THIS is the key to great mixes

This video is about the dualism of referencing. Get the free Referencing Cheatsheet here: go.mastering.com/reference-ch...
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0:00-1.16 Intro
1.16-2:02 Philosophy of Referencing
2:02-3:18 Properly set up References
3:18- 15:11 Beginner Referencing
15:11-18-57 Expert Referencing
18:57-20:53 Mixing vs mastering Referencing
The fate of your mix has already been decided when you start the mixing process. Just the same way, that if I was a sculptor, the statue that I'm going to make out of this block of marble is constrained by the block itself. I can’t create a really big statue out of this, and I can’t create a statue that doesn’t match the dimensions of this block.
Yet all the time, people take a set of recordings or tracks that they have, and when they get to the mixing and mastering process…
They try and make it into something that it’s not, and they end up with a garbled mess.
They try to get their track to sound exactly the same as their references, when their reference tracks are different songs, made in a different place, in a different time… and the sonic building materials are in no way the same.
And that’s what I want to focus on in this lesson. If you’re struggling to achieve the sound in your head, and you feel completely deflated when you compare your mix to other mixes out there… then watch until the very end, because I’m going to give you a complete roadmap for bridging the gap between your track, and your reference tracks.
There are 3 core areas that we’re going to focus on today.
- The best way to use references (from a technical standpoint)
- Beginner vs expert referencing
- Mixing vs mastering referencing
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HOW TO USE TIDAL FOR REFERENCING
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how you do this using Loopback, and the process is going to be essentially the same with Source Nexus.
Step 1 - check that the default Loopback Audio setup looks like this with NO MONITORING devices setup.
Step 2 - set this as the audio output of your computer.
Step 3 - open TIDAL and start playing some music. You won’t hear it yet.
Step 4 - Open your DAW and set the input to Loopback Audio.
Step 5 - create a new channel, label it as Reference, hit record arm and make sure monitoring is turned on in your DAW. You should now hear the music.
Step 6 - if you have any processing on your mix buss, you’ll have to move that to a new stereo buss so that this processing isn’t being applied to your reference channel.
Step 7 - add a VU or RMS meter to the stereo output so you can volume match the reference track to your mix - this is important and you should always try to volume match your references to the track you’re working on. I like the Klanghelm VU meter, but you can use whatever you want.
And that’s it - now you can use anything you want as a reference without having to find and download lossless audio files.

[@masteringcom]

Get the free Referencing Cheatsheet here: go.mastering.com/reference-cheatsheet-ut-vsl?el=youtubeorganic

[@souletunes]

This has just started to click in my head, controling the low end has always been my struggle and in the last couple weeks it's finally dawned on me how to eq it properly. Learning from you guys has helped me so much, thank you Rob, Caleb, Dane, Mike and everybody! 🙏🙌😊

[@exebor7824]

This video cleared ALL my doubts on the subject, a lot of questions that I've been asking myself frequently and that never found a proper answer with my previous researches on the topic. Amazing vid, thank you

[@TJ_mx]

Major props for finding an actual block of marble for the analogy 😂

[@masteringcom]

Yep that wasn't easy haha

[@OskarCzechowicz-OmniMusician]

Props for getting the prop!

[@jonautry]

We heard you like props, so we gave you props on your props

[@hifijohn]

@@OskarCzechowicz-OmniMusician Yeah, marble is 169 pounds per cubic foot.He would be to lift it if was real.

[@rubenuziel2807]

i know this page for maybe a month and all this knowledge is amazing really appreciate what you are doing🔥🔥🔥

[@LesKonley]

The quote from Rob: 'This is your primary goal: to enhance and uncover the emotion that's already inside the song; but there's a 2nd aspect to your internal compass, and that's the more technical, audio-production side... which is your own tastes, preferences, and ideas of what sounds good" and what "sounds bad." ME: Oh, thank God! I've been training my ears all my life! 😎

[@jayakamakshianandamayi7461]

very good overview mastering vs. mixing and beginner vs. export, and also with specific details - great, thank you

[@robynunwinmedia]

Thanks for the clear, concise and informative training - really helpful!

[@rotempick]

Thank you Rob, reminded me the method I used (Learned it from Ian Shepherd in his tutorials on mastering) actually running the whole song, from start to finish, through a Lufs. this way is exact, before mastering it's crutual! for long time, I've tried to redo it like he said.. thank you.

[@taynoel44]

Thanks for the analogy! Solid video. Just subscribed!

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

Different place, different time, different instruments, different tuning, different mics, different hands, etc.

[@nedring987]

Focusrite interfaces above 2i2 have a loopback function built in

[@denysholovatyi3149]

loopback that I get into my DAW are very, very quiet - unbelievably so. my unmastered mix is so much louder, while i'd expect the opposite. how do I ensure my reference track is, well, a valid reference?

[@denysholovatyi3149]

for instance, your video is much louder than my reference track kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3-UoJecn9mApdE

[@vloggingpractice8077]

Just like Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise's stuntman, I use mine reference track for reference 😊

[@vidoemakenoke2424]

Dit had ik al moeten kunnen om te kunnen laten zien dat ik het aan kon en dit had ik moeten kunnen weten om een heel nummer goed in elkaar moeten kunnen zetten om daardoor in elkaar te kunnen zitten om daardoor goeie muziek te kunnen hebben om in het echt te kunnen tonen aan de mensen buiten in de wereld waardoor ik daardoor eerlijke muziek wat kunnen hebben om te kunnen laten zien

[@Theumpsken]

Waar lul je over

[@thefishesandi]

Can I ask why you recommend only using reference tracks from the last 10 years? I'm currently mixing/mastering my own bands album, we're a rock/grunge band and the music that resonates with me is really from the early to late 90's. Albums like 'Throwing copper' by Live, 'Superunknown' by Soundgarden have been my reference tracks so far. Honestly most recent rock tracks from the last 10 years really don't sound good imo. Many sound over compressed and just don't sound like a live band to me. Maybe it's samples used nowadays or simply the tracking to tape as it was back then I don't know. Sorry for the noob question, but if there's any recommendations as to who i should listen/ reference to that'd be great.

[@elicero]

Hi. It's because technical standards, like loudness, dynamic range, etc, have changed over the years. The 90's for example, were about who had the loudest record out there... these days what's commonly referred to as "loudness wars" seem to be something producers want to get away from. You would like your album to sound "current" but as per these technical aspects, not so much about vibe.

[@vidoemakenoke2424]

Ik ben er uitgekomen omdat ik dit nu snap helemaal verkomen en daardoor door de mensen ook buiten ben uitgelachen en hun niet begrijpen wat dat is als je het wel begrijpt

[@360degreeseaview]

Jerome Davis check out.

[@MoonWalkersbin]

too much talking, too few saying.

[@musicproduction8598]

Sir, your tutorials are great but your voice is really a big distraction. It goes up and down in volume and is quite difficult to understand. Would like to suggest using Dylan Pines (not too sure I got the name right) to do the voice over. THANK YOU for your detailed & inspiring tutorials!

[@i-wish-i-was-afk]

Quality content! I stilll remember my internvew with you, it helped me become better at engineering.