What is Reference Track?
Also called: reference mix
A reference track is a professionally released song you compare your own mix or master against, usually one in a similar style with a sound you like. It gives your ears a fixed point while you work.
Ears adapt quickly. After an hour on the same song, a too bright or too bassy mix starts to sound normal. Switching to a well made reference for a few seconds resets that and shows what to fix: the vocal level, the amount of low end, the brightness, or the width.
For a fair comparison, match the loudness first. A commercial master is usually much louder than a mix in progress, and louder almost always sounds better at first, so turn the reference down until both play at a similar level.
Pick references that are close to your song in genre, tempo and arrangement, and use two or three rather than just one.
Put it to work
Compare your mix and a reference side by side and hear what sets them apart.
Compare Two Audio Files