Skip to main content

I was wondering how many of you guys use reference tracks to mix to. And if you do, are they mastered tracks?

I know I've always had a couple tracks I turn to when I'm doing mixes, but I actually go the my mastering engineer's website that I submitting the tracks to, and listen to his or her "before and after" samples to see if my mixes are comparable to the others and to see how the mastering will affect it.

Just something I've never really discussed with other engineers. What's your guys' input?

Topic Tags

Comments

Boswell Fri, 01/14/2011 - 03:48

I can think of some occasions when I would use reference tracks (not necessarily CDs):

1) Live sound in a new venue: the first thing I might do having got the mixer and PA working is put through a couple of tracks I know well to check that they sound as I expect, and that the room/venue is not going to give me any surprises. This would not influence recorded tracks, but may give pointers to any EQ adjustment needed in the live sound.

2) Mixdown with an unfamiliar monitoring setup (it does happen!): again, a couple of known tracks to tweak my ears to how this setup is going to sound. These are often tracks of mine that I have recorded and then mixed in a known environment.

3) Customer demand: the artist comes along clutching a commercial CD saying "I want to sound like this!", to which the reply is usually "OK, but you have to perform like that!".