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.
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.
