Sage Audio’s semi-regular video series Inside the Recording Studio is only two installments old as of this publishing, but already we’ve started to branch out just a bit. Though we do see Alicia Keys and French Montana inside a recording studio, the two spend the majority of their time speaking about the writing of the songs they are recording. The Rolling Stones don’t actually even visit the studio in their video, but the new footage of the now 50-year-old group is nonetheless captivating.
Suffice it to say, we love getting inside looks at artists and their creative process. Sometimes that means watching a CD mastering producer tweak knobs in a studio, and sometimes that means watching French Montana rap a cappella in a hallway.
Alicia Keys – “Girl on Fire”
On his 2006 album Modern Times, Bob Dylan made a somewhat perplexing statement: “I’m wondering where in the world Alicia Keys could be/I’ve been looking for her even clear through Tennessee.” Well, I doubt anyone will ever know what sparked Dylan’s sudden interest in a young R&B singer, but if he’s still looking, he can find her in the studio.
The New York Times recently shot video of Keys in studio, describing the creation of her song “Girl on Fire,” which is the title track of her fifth studio album. Keys talks briefly about the recording of the song, which in the video takes the form of a tour of a studio complete with all kinds of great keyboards.
First of all, check out that amazing piano she is playing. Also, I spotted both a Wurlitzer and a Fender Rhodes in the studio – a keyboard player’s paradise.
The only bad part? The New York Times doesn’t allow embedding for the video, so you’ll have to go to their website to check it out.
The Rolling Stones – “Charlie is My Darling”
Right off the bat, this documentary easily wins the title of best Rolling Stones documentary title. The film, which is produced to help celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, shows the young Stones on a short tour of Ireland in 1965. This clip is a trailer of the doc, put together from footage by Peter Whitehead. The film has and will have several screenings around the world, but will be released on DVD on November 6.
French Montana – “Stay Schemin’”
This video is called “Decoded: French Montana “Stay Schemin’,” and it comes from Jay-Z’s new YouTube channel, lifeandtimes. In the video, we watch clips of Montana rapping the song a cappella in a hallway, interspersed with video of him in a recording studio discussing the lyrics of the song.
The YouTube channel also live streamed the final concert from Jay’s residency at Brooklyn’s new Barclay’s Center. If these two videos are any indication, lifeandtimes is definitely a channel to subscribe to.
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 >
