2026".

My archive method ASSUMES that those plugins will never be available again - not the other way around.

YMMV

VP

 

[darren]

Respectfully- you might be misunderstanding the concept of "archiving" if you are expecting to recreate the session 10 years from now with it's ALL it's bits and pieces as they exist right now

For me - "archiving" is the penultimate state of preservation of the session in it's final form.

Render all stems, print all FX , all automation - everything - as it was at final mix.

If I ever need to revisit a session - this method ensures that I am getting the exact end game - WITHOUT needing to worry about the future. What computers are now not available, what plugins do not exist etc.

It has never been "I want to open this session in 2032 with the same plugins I have today" - it's more like "I want to open this session in 2032 and know it sounds exactly the way I left it in 2026".

My archive method ASSUMES that those plugins will never be available again - not the other way around.

YMMV

VP

Respectfully, I'm not "misunderstanding the concept" I'm telling you what I'd like to achieve and asking if anybody can thinking of a way of doing it.

What I want to achieve is to be able to recreate the session even if one of those plugins has either changed or doesn't work any more. If a client asks me for a remix or remaster 2 months, 2 years or 20 years down the road I'm thinking of what I'd need to do to still be able to do that. Unless you render every which way (event based, track based, channel based, global) then you aren't covered for any eventuality.

 

[Vocalpoint]

What I want to achieve is to be able to recreate the session even if one of those plugins has either changed or doesn't work any more. If a client asks me for a remix or remaster 2 months, 2 years or 20 years down the road I'm thinking of what I'd need to do to still be able to do that.

Understood. But that is not really not archiving (by standard definition)

Your use case is keeping all projects at the ready, regardless of time or tech - indefinitely.

If a plugin has been killed off - there is no going back. My method at least prints something which is better than nothing.

I am planning for the Kontakt version that cannot be loaded or the automation that can not be recreated.

Instant recall of a 15 year old session is a completely different conversation and concept to me.

VP

 

[darren]

Well, not going to argue over semantics but that's what I'd like to achieve. I've not updated my plugins for the duration of this project just in case that changes their behaviour on the mixes that I've already finished. But now the album is finished and sent off for distribution I'd like to update everything without worrying about what happens if the client comes back in 2 months and asks for a remix.

I realise it all depends on what they want changing but that's why this is proving such a conundrum. Unless you render it out in every which way possible (which I don't think is realistic) then you're kind of trusting to luck.

 

[Vocalpoint]

Well, not going to argue over semantics but that's what I'd like to achieve. I've not updated my plugins for the duration of this project just in case that changes their behaviour on the mixes that I've already finished. But now the album is finished and sent off for distribution I'd like to update everything without worrying about what happens if the client comes back in 2 months and asks for a remix.

I realise it all depends on what they want changing but that's why this is proving such a conundrum. Unless you render it out in every which way possible (which I don't think is realistic) then you're kind of trusting to luck.

The only way achieve what you want to achieve is to keep all your software static and never change anything.

Committing to a project and truly archiving it’s final state - to me - means I am good to move on. AKA updating plugins. Upgrading Studio Pro. Etc etc.

However if you believe you will need a remix in 15 months from now with the identical specifics as they are at this moment - AND insist on 100% accuracy and flexibility - you cannot change anything.

It is a conundrum but it is also not archiving either. Semantics aside.

VP

 

[darren]

I don't think that's quite true.

As an example, let's say a plugin stops working (or works different after an update) but I've only used it on the lead vocal track. And let's say that the client wants more compression of the electric guitars. As long as I had either the vocal track or the vocal bus (without the rendered master out effects) then I should be fine.

But (you see the problem here) I'm giving an example that works to explain my point but the only way that EVERY example works is if you render EVERY different option to cover every single eventuality. I kind of hoped that I could walk in the footsteps of those that had solved this dilemma but it looks like it just isn't possible.

 

[Vocalpoint]

I don't think that's quite true.

As an example, let's say a plugin stops working (or works different after an update) but I've only used it on the lead vocal track. And let's say that the client wants more compression of the electric guitars. As long as I had either the vocal track or the vocal bus (without the rendered master out effects) then I should be fine.

But (you see the problem here) I'm giving an example that works to explain my point but the only way that EVERY example works is if you render EVERY different option to cover every single eventuality. I kind of hoped that I could walk in the footsteps of those that had solved this dilemma but it looks like it just isn't possible.

Your use case is simply different that mine. If a client called me 4 years after a session was archived (using my definition) - he would get what he gets - at the time of the request.

If that is a different compressor or a different vibe on the guitars - it's that or nothing. But he won't get the 2026 mix as it existed in 2026 - unless I print everything - which is really as close to perfect as it will ever be. Sound for sound, FX for FX etc.

OR I could print a dry copy of everything in 2026 - and then in 2032 remix as best I could with future FX and automation moves - but now we are into a full new remix scenario there and a totally different use case.

It's like Atlantic asking the remaining members of Led Zep if they can "modernize" the drum sound on Led Zep 4's master reels. No way to recreate the 1971 mixing environment on that one - so you would get what you get.

While I do understand where you are coming from - if you are looking to be able to recreate every single eventuality - you are not really committing to anything and hence not really archiving at all - so you may as well freeze the DAW and wait for a call to come in.

VP

 

[BobF]

Archive the entire song folder. Do side x side installs of software without deleting prior versions. This won't solve the changed/obsoleted plug-in problem, but it will be the best you can hope for.

 

[SwitchBack]

If preserving everything is a must then I stand by my earlier suggestion to mothball the entire computer. But storing an entire computer with every update to OS, apps or add-ons is maybe a bit much. In my PC days my desktops had front-loading trays for the harddrives. It allowed me to swap out entire installations by simply replacing the system drive. Until you start thinking about upgrading the computer hardware that could be a way to save the chicken and the egg: Clone the system drive before updating. And always have backups.

 

[Vocalpoint]

If preserving everything is a must then I stand by my earlier suggestion to mothball the entire computer. But storing an entire computer with every update to OS, apps or add-ons is maybe a bit much. In my PC days my desktops had front-loading trays for the harddrives. It allowed me to swap out entire installations by simply replacing the system drive. Until you start thinking about upgrading the computer hardware that could be a way to save the chicken and the egg: Clone the system drive before updating. And always have backups.

As long as the target machine (whatever it is) is capable of using the hardware drivers stored on a full sys image - that would be ideal.

But that is also a crap shoot if you intend to pull an image from 2026 and load it in to hardware purchased in 2032.

VP

 

[SwitchBack]

As long as the target machine (whatever it is) is capable of using the hardware drivers stored on a full sys image - that would be ideal.

But that is also a crap shoot if you intend to pull an image from 2026 and load it in to hardware purchased in 2032.

VP

Yes, so replacing the computer means that you have to move the old one to storage too.

 

[Surf.Whammy]

There a few strategies, but probably only one does what the OP envisions.

Surf.Whammy’s Treatise on Ultimate Song Archiving

BACKGROUND After working on computers for over half a century, I am an ADHD/OCD fanatic on archiving and the art of freezing time; and last year in 2025, I described and explained several strategies in vast detail in one the volumes in my series of books on “The Art of Digital Music Production”...

studiooneforum.com

 

[FMN-Music]

Got too much time on my hand, so I did a video on how I go about archiving.
Maybe there is something useful in there for you.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Surf.Whammy]

Got too much time on my hand, so I did a video on how I go about archiving.
Maybe there is something useful in there for you.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

This is excellent.

 

[darren]

Got too much time on my hand, so I did a video on how I go about archiving.
Maybe there is something useful in there for you.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Thanks @FMN-Music, that is a really good video and very well thought through. You've confirmed where I was going in that you actually need to archive more than one thing thing to be "fully" protected but you've boiled it down to just 3 - tracks, buses and plugins.

I'm going to watch this video again (and also work out the right macros for the way I set up my songs) but this sounds like an excellent way of doing things which protects you from pretty much any eventuality.

@Surf.Whammy, also appreciate your post although that's a slightly different take. @FMN-Music has really addressed my main question (I think).

 

[darren]

What I was wondering this morning (before being distracted by the video above) was about doing an "export mixdown" on every individual track. That bakes in everything except the stuff on the "Main Out" and means you can recreate any part of the song exactly using the individual track, or groups of tracks (if the bus is the issue) simply routed directly to the Main Out.

So if a plugin on a track was the issue then just replace that track with the "export mixdown" of that track (routed to main out) to recreate it. If the issue was on a bus then just use all the tracks that were routed to that bus.

I believe that export mixdown is the only render that allows you to bake in everything (track inserts, sends, bus fx) to an individual track.

My biggest head scratcher with this is how to automate it because you have to do it track by track so it really needs a macro to make it workable. But if that is doable, and I assume it is, then this could be the best answer to my original problem.

isn't it?