It’s time once again to take a look at some of the interesting new products that are available to enhance your home recording studio. This time, we’ve got a wide variety of software products, ranging from a new piano sound to a tool to assist you in A/B testing during your mixing phase.
PSI Palm Mute Piano
You’ve likely heard of a palm-muted guitar, which is relatively common in guitar playing, and is even employed on some bass tracks. But a palm-muted piano is much more of an anomaly.
Typically when we hear of new virtual pianos for MIDI controllers, the new software is just a sample of a different model of piano, or it has more control abilities including miking, tone and other aspects that let you influence the final sound. However, the Palm Mute Piano is the first instrument from Paper Stone Studios (PSI), andis nearly an entirely new instrument, which is likely why it is getting such abundant notice in music recording circles recently.
The instrument is exactly what it says on the tin, and samples were recorded on a Danemann Grand Piano with each note “dampened” by placing a finger on the string. Three different articulations are available for every note: staccato, sustained and pedal. The latter two present the unique sound of a staccato, muted note that still sustains for up to 10 seconds on sustain, and longer when using a pedal.
The instrument certainly won’t be for everyone, but it uniquely provides a natural and organic sounding instrument that still sounds like little else in recordings today. Check out what a palm-muted piano sounds like in the introduction video below from PSI:
http://youtu.be/97wsru3B4I0
Sample Magic AB
Are you using a reference track to help your mixes? If not, you’ll likely want to check out that linked article to find out just how these tracks can be useful to you. But even if you are, finding a simple and effective way to switch back and forth between your reference track and the track you created can be a little tricky.
Sample Magic has attempted to ease this process with its new AB program. The company says the goal of the product was simplicity, and describes AB like this:
An easy-to-use but powerful utility plugin that allows you to switch between the audio you are working on in your DAW and up to nine reference tracks with the click of a mouse.
The ease and quickness of switching between tracks with one mouse click seems to be the highlight of the program, though it does offer additional features such as “go-to” playlists you can save for future references. Additionally, many home studio engineers will be intrigued by the ability to simply compare multiple mixes.
There are a variety of AB programs available, and which one you choose usually depends on your preferences and workflow.
Make Pro Songs
There are 8 unique value-points inside the Sage Audio membership, so let’s go over each one so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you.
1. 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’ll 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 Sage Audio 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.
2. 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio 1:1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us to answer all your questions and receive unlimited advanced mixing feedback directly from us.
- Unlimited direct access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve your mixes and masters.
- Unlimited advanced mixing feedback with detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Fast communication to answer all your questions and get tailored guidance that’s specific to your needs.
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited mixing feedback so you can improve your mixes quickly.
- This is highly valuable - giving you access to a thriving community of mixing engineers who can provide feedback about what you can improve before sending your mix to be professionally mastered.
4. Sage Audio University™ (SAU) — (Mixing and Mastering Education Platform)
- SAU is a modern audio engineering education platform that includes in-depth mixing and mastering course curriculums that match the new music industry.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from first-time 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 every course curriculum.
- SAU course curriculums include 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, social channels, and portfolio for as long as you remain a member.
- Get first access to all future SAU course curriculums to continually build and refine your mixing and mastering skills as the industry evolves.
5. Mixing and Mastering Competitions
- Compete in Mixing Competitions and Mastering Competitions to win prizes and connect with friends and colleagues.
- This is a great collaborative way to improve your skills alongside both aspiring engineers and seasoned industry professionals.
6. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
7. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content, Including:
- 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).
- 58 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
8. 700+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into playlists so you can 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 mixing and mastering skills at your own pace.
