How to upload stems to your Synthstrom Deluge
Last Updated 07 September 2022 by Michael Forrest
I had a lot of stems that I wanted to load onto my Deluge but it was a time-consuming and error-prone process through the hardware UI. Don’t get me wrong, the interface is far beyond what is available on most comparable sequencers, but sometimes you just need a computer.
I built a drag-and-drop tool to drag my stems and organise with a few clicks. Then you just put in your Deluge’s SD card and hit “Export to Deluge” to copy over all the audio files and a new song.
Try Deluge Stems Uploader for free
Here’s a video showing all the steps outlined below. This app has its own section on the Official Deluge Forum if you want to talk about it!
How does it work?
Grab a folder of stems, ideally following a naming convention that allows them to be automatically put in the right order.
Here’s what my Ableton project looks like
Note that I have placed a locator for each section, numbered, with its length in bars.
My naming convention looks like this:
{abbreviated title} {section number} ({length} bars) {part type}
For example: PND 3 (16 Bars) Bass → “Party Next Door, Section 3, 16 Bars, Bass”
Now I can select a column and use “Rendered Track”→ “All Individual Tracks”. Then I can set the filename with reference to what I put in the region marker.
This results in files in the format that I can drag directly into the Deluge manager (after deleting the files I didn’t want like (A-Reverb and B-Delay and the plain .aif master mix file).
Create a new file in the Deluge Manager App with File → New…
Rename it to the title you want on the Deluge by clicking the title bar.
Now select all your files and drag them into your project.
Resize the window a bit to tidy up the layout until it looks a bit more like this:
Use ONE of the Beats drop-down menus to calculate ALL of the lengths.
For example, I can see the first is 8 bars so I select 32 beats.
This will update all of the lengths. You can verify the correct length was found by looking under your wav names.
Don’t worry if some of the drop-downs are now blank - it just means that the length wasn’t a power of 2 - it will come through as the correct length on the Deluge.
Set each section
If your song is organised by section, you can use the numbered buttons. This means that when you tap the SECTION buttons on your Deluge you will cue all the stems in that section.
Set colours to taste
You can colour code your different part types by using the swatches. I colour code by part type - e.g. bass, vocals, drums etc…
Insert your Deluge’s SD card into your computer
You will need to rename this card to DELUGE for the tool to work properly.
When your card is found, the Export to Deluge button will become active. Click the button and all your audio files will be copied to the Deluge and song will be created.
Now you can eject the card and try it in the Deluge.
Rinse, Repeat
If you have loads of tracks that you want in your Deluge, this is the easiest way to load them up.
You can get the tool via my website at squares.tv/deluge. I’m charging a few quid for it because it really will save you a lot of time.
This app requires macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later.
