Reference Tracks

Hey Guys (amp; Girls)PSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"FONT size=3FONT face=CalibriI hear a great deal about the need to use reference tracks during the mixing process of music production. I can understand the benefits of referencing a track of similar style to what you’re aiming for to ensure you’re covering all elements, and heading in the right direction, but I suppose there are lots of other factors you must consider…?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /o:p/o:p/FONT/FONT/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"o:pFONT size=3 face=Calibrinbsp;/FONT/o:p/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"FONT size=3FONT face=CalibriFor example, would using an artist’s track on Soundcloud be beneficial for comparison (mixing wise)? SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;/SPANI imagine not, as I think it only streams at 128kbps. SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"nbsp;nbsp;/SPANSimilarly, I think soundcloud would compress tracks further if they have been exported with too little headroom.o:p/o:p/FONT/FONT/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"o:pFONT size=3 face=Calibrinbsp;/FONT/o:p/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"FONT size=3FONT face=CalibriThen at the other end of the spectrum you can purchase full tracks from the likes of Beatport or AudioJelly at 320kbps / WAV format.SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"nbsp; /SPANBut then you have to remember that you are hearing fully mastered tracks, and It can be a bit disheartening comparing your mix to that of a full quality mastered one.SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"nbsp; /SPANSPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"nbsp;/SPAN… Surely if you could get your pre-mastered mix, within the DAW, to sound anything like a fully mastered edit then you have something pretty special going on ;-), and the need to then use a mastering engineer or expensive software to master is non-existento:p/o:p/FONT/FONT/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"o:pFONT size=3 face=Calibrinbsp;/FONT/o:p/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"FONT size=3FONT face=CalibriI suppose I’m trying to understand what kind of tracks would be best to use for reference.SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"nbsp;nbsp; /SPANWould be awesome if some of the big name producers could share their pre-mastered hits, but then I can’t see that happening hahao:p/o:p/FONT/FONT/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"o:pFONT size=3 face=Calibrinbsp;/FONT/o:p/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"o:pFONT size=3 face=Calibrinbsp;/FONT/o:p/SPAN/PP style=“MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=MsoNormalSPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text2"FONT size=3FONT face=CalibriRyano:p/o:p/FONT/FONT/SPAN

mastering shouldn’t change the sound all that much… the frequencies should all be the same.br
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the only difference should be levels and dynamicsbr
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you should always aim to get your mixes sounding as close to mastered in the mix without maybe the extra squishing of the dynamics. br
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a lot of producers also prefer to mix with a bit of mastering enabled to give an overall impression of the final sound.br
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if you can get within 10% of the same sound as some of the top sounding tracks then you are doing well. so its well worth trying to get as close as possible to tracks you really like the sound of.

Cheers Phil.br
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I’m looking at purchasing some tracks from Beatport for reference. Would you recommended Wav or 320kbps. Is the difference really that noticeable?

i can hear a bit of difference in the top end on mp3s… but not so much that it would be off putting.

MP3’s will be converted to WAV by Ableton. But you won’t have the same info in that WAV as when you buy the real WAV.br
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In addition, most artists on Soundcloud have mastered tracks posted there. I don’t have any info on what quality soundcloud is streaming the stuff, but there are quite a few tunes that can also be downloaded as WAV. Check Noir’s soundcloud for instance.