It no longer costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce an excellent sounding mix and master. Thanks to breakthroughs in recording technology, we wanted to show that you can build a professional sounding studio for $5,000.
In our previous post, we made recommendations for an interface, hard drive and DAW. Here, we’ll recommend monitors, mics, room treatments and a MIDI controller.
JBL Pro SLR308 Monitors - $475 / pair
You’re going to need a pair of reference monitors to do your mixing and mastering. The JBL Pro Active SLR308s are a great option. They feature new "waveguide" technology for optimal stereo imaging and can be purchased as a pair for under $500.
AKG C214 Matched Pair Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphones - $750 / stereo pair
While it’s best to have a variety of mics to choose from when recording, starting out with a matched pair of large diaphragm condenser mics can suffice for a wide range of recording necessities. You can record most any instrument, including drums in stereo when needed.
The AKG C214 is an excellent all around microphone that’s been long trusted by producers. Whether you’re recording vocals or acoustic guitar, it will give you a clear, rich print of your signal.
M-Audio Axiom 49 - $300
With the countless high-quality virtual instruments available today, having a proper MIDI controller is essential. Many virtual instruments can be purchased for much less than their real counterpart, while still providing a studio quality tone.
The M-Audio Axiom 49 is a solid choice for MIDI controllers. The 49 keys, along with faders, knobs and pads, coupled with a sturdy construction, makes it everything you’ll need to start programming and mixing MIDI tracks.
Prime Acoustics London 8 - $200
Almost certainly, you’ll want to do some sort of acoustic treatment in your studio. Every recording and mixing space has its own sonic signature that can interfere with your ability to hear and mix the way your music truly sounds. The answer is to create as frequency-neutral of a space as possible.
The London 8 kit from Primacoustics is a good starting point for treating your room. It gives you four large sound absorption panels and eight small ones. The material is a much higher quality than foam, too, which is prone to deaden upper frequencies and harmonics while not affecting bass.
With top monitors, mics, room treatments to go along with your interface and DAW, you’ll have everything you need to create great sounding mixes, all for $4,835. You can even use your leftover cash to pick up a few high-quality virtual instruments.
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 >
