Welcome once again to Sage Audio’s Emerging Studio Technology blog series. This semi-regular series takes a look at the latest and greatest (and sometimes not so greatest) gadgets and technologies for studios. Some of the things we cover are designed specifically for home studio recording, while other technology may fit better in our own CD mastering studio. But most components can be of use to many engineers, producers and musicians – if it’s new and related to recording or mastering studios, you’ll find it here.
We have something of a special edition of the Emerging Studio Technology blog, as tons of new products were introduced at the 133rd annual Audio Engineering Society (AES) Conference that was held in San Francisco October 26-29.
Ableton Live 9 and Ableton Push
But before getting to those new products, there were two big announcements made by Ableton that came one day prior to the beginning of the conference: Ableton 9 Live will be available soon, as will a new product called Ableton Push.
As looked at in our study of the Best DAW , Ableton is a popular recording software, particularly, for recording loops. Many users will be very excited about the update, which includes a slew of new features. But it’s the Push that is getting the most attention.
Ableton Push is the company’s first piece of hardware, and Gizmodo has declared that “The MPC of the future is here.” The Music Production Center is powered by any version of Ableton Live 9, but allows you to compose without looking at or touching your computer.
2012 AES Conference
And now for a bit about the products introduced at the conference. Nothing as big as the Ableton announcement was revealed, though there were quite a few interesting hardware and software products unveiled.
One of the most buzzed about products was the Slate Raven . This mixing system is a 46” touchscreen that includes all of the controls of a standard mixing console. One of the first system of its kind, it remains to be seen whether this is something engineers will want to work with in the future.
There were a couple of software programs released during the event that showed up on our radar as an audio mastering studio. The first was the Radiator saturation plugin by SoundToys , designed to replicate the sound of classic audio processors. Shadow Hills also released the Mastering Compressor Plugin , which appears to work just what its name would suggest.
Though this final note is mostly only of interest for San Franciscans, it is pretty cool. The conference also served as the launch event for the Bay Area Music Collective (BAMC) , which is aimed at helping independent musicians in the Bay Area.
“Labels used to cover many of these steps but now artists are expected to ‘do-it-yourself,’” said producer and engineer Michael Starita, who launched the organization. “BAMC is ready to assist our members through the whole process.”
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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