Sauce Blog
Mixing, mastering & music production guides
Practical, no-fluff advice on making your tracks sound finished and loud on every platform. Browse by topic.
Mastering
25Everything about turning a finished mix into a loud, clean, streaming-ready master - the loudness numbers that matter, the tools in a mastering chain, and how to master specific genres.
Mixing
4Get the mix right before you master. Balance, low-end control, vocal placement, and the fixes that make a track translate on every system.
Vocal Production
12Everything that makes a vocal sound finished - tuning, EQ, compression, de-essing, reverb, and presence - explained so you can do it on any track.
Audio Repair
10Rescue a rough recording. Remove noise, hum, clicks and clipping, and get a clean, usable take out of imperfect source audio.
Stems & Acapellas
16Split a finished song back into parts. Pull acapellas and instrumentals, separate drums, bass and vocals, and use stems for remixing, sampling and mastering.
AI Mastering & Tools
12How AI mastering actually works, what the free and paid options do, and how the tools compare - so you can get a release-ready master without a studio.
Latest articles
The Best Vocal Plugins in 2026, Sorted by Job
Most vocal plugin lists are brand lists. This one is sorted by the job each plugin does, in the order you should actually use them, because the order matters more than the logo.
Read →How to Master Techno (Loudness, Low End and Club Punch)
Techno lives on a relentless kick and a tight low end. Master to around -9 to -12 LUFS with a -1 dBTP ceiling, protect the sub, and keep the drive without flattening the groove.
Read →How to Master for Instagram Reels (Loudness and Mobile Speakers)
Reels is short-form and mobile-first. Master punchy and clear so it grabs attention fast, make sure it translates on phone speakers, and keep true peaks under -1 dBTP through re-encoding.
Read →How to Master for TikTok (Loudness, Hooks and Phone Speakers)
TikTok is short-form and phone-speaker first. Master punchy and attention-grabbing from the first second, keep the hook translating on tiny speakers, and hold true peaks under -1 dBTP.
Read →Waves Online Mastering Alternative (2026)
Waves Online Mastering ties into the Waves ecosystem. Here is the alternative when you want no lock-in, a browser tool, real downloads, and a free first master.
Read →CloudBounce Alternative for AI Mastering (2026)
CloudBounce is an established AI mastering service with a solid engine. Here is an honest comparison, and where Sauce wins on price, genre tuning, and the wider toolkit.
Read →