Do you "reference-mix"?

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vvv
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Do you "reference-mix"?

Post by vvv » Sun Mar 29, 2015 12:24 pm

Inspired by the great stuff here, I ask:

do you use reference tracks when mixing?

If you do:

do you reference for sounds/EQ/balance/etc., or for genre, or what?

How often?

And, I suppose if you can/care to say, what tracks?
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A.David.MacKinnon
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:41 pm

I always ask clients for a list of records that they really like the sound of. Sometimes that has no stylistic bearing in the project but it at least helps me figure out where they're coming from. I'll often A/B some of it against the mixes. Again, it's often an apples and oranges comparison but it helps me hear the mix with fresh ears.

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Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Sun Mar 29, 2015 2:50 pm

i don't really ever reference tracks while i'm mixing, BUT for my own record, which i just finished, when i mastered i had a bunch of tracks that i'd reference my masters against.

i wasn't trying to 'compete' with these songs, some of them were obviously louder/bassier/brighter/more compressed/all of the above...and they're all pretty different from each other, but they're just songs i like and i just wanted it to not sound weird when i bounced back and forth between them and mine. really just making sure i was in the ballpark overall eq-wise.

the tracks were a tune from 'check your head', a couple soul coughing tunes, an MMW tune, a shellac song from '1000 hurts', a neurosis song and a couple other things.

even if you never listen to other records when you're mixing, i think it's super important to be really familiar with how all your favorite stuff sounds on your monitors in your room. you need a solid frame of reference for what finished stuff sounds like. a have a ton of stuff on my computer i listen to from time to time to keep my perspective fresh.

semi off-topic: a/b'ing is fun. you can make your ears go crazy. a couple amusing ones i've stumbled upon:

master of puppets/AJFA....when you switch to justice it's like the guitars aren't there AT ALL
gimme shelter/cult of personality....total opposites eq-wise
jerusalem/dopesmoker...suffice to say dopesmoker sounds A LOT BETTER

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SpencerMartin
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Post by SpencerMartin » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:47 am

I have a special playlist that I always refer to that consists of about 20-30 songs. All the songs are ones that I feel sound exceptional as far as the mixing and mastering, but also musically and arrangement-wise. Every once in a while I'll add or remove a song, but it's mostly stayed the same for a long time.

I use the playlist as a collective personal guideline for what I feel is "good". I always make sure the things I work on can sit somewhere in that ballpark. Also, some tracks aren't used so much as "good" references, but more so to mark extremes - my track should never have more bass than this track, or more treble than that track, it should never be louder than this track, etc. The overall playlist is mostly just extremely helpful for monitoring familiarity and ballpark referencing.

I don't ever try to precisely match a particular kickdrum or vocal sound though (unless it's a specific request or something). And like David said, it's important to know what the artist has in mind for what they'd like to use as a reference because it could be pretty different from what we might go for ourselves.

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Post by Jarvis » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:53 am

I do and I blame Mike Senior's book.
Bottom line is my ears are pretty beat up but if I can't get something happening in my mix on my ref speakers, and I can't find that sound on one of my reference reel mixes, then it's my ears and not my mix.
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Post by lyman » Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:45 am

I recently recorded/mixed a band, which is a new thing to me. While I would get settled and ready for a mixing session I would throw on a reference song or two just to get the sounds in my head and hear it on the speaker system I was using. But I didn't go crazy A-B-ing or listening back and forth while I was mixing.

For the band in question, they have kind of a classic rock vibe, I picked Tom Petty's "Mojo" from a few years back. It's a good clear, balanced record and sounds like a band in a room, which is how I tracked the stuff we did. If only it came out half as good! :oops: (I mean if only MY recording came out half as good....just wanted to clarify)

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Post by vvv » Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:09 pm

I do like that Mojo record, good choice.

Other stuff I sometimes use includes the live Tool EP Sylvia Massey did (live vibe), Tchad Blake stuff, Daniel Lanois stuff, Annie Lennox Diva and Medusa (EQ), Steve Wynn's Melting in the Dark (noisy garage band), Lanegan's Bubblegum (techo garage band), Zep I and Physical Graffitti (Zep!), The The's Mindbomb (acoustic guitars), Gang of Four's Content (bass and drums), The Bottle Rockets' 24 Hour Day (balance and arrangements), Soundgarden's Bad Motorfinger (weird quiet, but huge when loud), Alan Moulder/Flood stuff, John Agnello stuff, David Barbe stuff, Chameleons UK and other Peel session stuff, Televison's Marquee Moon Remaster (clarity and balance), Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped (general mix balance with lotsa guitar), Echo & the Bunnymen's Crocodiles Remaster (mix and energy), ZZ Top's Tres Hombres Remaster (edits), Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels (general mix, arrangements, drums, guitars), The Church records (vibe, mix, arrangements, psych sounds), Dead weather (drums, vocals), Ryan Adams Heartbreaker (drums and room), Sex Pistols' Bullocks (vibe) and drums and guitars), Eleventh Dream Day's Prairie School Freakout (loud and live and 8-trackish) ...

I seldom do a specific reference, but the above (thought of in about 10 minutes while on hold) are kinda touchstones, along with Steely Dan, the Stones, and Nuggets ...
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