Curious what folks use as reference tracks, and how you find stuff that's outside your own area of interest. I'm trying to come up with a few that are not only good reference, but solid tunes, especially struggling to find stuff I can appreciate in genres I don't particularly care for personally.
Preemptive appreciation for any feedback.
Re: Reference Tracks
4If I'm working w/ a band in a studio setting I usually ask them to provide a short list of examples of other artists/albums that they feel is a good benchmark as part of pre-production meetings/emails/texts. This is especially helpful for genre/styles I'm less familiar with. At various points along the way, good to bring those up in the monitors and see where we're at comparatively. I've never had any band cringe because I asked them to provide some goal-post examples. This also helps establish communication which can be exceedingly difficult, especially if the band is less-experienced in the studio.
If I'm listening to a room or setup PA in a new place, I'm listening to material I'm ultra-familiar with first (this is still almost always Stolen Wallet by Minutes) and considered a good-sounding recording - and then transition in material in the same ballpark as the band(s) I'm mixing for.
I think the default sound system check among the old vets is Nightfly by Steely Dan. *shrug*
If I'm listening to a room or setup PA in a new place, I'm listening to material I'm ultra-familiar with first (this is still almost always Stolen Wallet by Minutes) and considered a good-sounding recording - and then transition in material in the same ballpark as the band(s) I'm mixing for.
I think the default sound system check among the old vets is Nightfly by Steely Dan. *shrug*
Re: Reference Tracks
5For any purpose. My immediate use would be for piecing together a setup and treating my newly remodeled, almost complete, control room. Stuff to drill into my head and then listen to as reference while working through all that. But if you've got suggestions/favs for other purposes, feel free to share.
Genre-wise, my personal listening preference is nebulously punk rock and some tangentially related stuff, lately though I've been getting into some piano jazz (vince guaraldi, oscar peterson...), some old funk, and other odds and ends. What I really struggle with is finding stuff that uses deep bass and isn't just horrible EDM garbage, or mainline "pop" or something else that I can't effectively distinguish from that. So bonus points if anyone's got actually listenable suggestions that employ deep bass in ways functionally comparable to that stuff, but isn't that stuff.
Genre-wise, my personal listening preference is nebulously punk rock and some tangentially related stuff, lately though I've been getting into some piano jazz (vince guaraldi, oscar peterson...), some old funk, and other odds and ends. What I really struggle with is finding stuff that uses deep bass and isn't just horrible EDM garbage, or mainline "pop" or something else that I can't effectively distinguish from that. So bonus points if anyone's got actually listenable suggestions that employ deep bass in ways functionally comparable to that stuff, but isn't that stuff.
Re: Reference Tracks
6I'd check out the Dance Music that doesn't suck thread in General Discussion. As BD suggested, Massive Attack isn't a bad example as they do have a lot of electronics and deeper bass and good mixes, but I'm not sure how much value is there if A.) You're not already previously familiar w/ the songs and how they sound on a known "good" system and B.) it's not the kind of music you're going to be working on.thecr4ne wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:05 am For any purpose. My immediate use would be for piecing together a setup and treating my newly remodeled, almost complete, control room. Stuff to drill into my head and then listen to as reference while working through all that. But if you've got suggestions/favs for other purposes, feel free to share.
Genre-wise, my personal listening preference is nebulously punk rock and some tangentially related stuff, lately though I've been getting into some piano jazz (vince guaraldi, oscar peterson...), some old funk, and other odds and ends. What I really struggle with is finding stuff that uses deep bass and isn't just horrible EDM garbage, or mainline "pop" or something else that I can't effectively distinguish from that. So bonus points if anyone's got actually listenable suggestions that employ deep bass in ways functionally comparable to that stuff, but isn't that stuff.
You might want to also consider just doing a pink noise analysis to get at least a rough idea what's going on. There's free RTA apps out there, I use them to ring out monitors alla time. Just send some pink/white noise through your system and see if you have problem frequencies at various points in the room. It won't give you a complete picture, but it will help some.
Re: Reference Tracks
7When I used to do a lot of huge corporate ballroom shows with big rigs and too many subs I would test the subs with Blank Screen by Dead Rider which is fun to crank in some terrible Hotel Ballroom. We had a folder of "test tracks" that had a bunch of Norah Jones modern smooth jams sounding stuff that, although a yawn inducing experience is a great for testing sound systems because it is usually recorded extremely well, and has actual dynamics in there. There was indeed some Steely Dan in there too. The other thing in there was a folder of a modern recording at 24 bits of Holst "The Planets" and that is fun a huge system too.
I've found that when trying to actually test a system, most of the music I actually listen to is useless. Anything recorded remotely aggressively is mostly useless, unless you are just looking to hear how the speaker sound getting pushed hard. I've found that a ton of the music I like listen to is also extremely mid-range heavy and not useful for balancing anything. Boring music balances systems better.
Having worked on PA of all sizes, my opinion is that they all sound terrible and that it's all a game of exchanging one limitation for another to try to bet a "best result" The best a big PA ever sounds is "pretty good" to me.
For home systems, I just go with what I enjoy, I do ZERO corrective eq and find it to induce as many problems as it solves. I just try to place the speakers in a position that is the most flattering, keep reflections to a minimum, and blast Re-Load all day
I've found that when trying to actually test a system, most of the music I actually listen to is useless. Anything recorded remotely aggressively is mostly useless, unless you are just looking to hear how the speaker sound getting pushed hard. I've found that a ton of the music I like listen to is also extremely mid-range heavy and not useful for balancing anything. Boring music balances systems better.
Having worked on PA of all sizes, my opinion is that they all sound terrible and that it's all a game of exchanging one limitation for another to try to bet a "best result" The best a big PA ever sounds is "pretty good" to me.
For home systems, I just go with what I enjoy, I do ZERO corrective eq and find it to induce as many problems as it solves. I just try to place the speakers in a position that is the most flattering, keep reflections to a minimum, and blast Re-Load all day
Re: Reference Tracks
8Thanks, really appreciate this (and everyone else's suggestions too) I've heard Nora Jones suggested from enough different angles that I'll definitely give that a shot. I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the other stuff suggested, but will spend some time going through the list and try to get quality copies of what I can. Focusing on dynamic range seems obvious enough, and acknowledging that what I like isn't necessarily good reference material sounds healthy... in the same way not eating bacon sounds healthy.Kniferide wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:11 pm When I used to do a lot of huge corporate ballroom shows with big rigs and too many subs I would test the subs with Blank Screen by Dead Rider which is fun to crank in some terrible Hotel Ballroom. We had a folder of "test tracks" that had a bunch of Norah Jones modern smooth jams sounding stuff that, although a yawn inducing experience is a great for testing sound systems because it is usually recorded extremely well, and has actual dynamics in there. There was indeed some Steely Dan in there too. The other thing in there was a folder of a modern recording at 24 bits of Holst "The Planets" and that is fun a huge system too.
I've found that when trying to actually test a system, most of the music I actually listen to is useless. Anything recorded remotely aggressively is mostly useless, unless you are just looking to hear how the speaker sound getting pushed hard. I've found that a ton of the music I like listen to is also extremely mid-range heavy and not useful for balancing anything. Boring music balances systems better.
Having worked on PA of all sizes, my opinion is that they all sound terrible and that it's all a game of exchanging one limitation for another to try to bet a "best result" The best a big PA ever sounds is "pretty good" to me.
For home systems, I just go with what I enjoy, I do ZERO corrective eq and find it to induce as many problems as it solves. I just try to place the speakers in a position that is the most flattering, keep reflections to a minimum, and blast Re-Load all day
I can honestly say the "known good system" is a mostly foreign concept, but I can play something on a variety of familiar systems to get a feel for it I think, and use some already known stuff in between to anchor it all.
I am trying to approach this setup more methodically than I've done before. Trying to get the foundation right from the start, at least within the preexisting limitations of the room size, actually do some (real) acoustic treatment, actually do some measurement, and spend a lot of time doing the listening that's more important than that other stuff.
Re: Reference Tracks
9I fairly positive there was some Norah Jones in that test folder, but I couldn't really tell you which songs it was. I'm kinda using "Norah Jones" as a generic phrase to describe a genre of music in this case. Stuff that Norah Jones fans listen to, generically, is usually recorded very well, well balanced, and has good dynamics. Norah Jones is just the only name I know that points at that thing that it is. I'm sure dudes with little round glasses and ascots could point you in the right direction. You can usually find them putting "I contribute to my local NPR station" bumper stickers on their Volvos.
Re: Reference Tracks
10I had the fortune to work with Tim Jones at the CCC as I know you did. I really admired how he could get any system of any size/quality/location/familiarity to sound as good as it was going to get with a single playthrough of Concrete Jungle by Bob Marley.Kniferide wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:11 pm When I used to do a lot of huge corporate ballroom shows with big rigs and too many subs I would test the subs with Blank Screen by Dead Rider