Reference Tracks

In mixing, a reference track is a song that shares similar qualities to the track being mixed that the engineer can use to assist them in the mixing process.

One reason that reference tracks are used is that having an industry standard point of comparison for a song that is being mixed can help to influence your decision making and allow you to assess where your mix may be falling short.

Another reason is that a reference track allows you to refresh your ears, as often times if you’ve been working on a mix for extended periods of time you can get used to the sound of the demo or work in progress and not notice that your mix may be, for example, much darker or brighter than what you had originally intended.

Additionally, sometimes engineers will use the demo of the song being mixed as a reference track to stop themselves from straying too far from the creative vision of the artist.

I make use of reference tracks when looking to be inspired by people who make bold mixing decisions, which can influence the way I think about the process and the risks I’m willing to take. One such example is Dijon, especially on his album ‘Absolutely’ and single ‘coogie’.

I also use reference tracks when there are songs that have specific elements to them that I love, such as the drum tone and separation of the elements of the mix in ‘Africa’ and the rest of the ‘Voodoo’ album by D’angelo.

I similarly use reference tracks when a song captures a specific emotion that I wish to convey in my own mix, such as the liberated and angelic feeling of ‘Set Your Spirit Free’ by Sault.