Sometimes mixing is a matter of hearing your music in a few different ways, to bring out any changes that need to be made. One of the simpler tricks to do this is to listen to your mix in mono toward the end of the mixing process.
Most DAWs or mixing boards have a button to test your mix out in mono. It’s there for a reason! Here’s why:
Mono Can Reveal Comb Filtering
When two tracks are in the same frequency range and out of phase with each other, it can cause a kind of audio signal interference called comb filtering. Comb filtering is a thin and weak sound in your mix.
Sometimes when you’re mixing in stereo it can be harder to catch any comb filtering taking place in your tracks. By removing the added dimension of stereo, it helps to really identify any occurrences of interference.
Mono Can Reveal What’s Still Needed
The added dimension of stereo can add a lot to a mix. But sometimes it can also serve as a crutch that hides what’s missing from the mix. By dropping the stereo field and checking your mix in mono, you can get a clearer picture of how your tracks are interacting with each other and what still may be needed to “glue” everything together.
Mono Can Failproof Your Mix
It’s a lot easier to get a great sound when you’re sitting in a treated room with two high-quality monitors spaced evenly. The problem is that listeners won’t be hearing your music in that setting over 90% of the time.
Think of mono as your worst-case scenario. If you can get your mix to sound balanced in mono, then adding stereo will only make it sound better. But even in those instances where listeners are in less than ideal listening settings, you can know that they’re still getting a good experience of your mix.
Mixing in mono is one of the easier ways to check that your mix is in good shape. Some producers even recommend only mixing in mono at first before going to add stereo. Some live venues have their PAs set up for only mono.
The key to having a great mix and master is versatility. It has sound great on as many systems as possible. Using mono mixing to get a better picture of the balance of your tracks is one of the best ways to ensure that your music is truly versatile.
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 >
