Sage Audio mastering studio, located in the heart of (Music City, USA) Nashville, Tennessee: offering high quality mastering services with very competitive pricing.
My collaborator and I just finished our first project together. Being both born and raised in Los Angeles, California, we’ve had a fair amount of experience with mastering studios out west: providing us with a host of good options residing in what is typically considered the world’s entertainment capital. With the current collaboration, as with any experience that brings one outside their comfort zone and into new perspective, we sought to try something different due to what’s conveniently reachable on the interwebs; opting for a completely digital experience with an online mastering service. A few fellow musicians / producers / music journalists / colleagues suggested a fairly new mastering studio (doors open since 2009), Sage Audio mastering studio, located in the heart of (Music City, USA) Nashville, Tennessee: offering high quality mastering services with very competitive pricing.
Providing a sequential assembly of highlights from the current undertaking: beginning by navigating to the website’s homepage and simply creating a user account in a few quick and simple steps. Uploading tracks was a fast (less than three minute per submitted track) and streamlined process with a couple of clicks, and without any hiccups. Payments are easily executed via Paypal, allowing for an effective and assured exchange due to Sage Audio’s clean digital interface.
The foremost notable feedback we have is the turnaround time and quality of mastering on the five tracks we submitted, along with a concise bullet list of the sound we were looking to achieve. This turnaround was really fast, less than 48 hours from confirmation of submission. Our expectations on the mastered sound were far exceeded on this first turnaround: to be honest, better than most final mastered tracks we’ve received in the past.
With over 16 years of audio mastering experience, Steve, the Chief Engineer, was able to pick up on a potential audio issue we were unsure on how to best approach (i.e., low end bass phasing from our sonic integration of tracks) and was able to effectively provide his guidance to achieve the sound we desired. Drew, the Assistant Engineer, was very helpful and responsive with keeping us up to status. Furthermore, they were very professional and acted as a great soundboard, taking extra care and effort to ensure they understood our questions and requests.
Upon reviewing Sage Audio’s work, a couple of minor tweaks were performed and resubmitted. The re-submission and retrieval process was also very streamlined and easy to follow. The results presented a very big sound with maximum dynamics. With Sage’s input, we were able to achieve a new level of clarity with the mixes.
In summary, this is our first time experiencing such a straightforward, relaxed and overall easy process from beginning to end as clients. In the usually stressful final press with meeting deadlines associated with wrapping up an album, Sage Audio was an absolute pleasure to work with during this period. We would highly recommend them to anyone searching to achieve a commercially competitive mix and we are looking to work with Sage Audio Mastering in the future.
The current five track EP involved an undertaking to reinterpret the modern west coast sound with a bass heavy, ethereal composition: thick textures, heightened sensibility, melodic and full frequency.
For more info about Sage Audio, visit www.sageaudio.com.
Article written by Chris Bolszo and Scott Smullen.
