Reference tracks

[Jure]

Where could i get some WAV reference tracks for mixing purpouse?

[dpwaveheavy]

Try here:

http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm

[Jure]

this is great , thanks a lot! but i was more looking for finished mixed tracks, but still nice one.

[ChuckMott]

A lot of us came up reading Mike Senior’s Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio (?someting like that anyway) and I think he lists several. Then I either plug it into Youtube or Spotify and listen through my monitors.

[soundspot]

I use the highest quality AAC or mp3s I can find. They’re totally fine as reference tracks…

What I recommend is buying Magic AB by Sample Magic and keeping it on your master buss or including it in your template. It makes AB-ing easy and gets you in the habit of it… I buy reference tracks for almost every genre I write in…

https://www.samplemagic.com/details/184/magic-ab

[Jure]

sure, i have MagicAB it’s almost a must, but i don’t have any library music tracks to put in…i guess that library music is much less squashed as normal music, so it’s better to have it as reference.

where do you buy tracks?

[Art Munson]

You can buy downloadable tracks from iTunes, Spotify, etc.

If you have a spare computer with a pro audio card, you can go analog R/L OUTS from your main computer’s audio interface to analog INs of the other computer, and play Spotify on the main one while in Record with the other one. Just don’t sell the recorded track, but for reference only.

[soundspot]

Also, I often ask for references if doing anything exclusive… This has helped me build a nice library of more obscure references like dramedy, various common reality TV cue styles etc…

For any electronic or pop-esque genres I just use commercial tracks as references.
Unless someone specifically requests lots of dynamics I find that tracks actually do better if they’re competitive in level with commercial music. Sad as that may be, it’s a reality these days… The only genres I’m conservative on in terms of level are purely orchestral genres…
That being said, trailer music is mastered quite hot compared to a film score… So it really depends on your niche, or what the project calls for…

if specifically for non-exclsuive tracks for general licensing, frustrating or not, you want to be as loud as the competition, ideally aiming for the same level of crispness and low end clarity as a major label or top tier exclusive library…

As for itunes…

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dramedy-vol.-1/id1029317273
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/two-steps-from-hell/id372716646
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/immediate-music/id543395115

[Jure]

thanks guys!

[Author]

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