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.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.