We’ve written previously about how important reverb can be to getting a great mix. And while reverb can certainly provide the space you need for your mix to really gel, there are times when delay will do a better job of creating that space.
Why Do You Need Space in the First Place?
Whether you’re using reverb or delay, the goal is to provide more space in your mixes. Both tools are designed to recreate the effect of sound waves traveling through the natural space of a room, providing a more natural sound to your recordings.
But the use of reverbs and delay also color the entire sound of your mix, providing ambiance to a track that can build the underlying emotional feel of the song. While reverb tends to be the go-to tool for many engineers, here are a few times you may want to try delay instead.
To Avoid a Washed Out Mix
Using too much reverb on your tracks can quickly result in a “washed out” sound. While this occasionally can be what an engineer is going for, you typically want to use reverb and delay to make a more natural sound, not a muddy mix. Delay can be a great way to avoid a cluttered mix, because it can keep the instruments up front while adding some ambience. The tip of using a slap-back delay below is a good example of how to do this.
On a Fast Vocal
Applying some reverb to a vocal is a great way to help it “sit” correctly in your mix, but occasionally this can do more harm than good. For example, on faster vocals, the reverb often gets lost in the mix, until you turn it up so much that it no longer gives you the sound you want.
When this happens, a great solution is to add a delay. This way you don’t make the delay as prominent, but it still serves its purpose in the mix. A slap-back delay – featuring a single delay sound – can be a great way to do this without muddying up your vocal.
For a Big Guitar Sound
If you’re a fan of The Edge and his guitar sounds for U2, you’ve probably already considered putting a delay on your guitar. Similar to vocals, too much reverb can make a guitar sound too distant and lack the impact it needs to have. A delay, however, can amplify that impact while still making the track seem much bigger and roomier than the dry track.
Use Delay and Reverb
While delay and reverb tend to be an either/or proposition, you can occasionally use both to great effect for certain tracks. For example, after finding a great delay, tack on a small room reverb. This can come in handy if the delay is coming through a bit too sharp in your mix. Beware, however, that adding too much reverb can quickly take your track from a place where it sits nicely in the mix to a washed out mess.
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.
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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.
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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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