I filmed this video a few months ago but never got around to posting it! The next few video topics will cover : Saturation Advanced Delay techniques More Free VSTs ▶ Support the channel and get early access to these videos www.patreon.com/inthemix ▶Our Patrons - Kristopher Gage Andrew Glenny Craig Taylor Clint Hughes Dewayne Jackson Jack Austin Laurent Paret Alex Bella Kevyn Cooling Jonathan Bjornson Louis Jans Salahadin Luchito Harsh Shivansh Gabriel
I'd look for something with a minimum of 8GB RAM and a decent processor (i5 - i7 range) Make sure that you get a cooling stand, that will be absolutely essential or your laptop will under perform and eventually break sooner than it should. Even a cheap £10 cooling stand to raise it off the desk will make a big performance and noise difference. Try to get an SSD if possible, I have 250GB ssd and I wish it was a bit bigger but it really is enough for me. I also have 1TB of back up and I'm not even close to filling that. Also try to avoid features you don't need such as touch screens and special hypes speakers that are branded because you wont really be using that and it will have taken money (performance) away from the CPU and RAM. Good luck :)
Another good little trick when using reference tracks is to solo different frequency bands, (Eg. The lows, mids and highs) and compare them with the reference track. This helps hone into elements which are out of place. It's also really handy to see how your kick and bass compare to your reference track :)
Hey man! I've followed you for about a month now and I must say that almost every video that I've seen from you have been very helpful. I've produced music for a couple of years now but every time I'm watching your tutorials, I learn something new. Thanks Mike!
You brother , you are amazing, I always search something for learning and I see your video and I jump onto it, thank you so much for all your advices, I really appreciate you for helping artist like us thank you so much
You've done so much for me with learning FL and mixing. Thanks a bunch dude! Even though we make vastly different music, your tips are always helpful! Me I'm mostly making retro themed and styled remakes of old Amiga tracks.
So I just started using reference tracks and its a good track by a respected producer, however in my DAW all my meters go into the red the LUFS are to high, the VU meters go +10 etc. even when the volume is turned down. So how does that work?
I would add one thing, if it hasn’t been covered already. When you assign the reference track to the mixer do not route that track to the master or 2 bus, where it will be affected by whatever plugins you have there. Instead, route the reference directly out to one and two (shown at the bottom of the effects rack for that mixer track). Otherwise, great advice.
So indirectly it is teaching us to mix and master. What if i put a limiter on the reference track and lower it to -8db and then use that as a set point for my kick to mix around? Because you just said that we should lower the volume of the reference track but no instruction as to how
I would lower the reference track to 0 then slowly bring it up to match your mix track . Some limiters add color so I would advise against that. Remember to also have your reference track completely unaffected by any effects - whether that be on your Master fader (or wherever you are listening to the reference track output)
Great video. I noticed you have a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. I was thinking about getting a pair of headphones, and I was considering 250 ohms models, so my question is: do you think the Scarlett Solo is enough for 250 ohms headphones? And what about the 80 ohms ones?
Is it safe to say if I use a not-so-flat-frequency headphones to mix, as long as I mix it towards the way my reference tracks sounded like through that particular headphones, I'll be good to go?
Where is everyone finding the file references and where are they downloading it from? No one seems to say that they just say they just open Ableton and then pull a reference track from I don’t know where and how it got into Ableton can you please help
Cool video man? Where did you learn all this stuff? Did you study audio / sound engineering in uni? Thanks for giving something back to others and helping. Useful video.
Question on this - do engineers feel "insulted" if artists send reference tracks alongside the mix stems for the engineer to reference? i.e. do most engineers prefer not to receive a reference track to influence the way they mix vs mixing the song to their own ability and finding their own reference tracks if/as needed? i.e. i.e. is it the artists job to supply a reference track or do most engineers usually prefer to be the one to decide for themselves if they need a reference track at all and then subsequently find it themselves if they do? Edit: When I am asking with respect to engineers preference I'm referring to more highly experienced engineers who know their studio set up and have a lot of experience in their selected genre space they are being hired to mix in by an artist.
Agreed. Use reference tracks if you want your mixes to sound just like everyone else's. If you are just a song writer and you want your work heard then by all means use whatever tricks you can to get a half way o.k. mix to whomever. If it works who am I to knock it? If you are calling yourself a professional studio and you are mixing for clients then you need to know how to mix. And the most important thing is your room. Just $150 worth of acoustic treatment is all you need. And then you want a full range monitor system. Or close to it anyway. A pair of KRK ROCKET 5 with a KRK subwoofer (set to 80hz at least 24db / octave). Despite what you might have heard the rockets are fine when played in a room properly treated. Now you have a system that is 30 - 20 000 hz. You will be able to hear all of the bass properly and you won't need reference tracks.
I get your point, but the problem is that the human ear is used to certain frequencies from music these days. if you deviate too much from that, it automatically sounds less good. that's why references are so important
Would it be possible for you to show how to set up Span to compare to the reference track? Thank you for all your tutorials. I've learned a lot from you!
I have a important question. Im comparing my MIX with someones MASTER. But I want be the one who will also MASTER my own track. So if im understanding it right: Should I firstly, level match the tracks in mix session, then when Im finished with mix, export it to new session, (this time with no decreased volume of the mastered track) where I will try to reach same (original) level as reference track with limiter? (and some other final details fixing with tools like StageOne, DynOne, OZone Imager) Sry for my bad English, hope its understandable.
Making a kick and bassline work in mono? Or actually showing how to make a bassline? A good way to ensure mono compatibility is to avoid any stereo widening on any of the low frequencies of the kick or bass :)
i have been following for one month i have learned a lot of things form your videos the one i got stuck i have been trying to fix it up but cannot do that i have gotten stuck in vocal recording i do start vocal recording there was beep sounds came from the back. Also dubbling the vocal quality if you can help me to sort it out please i will be much appreciated and if i record the vocal with headphones is it the good way to do that i am beginner
nick dua recording with headphones to hear the music is good but you want to make sure you are singing into a microphone, usually a cheap condenser is all you need to get started :)
Metalgear Tac I'm testing live streams, I'm actually planning another one tomorrow. I'm going to figure out a way to get submissions if I did something like that
Hello. I have a question. To prevent the clipping of my reference track in the project from affecting the stereo out, is it enough to change the routing and direct it to "no output"?
Good question, I use the white ones 95% of the time. I have actually been testing out the two smaller ones and I now have the yellow rokits on top of the black ones (not like in this video). These smaller speakers I use when editing videos and checking mixes for a second reference. I use the black ones as stands for the yellow ones to raise them up closer to ear height :)
The problem is most of the musicians I look up to have mixes that sound so full compare to mine Nujabes logic Ariana grande I want to give up some days.. I've even gone as far as to get alot of my room treatment and it helped but I just want to make a commercial sounding mix
Mike bro.. Now I have a 'rider' microphone with me For connecting it to my PC, Is the Audio interface important?? Or can we connect in any other ways???
Probably a dumb question but where does one download high quality mix vs master files? Does websites like Beatport offer final mix options? Or is that just the final master. Im wondering for trying to learn edm production
Try to reduce the number of plugins, wav files and vsts you are using or look to upgrade your RAM. We all struggle with computer drawbacks but try to look at the positives and all that is possible with your computer, You've got a machine that people would be dreaming of over 10 years ago :)
Well I guess so? Just remember that these tracks have been mastered and will be in a lower bit rate/compressed by TH-cam etc. Overall they will sound good
Good video, thanks. In most other videos or articles I've seen about using reference tracks, they mention to try to only use .WAV files, not .MP3's. What do you think about this? It's obviously much easy to get hold of .MP3's, and well mixed ones sound very good. Do you think it's OK to use them for reference tracks? Thanks.
Thanks for your good explanation but i would just add one vital part to this if you are going to use a reference track. ALWAYS use a reference track which is in the SAME key. Because the eq is going to differ and it will vibrate at an other level. From the thickness to the overal sound. Waveforms played at another note scale can remove or add extra loudness and give your track not the results you wanna have. This is the major error people make when using other tracks for reference. My 2 important cents.
Ghosts Mix 707 No worries,I use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my videos, it's become increasingly slower with the new windows updates though, which is disappointing
i am confused because i thought one of the reasons for mastering is to get your track as loud as professional tracks. So, I don't understand why the reference track volume has to be lowered
lowering the volume of the teference track is meant to help improve your mix, not your master. Remember that this technique works for mixing and mastering. When mastering you will rather match the volume of your mix to the reference track
I filmed this video a few months ago but never got around to posting it!
The next few video topics will cover :
Saturation
Advanced Delay techniques
More Free VSTs
▶ Support the channel and get early access to these videos
www.patreon.com/inthemix
▶Our Patrons -
Kristopher Gage Andrew Glenny Craig Taylor
Clint Hughes Dewayne Jackson Jack Austin
Laurent Paret Alex Bella Kevyn Cooling
Jonathan Bjornson Louis Jans Salahadin
Luchito Harsh Shivansh Gabriel
In The Mix what Laptop would you recommend me for music production? 😋
I'd look for something with a minimum of 8GB RAM and a decent processor (i5 - i7 range)
Make sure that you get a cooling stand, that will be absolutely essential or your laptop will under perform and eventually break sooner than it should.
Even a cheap £10 cooling stand to raise it off the desk will make a big performance and noise difference.
Try to get an SSD if possible, I have 250GB ssd and I wish it was a bit bigger but it really is enough for me. I also have 1TB of back up and I'm not even close to filling that.
Also try to avoid features you don't need such as touch screens and special hypes speakers that are branded because you wont really be using that and it will have taken money (performance) away from the CPU and RAM.
Good luck :)
In The Mix thanks for the advice , you helped me so much with your videos about mastering and sound engineering I don’t know how to thank you 😋
In The Mix Can you make a video on top ways to make unique intro(s) I am really stuck
please add mastering tuttorials too please
It’s unbelievable how you cut it short to the point without spending like 4mins talking about your life ... brilliant ... thanks again and forever
Azzazy Thank you! Yes I'm trying to keep the videos compact, it's most helpful that way :)
@@inthemix cheers man
Another good little trick when using reference tracks is to solo different frequency bands, (Eg. The lows, mids and highs) and compare them with the reference track. This helps hone into elements which are out of place. It's also really handy to see how your kick and bass compare to your reference track :)
Fantastic idea, It reveals a lot about the low end of a mix and helps you stay focused
How do you do this in Logic Pro X?
Hey man! I've followed you for about a month now and I must say that almost every video that I've seen from you have been very helpful. I've produced music for a couple of years now but every time I'm watching your tutorials, I learn something new. Thanks Mike!
You brother , you are amazing, I always search something for learning and I see your video and I jump onto it, thank you so much for all your advices, I really appreciate you for helping artist like us thank you so much
You've done so much for me with learning FL and mixing. Thanks a bunch dude! Even though we make vastly different music, your tips are always helpful!
Me I'm mostly making retro themed and styled remakes of old Amiga tracks.
Invaluable as ever, and so concise and we'll formulated and presented
Great video, Mike. Most channels talking about reference tracks provide not so much info. You did it right with this subject! Greetings, Emiel.
Emiel333 Bakhuis Greetings, thank you ever so much :)
Very well explained. amazing presentation skills and also straight to the point. cutting the gaps in videos makes it very quick and easy. thenk you
You're so well spoken and so good at explaining stuff correctly, very helpfull my man. Started out producing again a couple of months ago.
Great advice and brilliantly delivered by you !
I never thought of using reference tracks for mixing. It is very helpful man xD 🔥💯🔥🔥👍
So I just started using reference tracks and its a good track by a respected producer, however in my DAW all my meters go into the red the LUFS are to high, the VU meters go +10 etc. even when the volume is turned down. So how does that work?
Hey Mike! Could you do a detailed tutorial on how to mix your track using SPAN analyser(ref track)...that would be very helpful :)
I would add one thing, if it hasn’t been covered already. When you assign the reference track to the mixer do not route that track to the master or 2 bus, where it will be affected by whatever plugins you have there. Instead, route the reference directly out to one and two (shown at the bottom of the effects rack for that mixer track). Otherwise, great advice.
Thanks!
Only 9k view may be its not seen by many people But video content is bestest.
I like the way you explain. Just subscribed.
Really Helpful! ♥️
Great video 👍🏻 can’t wait for more vids 😋
thank you for that very helpful info. Please could you let me know where to download Pop, Blues, Country and any other Genre reference tracks?
So indirectly it is teaching us to mix and master. What if i put a limiter on the reference track and lower it to -8db and then use that as a set point for my kick to mix around? Because you just said that we should lower the volume of the reference track but no instruction as to how
I would lower the reference track to 0 then slowly bring it up to match your mix track . Some limiters add color so I would advise against that. Remember to also have your reference track completely unaffected by any effects - whether that be on your Master fader (or wherever you are listening to the reference track output)
@@jondarling Thank you so much!
Great video. I noticed you have a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. I was thinking about getting a pair of headphones, and I was considering 250 ohms models, so my question is: do you think the Scarlett Solo is enough for 250 ohms headphones? And what about the 80 ohms ones?
Thanks. This really helped me to finally figure mixing out.
Should the reference track be in wav format or mp3 works?
Very useful Information..
Keep sharing
Should the reference track be in wav format? How do you get reference tracks, must they be purchased or is there a way around that.
Thank you for that, very helpful. Please could you let me know where to download reference tracks? Any/all Genre.
Thanks, mate. Really informative video.
Is it safe to say if I use a not-so-flat-frequency headphones to mix, as long as I mix it towards the way my reference tracks sounded like through that particular headphones, I'll be good to go?
Hi Mike, Thank you for the video. Could you please recommend where to download high quality tracks from? Thanks again!
Where is everyone finding the file references and where are they downloading it from? No one seems to say that they just say they just open Ableton and then pull a reference track from I don’t know where and how it got into Ableton can you please help
thanks for so much help Mike!!! you're the best!
Cool video man? Where did you learn all this stuff? Did you study audio / sound engineering in uni? Thanks for giving something back to others and helping. Useful video.
Question on this - do engineers feel "insulted" if artists send reference tracks alongside the mix stems for the engineer to reference? i.e. do most engineers prefer not to receive a reference track to influence the way they mix vs mixing the song to their own ability and finding their own reference tracks if/as needed? i.e. i.e. is it the artists job to supply a reference track or do most engineers usually prefer to be the one to decide for themselves if they need a reference track at all and then subsequently find it themselves if they do?
Edit: When I am asking with respect to engineers preference I'm referring to more highly experienced engineers who know their studio set up and have a lot of experience in their selected genre space they are being hired to mix in by an artist.
Agreed. Use reference tracks if you want your mixes to sound just like everyone else's.
If you are just a song writer and you want your work heard then by all means use whatever tricks you can to get a half way o.k. mix to whomever. If it works who am I to knock it?
If you are calling yourself a professional studio and you are mixing for clients then you need to know how to mix. And the most important thing is your room. Just $150 worth of acoustic treatment is all you need. And then you want a full range monitor system. Or close to it anyway. A pair of KRK ROCKET 5 with a KRK subwoofer (set to 80hz at least 24db / octave). Despite what you might have heard the rockets are fine when played in a room properly treated. Now you have a system that is 30 - 20 000 hz. You will be able to hear all of the bass properly and you won't need reference tracks.
I get your point, but the problem is that the human ear is used to certain frequencies from music these days. if you deviate too much from that, it automatically sounds less good. that's why references are so important
Yes, but you won't get good at mixing out of nowhere
Very helpful! lots of good tips here.
Where does people get their reference tracks?
Very insightful and informative
What if the reference track likes their hihats to be more louder and some others like them more in the background so how do i know how to compare?
Great job bro 😉👍👍👍👍
Would it be possible for you to show how to set up Span to compare to the reference track? Thank you for all your tutorials. I've learned a lot from you!
nickusneelius Yes I probably should cover that in a video, I left a few settings in the description box down below if that helps?
In The Mix sorry, I didn't notice that before. Thank you!
Thanks man, great video!
Awesome advice
Plz make one video on mastering in the box plzz.....btw your channel helped alot❤
Best producer
You're very informative dude
How do you even get reference track?
I have a important question. Im comparing my MIX with someones MASTER. But I want be the one who will also MASTER my own track.
So if im understanding it right: Should I firstly, level match the tracks in mix session, then when Im finished with mix, export it to new session, (this time with no decreased volume of the mastered track) where I will try to reach same (original) level as reference track with limiter? (and some other final details fixing with tools like StageOne, DynOne, OZone Imager)
Sry for my bad English, hope its understandable.
amazing video
Can u make a tutorial over making a kick on mono with subbass?
Making a kick and bassline work in mono? Or actually showing how to make a bassline?
A good way to ensure mono compatibility is to avoid any stereo widening on any of the low frequencies of the kick or bass :)
In The Mix making a kick and bassline work in mono!!
In The Mix should we make our bass and kick both on mono?
It's recommended to keep the low frequencies in Mono but you can experiment and find what works for your style :)
In The Mix thanks for the help and ur tips!!
❤️thanks you
i have been following for one month i have learned a lot of things form your videos the one i got stuck i have been trying to fix it up but cannot do that i have gotten stuck in vocal recording i do start vocal recording there was beep sounds came from the back. Also dubbling the vocal quality if you can help me to sort it out please i will be much appreciated and if i record the vocal with headphones is it the good way to do that i am beginner
nick dua recording with headphones to hear the music is good but you want to make sure you are singing into a microphone, usually a cheap condenser is all you need to get started :)
In The Mix thank you for reply me back i am really appreciate i have got Rode NT1 condenser microphone
Thank you for the tips sir. Have you guys thought about maybe doing a live stream and listening to other peoples tracks and critiquing them?
I've seen Alex Moukala do this on twitch. People send their orchestras and he plays them live and gives them advice on how to improve.
Metalgear Tac I'm testing live streams, I'm actually planning another one tomorrow. I'm going to figure out a way to get submissions if I did something like that
In The Mix cool, hopefully it works well!
whats the difference between span settings , its kinda confusing
¿Must be always Wav files or can I I use mp3 like references?
From where we can download reference track?🙏
Thank you Soooooooo much! that's what i needed! 😀😀
When you say compare the level how you do it? RMS or Peak?
is it okay to have mp3 tracks as reference? if not then how can i download a wav track from spotify?
Thanks mike!
Hello. I have a question. To prevent the clipping of my reference track in the project from affecting the stereo out, is it enough to change the routing and direct it to "no output"?
Why do you use 3 pairs of studio monitors ?? 😶😶😶
Good question,
I use the white ones 95% of the time.
I have actually been testing out the two smaller ones and I now have the yellow rokits on top of the black ones (not like in this video).
These smaller speakers I use when editing videos and checking mixes for a second reference.
I use the black ones as stands for the yellow ones to raise them up closer to ear height :)
You actually use an expensive pair of monitors as a stand ??
Respect, mate.....
😂😂😂😂
In The Mix so that means you are not using all together BTW... ok cool..
The problem is most of the musicians I look up to have mixes that sound so full compare to mine Nujabes logic Ariana grande I want to give up some days..
I've even gone as far as to get alot of my room treatment and it helped but I just want to make a commercial sounding mix
Great video, thank you
Mike bro..
Now I have a 'rider' microphone with me
For connecting it to my PC,
Is the Audio interface important??
Or can we connect in any other ways???
Thanks sir its really helpful 🎧🎼
Hi ,master how r u .Really u r great, Master can you please suggest some reference track to listen to improve my listening skill
Intereseting video. What do you think about using reference plug-ins, like Reference2?
Help!! How do I drag & stretch(maximise) plugin effect window like Eq2.settings!!
Volter Mathiba If you are using the latest version of FL Studio you simply left click the bottom corner of he window and drag it out :)
great tips
Probably a dumb question but where does one download high quality mix vs master files? Does websites like Beatport offer final mix options? Or is that just the final master. Im wondering for trying to learn edm production
how do you download your reference tracks?
If im mixing a cover, is it a good or bad to use the original song as a reference track?
How do you pull tracks into FL Studio?
Would u help me again? I also wanted to know how to post cover songs and remixes legally without being copyrighted?
Mike, FL Studio in my computer is just using half of the memory available. I have 8 GB ram in my computer but it's just using 4 GB. What should I do??
Try to reduce the number of plugins, wav files and vsts you are using or look to upgrade your RAM. We all struggle with computer drawbacks but try to look at the positives and all that is possible with your computer, You've got a machine that people would be dreaming of over 10 years ago :)
Your using a 32bit operating system which only supports 4GB RAM, upgrade to 64bit to up to 32GB RAM.
When I bring a reference track into FL Studio I can never get the BPM to match. Does anyone have a trick to fix this?
why would you need to match the bpm for mixing?
Which headphones do you prefer for mixing out of Sennheiser HD600 vs Beyerdynamic DT 1990?
Is it right to compare against youtube music?
Well I guess so? Just remember that these tracks have been mastered and will be in a lower bit rate/compressed by TH-cam etc. Overall they will sound good
Good video, thanks. In most other videos or articles I've seen about using reference tracks, they mention to try to only use .WAV files, not .MP3's. What do you think about this? It's obviously much easy to get hold of .MP3's, and well mixed ones sound very good. Do you think it's OK to use them for reference tracks? Thanks.
Thanks sir
Thanks for your good explanation but i would just add one vital part to this if you are going to use a reference track. ALWAYS use a reference track which is in the SAME key. Because the eq is going to differ and it will vibrate at an other level. From the thickness to the overal sound. Waveforms played at another note scale can remove or add extra loudness and give your track not the results you wanna have. This is the major error people make when using other tracks for reference. My 2 important cents.
How's Adobe After Effects Mike?
Thx for the vid. How young are you guys?
Miika K No worries, I'm 22 :)
In The Mix nice, same age then :)
For me it always is a pain in the ass to find solid reference tracks. Maybe my music is just too weird...
Thanks Mike .. btw what software do u use to edit videos ?
Ghosts Mix 707 No worries,I use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my videos, it's become increasingly slower with the new windows updates though, which is disappointing
Great
You kinda look like Nicky Romero
Dan Nguyen HAHAHAHA
You ain't wrong!!
Oh my gosh he does!!!
I used SPAN to compare my track to one of my favorite Jon Hopkins tracks, and mine looked positively anorexic 😆
Started doing this with ripping songs off spotify. Record the part I like from spotify, export from audacity and bring back into live with wav form.
Thanks! Do the reference tracks have to be in WAV or mp3?
WAV is best, btw sorry for being 9 months late
@@cancrispy3928 Np. Thanks!
I think my ears don't work properly.. I just can't do mixing. Please give me some suggestions.
i am confused because i thought one of the reasons for mastering is to get your track as loud as professional tracks. So, I don't understand why the reference track volume has to be lowered
lowering the volume of the teference track is meant to help improve your mix, not your master. Remember that this technique works for mixing and mastering. When mastering you will rather match the volume of your mix to the reference track
Didn't know Russell Howard was a professional music producer...
Its a good tip but don't make the mistake to try to simialar to your favourite track, because you have to create your own sound.
Greyhound Yes absolutely! You want to stay unique and develop your own sound :)
But what if my style is totally unique
❤️❤️❤️
Ears not Eyes I agree
谢谢
I wonder how the first ever song or album in the world being mastered before without a reference.