are there times you don't know which reference track to use? how do you go about it then?

thanks

 

If you have written something that is completely original as in a new style or genre then there will be no reference track other than perhaps engineering principles. I am not convinced there is a one-size-fits-all for that either for every style known and in existence, other than 'don't do's'.

However, if it is because it is 'a bit like this and a bit like that', then pick a style/track/artist it is closest to. It's not a perfect technique anyway other than a balancing act with an A.I that tells you what the reference track has and what is different to what you have done. You can choose to match the reference track, or not. In the end it's always up to you.
If you are not sure what to do, BEAT16 pretty much said most of it.

 

i think thats the issue i maybe need to decide first which musicstyle to go for......maybe thats the problem because right now its too general

i've also seen izotope tonal balance might help it offers reference to the overall genre rather than a specific song

 

You don't have to decide on anything yet. Let yourself drift and be inspired, at some point it will click in your head and you will know what you want to do. Music is so diverse today and everything is possible on your PC at home.

The mistake is when you think a plug-in or even more technical plug-ins will bring you forward. People always hope that technology will cure their inaccessibility as human beings. You have already dealt with many things and have already learned a lot and your brain synapses become stronger and stronger when you do something more often.

I do what I do best and what I am good at, even this realisation took years. Don't put pressure on yourself to be compulsively good, experiment with what you enjoy, it's always trial and error.

 

If your reference track isn't Steely Dan's Black Cow then you're doing something wrong (or is that me?).

 

If you finish a track in Logic, you can use EQ Match to compare your song against a Reference.

If I didn't "know" what reference track to use in a certain situation, I would take the few I had it narrowed down to and then use EQ Match to see the impact of each one. Then I would select the one I liked the results with the most and use that as my Reference for situations and songs like the one you are currently working on.

Why even ask this? Are you afraid of using the "Wrong Reference Track"? Seeing as how you have heard of the song you are about to use; it probably did pretty decently.

You are not going to learn anything by not making the mistakes on your own and figuring them out.
Nothing you can do is ever going to prevent it. Make the mistakes on your own before it costs you a gig or a job when you actually need to know wtf you are doing.

 

Last edited: Apr 20, 2022

Nope, used this track for decades to check high end. THIS IS AS CRISPY AS YOU CAN GO! NO CRISPIER!

 

more like "it's never going to sound like this when you get these home, either".