darkandrew Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 (edited) Following on from a post i've just made in another thread (about duran duran) where I confessed that Duran Duran's Rio is my "go to" reference album when recording or mixing pop tracks, I just wondered what other recordings people turn to as a reference when recording or mixing various genres of music. Edited December 15, 2012 by darkandrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I ahven't got as far as recording or mixing as yet , but one of my favourite albums for sound and mix was always ABC Lexicon of love , I thought it was about perfect , at least on the stuff I was listening through , that was Vinyl, I got the CD but it didn't seem quite as crisp . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkandrew Posted December 15, 2012 Author Share Posted December 15, 2012 [quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1355613707' post='1900680'] One of my favourite albums for sound and mix was always ABC Lexicon of love , I thought it was about perfect [/quote] You can't go wrong with most of Trevor Horn's productions. Last year's Yes album, despite what you may think of it musically, is one of the best recorded albums i've heard in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) Ermmm....Discharge's Realities of War... Edited December 16, 2012 by Spike Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 If epic/symphonic/power metal is your thing, then "Circus Colossus" by Leverage is hard to beat production-wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Anything produced by Jerry Wexler, Steve Cropper or John Porter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Think beyond the genre. We play Americana but the band who got mentioned most in the studio last week for us was The Beatles. I think the trick is to beg, borrow and steal from the best of everything to give your music more of an edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul j h Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 "Hats" by the Blue Nile for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 In step - Steve Ray Vaughan, particularly 'Crossfire', and Kind of Blue by MIles Davis - although I think you have to actually play something for reference which is akin to the music you will be looking to 'judge'. It also depends on what sort of sound you want : warm, analogue and natural, or digital and very clean and clinical...........or somewhere in the thousands of steps that sit between? The Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album 'Raising Sand' is a great record from a recording pov imho, and done very old school - as is Tom Jones album 'Praise and Blame', which was recorded with Tom and the band playing/singing together as it would have been 50 years ago. I like 'natural' sounding recordings, but also have a soft spot for ABC's Lexicon of Love, which is light years from that! No right answers - your music, your ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayben Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I use In Absentia and Deadwing by Porcupine Tree for a lot of things, as well as Absolution (MUSE), Sacrament (Lamb of God) and Last Kind Words (DevilDriver). I also use Death Magnetic, St. Anger (Metallica) and Vapor Trails (Rush) as 'negative' references - if my mixes sound like these albums, start again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieBassman Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I always like the mix on "Blue And Lonesome/Sinners Prayer" by Billy Boy Arnold from 1977 with Tony McPhee, Alan Fish on bass, and Wilgar Campbell (ex Rory) on drums. It's a take no prisoners sound and I wish my bass would sound like that live! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Not to do with mixing really, but for many years I've used Jethro Tull's Broadsword and the Beast album for auditioning hifi. The title track Broadsword is great for assessing the tightness of the low end and the 'aireyness' of the highs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 You know... not once have I used a reference... I just do what I think sounds best. I'm probably weird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Fantasy producer for my band? Late 70s to early 80s Martin Rushent please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkandrew Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 [quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1355657319' post='1900935'] Think beyond the genre. We play Americana but the band who got mentioned most in the studio last week for us was The Beatles. I think the trick is to beg, borrow and steal from the best of everything to give your music more of an edge [/quote] Over the years I've been asked on more than one occasion to "make my drums sound like Ringo's" but to be honest I've got no idea what Ringo's drums sound like! At the risk of offending loads of people, to my ears most of the George Martin produced songs have terrible drums (all rattle and no tone) while the only decent drum sound can be found on "Let it be", the only recording that he didn't produce. In the end I just side mic'd the snare and recorded the rest of the kit as dry and as damped as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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