Exporting WAV stems
A reference for the WAV files Axion produces — channel layout, bit depth, naming, and what "stems" means today versus once the multitrack looper ships.
This is a short reference page for the WAV files that come out of Axion. For the workflow of recording — when to hit record, what gets captured, what doesn't — see Recording your performance.
What you get today
A single stereo WAV file per recording session, written when you stop the recorder. The file is sample-accurate, post-cab, full effect chain. One file per take is the current model — there's no per-stem split yet.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Container | RIFF / WAVE |
| Format tag | WAVE_FORMAT_IEEE_FLOAT (3) |
| Bit depth | 32-bit float (no clipping at file boundary) |
| Channels | 2 (stereo, interleaved L/R) |
| Sample rate | Whatever the engine is running at (typically 48 kHz) |
| Header | Canonical 44-byte WAV header |
| Naming | axion-recording-<ISO-timestamp>.wav |
This is the format every modern DAW and the major audio editors read natively — Reaper, Audacity, Pro Tools, Logic, Bitwig, Cubase, Studio One. Drop the file on the DAW's timeline and you're done.
NOTE The "stems" framing on this page is forward-looking. Right now Axion produces one stereo file per take, not a stem set. The looper that adds per-track stems is a planned feature — read on for what that looks like when it lands.
What's coming — clean-DI alongside wet
The immediate next step is a wet / dry / both mode picker on the recorder. In both mode, each take produces two paired WAV files:
<basename>-WET.wav— the post-cab rig output (current behaviour).<basename>-DI.wav— the dry input signal, captured post-input-gain but pre-pedalboard.
Both files share the same start timestamp to the sample, so they sit on a DAW timeline aligned. The DI file is the raw guitar signal at the level the rig actually processes — useful for re-amping later, for sending to another modeller to compare, or just for re-tracking through a different preset without re-playing the part.
What's coming — per-track loop stems
When the multitrack looper ships, each looper track will be addressable as a stem. The stem-export concept slots in there: stop the loop, hit Export, get one WAV per track, all aligned to the master loop length.
This is the natural shape because looper tracks are already separated audio streams — the recorder just needs to flush each track's AudioBuffer to its own file. No new file format, no new metadata; the same 32-bit-float-stereo-WAV format multiplied by track count.
Until the looper ships, "exporting stems" effectively means "use the wet/dry/both mode and treat the two files as a two-stem export" — which covers the most common stem split (dry guitar + processed signal) for free.
Why 32-bit float
A pragmatic note worth recording somewhere. Most DAWs default to 24-bit fixed-point for export. Axion goes 32-bit float for three reasons:
- No clipping at the file boundary. A signal that hits +3 dBFS internally (e.g. a transient through a soft-clipper) survives the file. Truncating to 24-bit would shave the peak.
- Headroom for downstream processing. If you mix or master the file in a DAW, 32-bit float means you can pull faders down without nudging the bottom of the bit depth.
- The cost is invisible. A 32-bit float WAV is 33% larger than a 24-bit file. For takes measured in minutes, the size difference is uninteresting; for the safety it buys, it's free.
If you need 24-bit fixed for delivery, do the conversion in your DAW where the dither is configurable.