PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production What reference tracks would you suggest?

What reference tracks do you recommend for the genres you like to produce in and do you use them for the "overall" sound/balance or to reference a specific part of the production?

Under the Table and Dreaming
Dark Side of the Moon

I don't use 'tracks' but rather the CD/Album as a whole.
might just be me on this though (unless I'm trying to match a specific target song given by client)

It depends entirely on the song being produced (for me, anyway). I try to think of a song similar in style and tempo to what I am working on.

Usually it would be to "match"/balance the overall sound. But there are times when it's just about a particular part...

I think this is totally dependent on the genre you are using. My answers for my preferred music genre are not going to be of any use to you. But you are wise to ask for good samples in your genre once you identify it for us. You are also wise to use this technique when mixing and mastering.

Now, it's also helpful to specify the historical period you want to use as your reference. Was it during the heyday of Autotune? And especially, was it during the recently somewhat-completed loudness wars?

What genre?

A decent place to start is to look through Bob Katz's loudness and dynamics honor roll in your genre of interest.

https://www.digido.com/honor-roll/

While his list is focused on mastering, it's also a great reference for listening to incredible mixes and arrangement (which is where the whole process actually needs to be realized - can't all be made up in the mastering).

-Scott

This is the article that inspired the questions.

https://sonicscoop.com/2017/04/24/reference-tracks-next-generation/


Personally at the moment I'm playing with two songs on my new monitors when I'm not listening to other music I'm working on remixing a country song and mixing my first instrumental - a jazz influenced easy listening thing which I quite like. I haven't found the "right" reference track for either yet. But I'm finding that listening in general makes me more aware overall.


Edit - I was gonna edit to say more but I hit the wrong key and computer started reading every word on the screen out loud over and over...I didn't even know it could do that...had to exit to make it stop. Be back later on. Thanks to everyone who's posted.

This is so subjective.

First I would recommend something in the same genre as a good overall, catch all kind of reference when mixing.

Going deeper....

Any of the TRIO CDs ( Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, EmmyLou Harris) are great references for trying to get a superb acoustic instrument track.

Another benchmark standard for quality in recording.... Steely Dan's masterful album, Aja. The epitome of writing, recording, production. nuff said.

These are just two of many. Each engineer and FOH will have their own list of favorites for reference and system setting.

Each of the specifically mentioned projects are superbly recorded and produced. It's easy to hear the individual parts as each instrument comes in and goes out. Pay really close attention to the details of the mix. How EQ is applied on things, reverb, panning, etc.

One thing I notice on beginners music mixes is that it's generally a jumble of all the instruments. In other words, everything packed into one space where you have a really hard time picking out what individual instruments are doing. When you listen to the referenced mixes, this is not the case. You can hear everything in the mix with space between the instruments, yet it is a full bodied mix. You can hear the nuances of the dobro, the bass, the snare, and the vocals set nicely on/in the mix.

It's good to use reference tracks but don't beat yourself up if you don't get it exact, or in some cases, even close. You are in your small home studio, whereas the producer and engineer are in a fully equipped studio and have a ton more experience. Our goal is to listen, learn, and apply those lessons to improve.

My measuring stick is to occasionally go back and listen to the music I was mixing 10 years ago..... 5 years ago.......3 years ago..... 1 year ago. Do I hear a definite improvement in the sonic quality over that time? If so, I'm progressing on the path. If on the other hand, my new stuff sounds like the 10 year old stuff, maybe it's time to reevaluate how I'm doing things because everyone should be getting better at this thing called music and mixing, with time.

This might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised..... Many folks start to care about the mix when they have the tracks recorded and then start the "mixing" process of adding EQ, verb, compression. However, that is waaaaaaay too late. You must pay attention to the recording of the individual tracks. For us, the users of BB & Real Tracks, fortunately, most of this is a given, since we have really good track quality with the real tracks. The problem comes in when we add anything live. Anything that's recorded with a mic. This includes but isn't limited to the guitar and vocals. Those tracks are just as important to get a great quality on as the RTs. Too often the live tracks are deficient and lacking.

Once recorded, you can't often fix a poorly recorded guitar or vocal track in the mix by adding reverb and EQ. Spend the time instead to get a nice full dB level, clean, and articulate track. If you listen to the track and have to add FX to it to make it sound good..... delete it and record it again. As an example, Paul McCartney once spent over 2 days recording a doubled vocal track for one of the Beatles songs. We can spend a few hours or so to get it right. This is one of the biggest problems I see and hear in people's mixes. The old "I can fix it in the mix" syndrome is lazy and wrong. No.... fix it in the track.... it's easier and will sound better. Delete it and record it again.

And I will say, I'm as guilty as anyone for saying to myself, "that's good enough. I can hide those problems in the mix". Sometimes I can and other times I can't and end up going back to record it again.

Hope this helps and adds to the conversation.

I agree that you have to listen to something in the genre. I also think you have to consider how many years ago something was recorded. For example, I like the production style on the old Al Green records. It was subtle and soulful, not in your face at all. But things are different now, so that may influence you.

I am working on a blues/soul project now. I am listening to Sam and Dave and some of the Chess recordings.

I also use certain CD's to see how my recording quality compares to something I know is good. For that, I listen to Aja and Gaucho by Steely Dan, The Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears. Of course, I never hit those marks but it gives me something to work toward.

2b

2bSolo
Yeah, those Steely Dan references are nice examples.
Something about Aja set a standard for the time.

Two Against Nature wasn't too shabby either. At least for a recording reference ..
I took the OP to mean basic 'go-to' recordings used to, well, reference as a comparison for recording quality vs what I have.

I thought I'd be alone in referencing Steely Dan. For me, now, at my level, it serves 2 functions.

1. As something to work toward. Steely Dan sounds like "winter" to me. My typical mixes have tended to sound like a humid summer, with 100% chance of afternoon Thunderstorms. I can't emulate Steely Dan, but I can work towards that.

2. As a reality check. I can listen to a mix and think I've got it working, then add a mastering preset and BAM--BRIGHTER, FULLER, and having me convinced I'm a genius. Then I listen to the reference track, silently weep, and give it another go.

Ozone will do that to you.

They don't call their engineer The Immortal for nothing. Those records would not have been the same without him and Gary Katz.

You listen to Aja and everything has a sonic space. Parts don't attack you, they just wait for you to discover them. It takes multiple listenings to begin to get what they are doing. So many musicians and engineers consider this a standard. I have to wonder who is cranking out some of the crap out there.

One other album I forgot is Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits. It features several styles and makes all them sound excellent.

2b

I use the same approach as Floyd, it depends entirely on the song I'm working on.

I have quite a few CD's loaded on my music computer, I just pick a track that is close to the sound I'm aiming for and use that as a reference.

You can Use Floyd music balance between voice and instruments.