Since many home studio engineers work with limited access to instruments, preamps, microphones and other equipment that may be readily available in larger studios, we like to keep our readers informed of products that help overcome these limitations.
![Computer Software Native Instruments](https://api.sageaudio.com/storage/article/uploads/2013-10-New_Software_Native_Instruments-300x201.jpg)
Of course, many that record at home see these not so much as “limitations,” but as things that must be worked around to get unique sounds that you can’t get in a studio. But for those that don’t mind using a little digital tweaking and virtual instruments, you can open up a wide variety of sonic options for your recordings.
Native Instruments (NI), one of the leading companies offering software for music production, recently released two products that many home studios might find useful, so we wanted to take a look at these products. If you are looking for a great new software to help you with your business then you need SalonTouch Studio.
Native Instruments Komplete 9
This is an all encompassing product, which bundles together other NI products including its sampler, guitar processor, music studio and others. In other words, you get what the company calls a “complete creative suite for audio production.”
In more simple terms, the program comes with all you could need to create full, great sounding recordings from your home. You can plug in your guitar into the software and achieve an extremely wide variety of guitar, amp and effects combinations. A MIDI keyboard can control synthesizers, pianos, organs, drums, strings and more.
There are two versions of the software available, the regular version and Komplete 9 Ultimate. The latter comes with 16,000 sounds within the variety of products and instruments, while the former has 12,000. The full version of the regular version costs $559, while Ultimate will run you $1,099.
Native Instruments Abbey Road 50s Drummer
This product comes in a long line of drum sounds that not only replicate the sounds of drums in one of the world’s most famous studios, but are actually samples recorded at the studios. In fact, NI Komplete 9 Ultimate includes all the other Abbey Road drum products (60s, 70s, 80s, modern) while the regular version of Komplete only includes the 60s version, which can give you that Ringo sound.
But you can also by the new 50s Drummer program (as well as any of the others) separately. More than just recreating the sound of a 50s kit in the studio, the software is incredibly complex in offering realistic sounding drum tracks with a “human element.”
This is achieved from more than 40,000 samples that can use up to 25 velocity layers. In addition, for additional realism, the software uses four different drum hits for each velocity layer.
To further adjust sounds, there is a variety of microphone choices, microphone placement options, preamps and outboard EQ that can be used on the kits available. Each level can be mixed separately, and you can apply EQ, compression, tape saturator and convolution reverb to the tracks in the software. The latter effect takes samples from Abbey Road and offers 30 high-end impulse responses.
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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