Mastering is an extremely important part of the audio engineering process, yet it remains something of a misunderstood art form to many. In its simplest definition; mastering adds the “finishing touch” to a song that makes it ready for distribution and radio or streaming play.
With the Sage Audio Articles and YouTube Channel, we’re putting together a collection of articles and video tutorials to help those who have questions about mastering. Tutorials will vary in subject, and range from the definition of mastering, to the differences between mastering for streaming vs. mastering for vinyl, to how to prepare your mixes for mastering, and many more topics concerning mastering.
But more than that, we want the Sage Audio Articles to be a resource for anyone interested in audio engineering. Therefore, we want to keep you up-to-date on the latest engineering techniques, new products, audio plugins, and really, any other subjects that strike us as something that musicians, producers, mixing engineers, mastering engineers, and anyone else in the music industry might be interested in.
![Ben Ringle](https://www.sageaudio.com/img/studio/tn/ben-ringle.jpg)
Sage Audio focuses on providing mastering services for both independent and mainstream artists, and we want to make sure that each article or video we publish pertains to all individuals looking for in-depth experienced knowledge in the audio engineering industry. We’ll share any news we feel is important, and any new products that might help artists producers, mixing engineers, and mastering engineers create the best possible sound for their music.
We do this for the same reason we offer a FREE mastering preview for any prospective clients that haven’t previously worked with Sage Audio. It works like this: you upload your final mix through our easy-to-use upload system, and we’ll send you back a half-song mastered sample of your song.
While we strongly encourage you to listen to the before and after samples of songs provided on the Sage Audio homepage and the Samples page, the best way to hear what our mastering services can do for you is to hear a final master of your own song. Our unique high-quality mastering services are among the best in the industry, and we offer them a price that’s significantly less than other top-quality mastering studios.
Want to hear what Sage Audio can do for you? Head to our artist account page to sign up for your free account, and then upload your songs through our quick and secure uploading system. Once we’re finished with your sample, we’ll send you an email and you can download the finished master directly from your Sage Audio account.
Here’s to making your good music sound even better with Sage Audio.
So, Why A Membership?
Let’s face it — trying to create professional mixes without the correct knowledge, tools, services, and network is like playing a concert with a broken instrument to an audience of no one.
That’s where the Sage Audio membership comes in — the membership gives you everything you need to create professional mixes consistently.
The membership is the secret to your success — it’s the difference between the 1,929,999,999 of poor-sounding mixes and the .00000002% of mixes that make people say 'WOW!"
There are 7 unique value-points included in your Sage Audio membership.
Let’s go over each one so you can decide if the membership is right for you.
1. Sage Audio University
- SAU Flagship Mixing Course: 23-video in-depth mixing course that reveals the little-known secrets of mixing and matches the needs of the new music industry.
- SAU Flagship Mastering Course: 19-video in-depth modern mastering course that dives into every nuance of making professional-sounding masters.
- SAU Pre-Mastering Course: Concise pre-mastering course that details the latest industry standards for preparing your mixes for mastering.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from budding mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout each course.
- Each SAU course includes Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website and social channels.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
2. Private 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio private 1-on-1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us for advanced mixing feedback, in-depth discussions, and customized guidance that's tailored to your specific needs.
- Unlimited private access to us for advanced mixing feedback, where we provide detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Unlimited private access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve every aspect of your mixes and masters.
- Customized guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs.
- Fast communication so you can improve your skills quickly.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited professional mixing feedback directly from us so you can consistently improve your skills and create professional mixes.
- Mixing feedback is invaluable, and the Sage Audio membership gives you continual direct access to us for real-world feedback so you can improve every aspect of each of your mixes while you're in the process of mixing.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
4. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
5. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with additional real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 71 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
7. 800+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into categories so you can easily take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your skills at your own pace.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >