Is Prime 4 Plus Stems a Joke?

I spent over $3,000-+ (AUD) in Aug 2024 on thee understanding the DP4+ had STEMS…seriously not happy :pensive:

If people choose the STEMS beta…you are going backwards in Updates, thus loosing Update features that have since been released

You probably should have done your research before buying, as Denon never indicated that the stems on the prime 4+ would be anything other than beta at the moment (so experimental)

What’s weird to me is that we don’t even have a way to load STEMs generated off-device. When I played with the public beta of Engine DJ OS with STEMs, to interface with it, you had to click tiny icons on the touch screen, making it super clunky.

What we need is for a STEM Performance Pad mode. We need to standardize how we store STEM’d tracks vs a normal track.

ie:

meLon Cucumis - My Super Cool Track/
├── 01-Bass.wav
├── 02-Drums.wav
├── 03-Instrumental.wav
├── 04-Vocals.wav
├── 05-Other.wav
└── .stem

The point isn’t the name of the .wavs, but the fact there is a .stem file in the directory. When I import this directory into Engine DJ Desktop, it should see that this is a STEM’d track, and I should simply see My Super Cool Track in my Collection, with a icon next to it showing me it has STEMs.

Then, when I load this track in Engine DJ OS, I am able to put the Performance Pads into STEM mode, and each of the STEMS, up to the number of pads, are loaded into the pads, and the name of the STEM is shown, just like it would be displayed if the pads were in Sample mode.

Now I can play the track, loop, whatever, and I can trigger the different STEMs using their associated Performance Pad. This gives us a way to use existing STEMs, and could be seen on devices that can’t generate STEMs themselves.

While this is happening, Denon works on their STEM’ing technology, working out issues, but following this ‘standard’. So, when the Prime 4+ creates STEMS, even if it only creates three, or in the future six, or whatever, it creates a directory and .stem file, which can then be used in the future without re-processing each session.

I am seeing more and more tracks released with full STEMs, and I don’t want to be locked into Denon’s STEM’ing. I want basic STEM support, with the additional, optional, super dope feature that if for some reason I needed to, my Prime 4+ could generate the STEMS on the fly.

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It would be amazing if there was a standard format for those files, or even the ability to read/save all the variations, but the chances are probably slim to none.

I know the OG Traktor stems were open, but nobody else took it up.

Wasn’t the format used by traktor something like mp4? In any case they used a multitrack container which had the advantage of grouping all the separate tracks into a single file if I remember correctly.

Maybe this would be an opportunity to revisit the idea of ​​a similar format if Engine had to export files whose tracks were pre-calculated by the desktop application.

meLon Cucumis - My Super Cool Track/ ├── 01-Bass.wav ├── 02-Drums.wav ├── 03-Instrumental.wav ├── 04-Vocals.wav ├── 05-Other.wav └── .stem

This was the Traktor way of doing it (.stem was even the format even though it was an mp4 container). The fifth channel was each part mixed as a master/original file which would be read if you didn’t use stems.

Denon DJ only use two for their stem format which is good for quick acapella or instrumental tracks.

The stem creator tool was abandoned but would still work to make your own stem files I assume?

Just like the task of getting all the companies to create one OpenDB for library uses, it will probably never happen without Rekordbox VdJ and Serato adding it. This would be awesome though.

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To be honest, if I was a Traktor S8 or S5 user I would be making traktor stem files files now out my entire track library using a 3rd party solution and stem creator tool, really a no brainer.

Record companies didn’t wanted your money a few years back for a stem pack of back catalogue tracks? Great, now they don’t get any.

Are you sure for this? if Denon never indicated that they would launch stems on P4 plus , why there are so many people ask for this. Do not plays defense Denon

Because people don’t do research before dropping thousands of pounds on gear, nobody is defending Denon, but then we also shouldn’t be defending people who buy expensive items without finding out the facts beforehand. It’s unforgivable in this age of information that people still do this, the internet was in its infancy when I bought my first decks so I had to rely on a simple magazine advert.

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Traktor’s previous Stems technology created Stems files by using another software tool. But that has to be produced by the music producer.

Traktor now also build in iZotope’s powerful RX technology that let Traktor can directly separate vocals, drums, melody, and bass directly in software.

Because a lot of influencers obviously got a little too excited and distorted reality a little to get as many clicks and views on YouTube as possible, at best by playing on the ambiguity and at worst by sometimes forgetting to specify that it was only in beta as an experiment and that nothing was ready to be launched at this stage, or even if it would actually be one day.

Most resellers took the information from the influencers for their product sheet without necessarily mentioning it as well, which didn’t help.

So thousands of people have been influenced by biased communication, have only remembered two words “Stems” and ‘standalone’ and like you have run to get a P4+ without inquiring in detail by going for example to see the product page on the Denon website which explicitly indicates that it is only in beta.

I am not defending Denon I am explaining the facts.

Probably Denon’s communication should have been better and to remind these influencers to make a video to insist on the fact that it was a beta version.

But probably also that people should stop taking as real value everything that influencers say without taking the trouble to go and check by yourself directly at the source, that is to say on the manufacturer’s website itself.

As the saying goes, it is better to trust God than his saints.

So powerful that they are not on the fly at the moment :rofl: :rofl:

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I think it’s the other way around actually. It would cost a fortune and many years of work to pull out all the multitracks for millions of back catalogue songs (where they exist), have someone mix those tracks down to just four stems, save into all the various formats used by the different software etc. Not to mention their concerns over releasing high quality isolated elements of tracks into the wild.

No! That is definitely wrong. In fact the major update was announced for summer not “by only one reseller”… It was also announced directly by denon to the resellers and the beta was the prerelease for testers BEFORE Summer. In fact I was waiting for this release because the beta’s stem quality was really bad. I also owned a resellers prime 4+ for testing and this huge german store for equipment had to explicitely announce the feature as the first standalone system with stems!!! And there were no exhibition samples. Every device has to be bought, what really surprised us the most…And check DJay Pro with its feature that is working realtime even with streamed tracks on any device - even on iphone…Really glad I did not buy this device only for get contracted to amazon music. Do you really want to tell people after buying the amazon feature was the only reason to buy? After seratos release and th ATs announcement to buy in to it, everything stucked…i really hope denon now.reacts with a new device because someone has to stop pioneers disaster on djgear but this move is not correct. My opinion on this…

Nothing I said was, or is wrong.

That’s also quite a few bold statements you’re throwing around there. Posting things as ‘absolute fact’ with zero proof.

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Announcing the first standalone system with stems is one thing, having the world’s first standalone system with High Quality stems is another. It’s all in the nuance.

Don’t expect too much from standalone units on this point at this stage.

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I dont give anything on you and if you believe me. IT’S just my opinion on this Kind of Marketing and they still sell the device as the First standalone with stems. But it still is not really One. Denon has to proof What they sold to the people. I did Not buy this One :wink:

It’s not an opinion, you’re throwing around accusations, there’s a massive difference.

Let’s not play twisty twisty here and shy away from the fact you’re making accusations.

First issue, there is no such thing as ‘Denon’, there is a complany called InMusic who release products under various brands, including one called ‘Denon DJ’… the high end hifi brand have no part in this.

Second issue, that is some bold claims you’re making here, so unless you can back them up with facts, its probably best to retract them, as you shouldn’t be spewing this stuff then twisting around 180 to then claim its only an opinion.