Reply To: Reference Tracks

Reference tracks are extremely powerful.

This is because audio isn’t really seen like a picture or video is.

While we have an audio frequency analyzer to give us an idea if anything is odd about the mix, like too much bass, or if the highs are WAY louder than the rest of the song, there’s nothing like a reference track to compare your song’s loudness and frequency balance.

I guess the biggest thing to take into account is that the reference song is similar to yours in a sense that is it a dance track, a hip-hop track, or a rock track?

The goal of a reference track is not to copy the reference’s mix, but to get an idea of how your track compares on a listener’s playlist on an .MP3 player.. for example, if the song ends, and your song comes on next on the playlist, is your song way quieter, or is it not as bright?

If you use a reference track this way, you’ll know you’re at least in the ball park of other music, and not stand out in a weird way.