---
log: 007
title: "Raising 63 performances from a 436 GB wreck"
date: 2026-06-05
task: "#13 Ardour stem salvage"
tags: [salvage, stems, ardour, tooling, reconstruction]
shareable: true
---

## Cap (what & why)
The single 436 GB Ardour "Tidal Multi" session is the richest stem source we have.
Get per-orbit stems out for every performance — without re-rendering or risking the session.

## Manœuvre (how)
Parsed `Tidal Multi.ardour` (5.4 MB XML) — the *index*, not the audio. Sources are
named `TakeN_Tidal X-1%L/R.wav`, so **Take = performance**. Built a reusable exporter
(`ardour_stem_export.py`) that, per take, joins each orbit's L/R interchange captures
into a stereo FLAC in the Montreuil26 standard layout
(`Prod/_stems/{date}_{take}/orbit-NN.flac` + manifest). Validated on Take3 (clean 12)
and Take18 (13-ch, Mic) before bulk.

## Prise (findings / artifacts)
- **63 performances** dated **2024-08-08 → 2026-05-22** — the complete recorded history,
  as a timeline (datable onto the gig calendar: 2026-05-22=Montreuil, 2025-06-21=CosmicFest v0…).
- Full export ≈ **~22 GB** FLAC from **449 GB** raw.
- Reusable: `ardour_stem_export.py --list | --take X | --all`.

## Sel (the shareable learning)
- **The project file is an index, not the audio.** Parsing 5.4 MB of XML unlocked 436 GB —
  let the metadata point you at the bytes; don't move the bytes blindly.
- **449 GB → 22 GB (0.05×).** 32-bit float WAV + many silent orbits + FLAC = ~20× crush.
  "It's too big to keep" is often false once you measure.
- **Size ≠ value** (the inverse, from the same day): a 25 GB abandoned Audacity master was
  garbage, while 84 KB silent-orbit stems are correct and worth keeping.
- **Name by what survives** — `Take=performance`, dated by file mtime — so opaque take
  numbers become a navigable, gig-mappable timeline.

## Hameçon (hook)
"My live archive was one 436-gigabyte file I was scared to touch. A 5-megabyte index
inside it let me lift out 63 whole performances as clean stems — total 22 GB."

## Sillage (what it unlocks)
Cross-reference take dates → gigs (site lives) to name the folders; stems then power
remasters, the Montreuil-standard `events.json` audio-reactive viz, and the drone videos (#15).
