Building a home studio – particularly building one on a budget, as most of us do – is often all about compromise. It's about finding the equipment that will deliver the sound you desire while still staying within your budget. Often this means skimping on certain equipment, and while that can be fine in many areas, one area where you shouldn't cut corners to save money is on your studio monitors.
![speaker Monitor](https://api.sageaudio.com/storage/article/uploads/2012-12-speaker-300x199.jpg)
Now, this isn't to say that you need to go spend tens of thousands of dollars on monitors to achieve a great mix, but it does mean that you can't just decide that your current external computer speakers or headphones will be “good enough” - because they won't be.
- Note: Headphones can have a place in mixing, and we'll discuss that role in another blog – but suffice it to say they do not replace studio monitors.
Consumer speakers are designed to make music sound better. This means they come with their own EQ settings, and is also one of the reasons your mix sounds different on every stereo you test it on. The goal of studio monitors, also known as reference monitors, is to have them produce a flat frequency response so nothing is getting boosted or cut that shouldn't be – that's your job as a mixer, not the job of your speakers.
The best studio monitors have a flat frequency response, and they equally represent all the frequencies the human ear can hear. This typically means that smaller studio monitors may not have enough bass response for you to get a true representation of the low end of your mix. Like all music equipment, prices on the equipment will vary, but you probably will not want to spend less than $300 on a good pair of monitors. Finding a pro audio expert that knows monitors and is willing to show you examples of all the monitors available is a great way to find the monitors that work best for you.
To illustrate two opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to studio monitor needs, I offer two examples:
- The first is my own. When I was putting together my first home studio years ago, I bought a pair of monitors cheap from a buddy of mine that was upgrading to a better set of monitors (that should have been my first clue). At first, I cranked up some pre-recorded music through the speakers that sounded great. I thought I had found a great deal – until I went to mix my first song with the monitors.
The mix sounded great on the monitors, but when I played the song on my car stereo, the bass was so loud it nearly shattered the windows (keep in mind this was an Americana song, so the windows weren't supposed to be shaking). The monitors didn't have the low end response I needed for an accurate sound.
- The second is on the other end of the studio spectrum, at our own CD mastering studio, where we put together a system of some of the best monitors available to produce some of the best mastered songs available. We use a pair of Tyler Acoustic D1 mains powered by a Bryston 4B SST amplifier, as well as a pair of custom SS-M7 monitors and mono-block tube amps (the latter is for home stereo system referencing). You can learn more about our equipment on our homepage, and you can also visit our online mastering page to find out how to have your own home studio mixes mastered and made ready for distribution.
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 >