REFERENCE 3 is a workspace for critical listening, visual analysis and smart suggestions, all inside one plugin. It’s designed to be usable at any stage, but it’s most useful when putting finishing touches on a mix, or when starting a master. I tested it on a few different projects at different stages (pre-mix, mid-mix and pre-mastering) to see how it performed. This article will explore what I learned about the features, workflow and overall effectiveness of the plugin.
REFERENCE 3 is currently available for £59, with a 15-day free trial for Mac and Windows.
Key Features
- Smart Reference Tracks: Automatically selects the four most suitable references from your library
- Level Match: Automatically matches perceived loudness for unbiased A/B comparison
- Master Scope: Compares EQ balance, stereo width, dynamics and phase correlation
- Mix Instructor: Suggests EQ, stereo, dynamic and phase changes to match the reference track
- Mix Balance: Suggests level adjustments for vocals, drums, music and bass
- Match %: Displays how closely your mix matches the reference as a percentage
The Main Workflow and Features
REFERENCE 3 is designed to sit on the master bus. You start by importing tracks to the reference library. You’ll get the most value out of high-quality, uncompressed WAV files. Once you’ve filled the reference library, the plugin analyses them and stores information about their frequency balance, stereo width, dynamics and loudness.
When using the reference tracks in a mixing or mastering session, you can either select them manually, or let the Smart Reference Tracks system choose the four most suitable matches for your current track. To use Smart Reference Tracks, you have to play 20 seconds of your track so that REFERENCE 3 can analyse it. Once your song has been analyzed alongside the reference, the plugin will provide you with a few key metrics to compare.
| Feature | What it shows | Useful for |
| Level Match | Perceived loudness differences in integrated or short-term LUFS | Fair A/B comparisons |
| Level Line | Frequency balance differences | Broad EQ decisions |
| Over-Compression | Areas with reduced dynamics | Preserving energy |
| Stereo Width | Stereo image differences | Panning and stereo imaging |
| Phase Issues | Frequency-specific phase correlation issues | Mono compatibility and avoiding phase cancellation |
| Match % | Overall similarity | Tracking progress |
When using REFERENCE 3, the first step will usually be Level Matching. Your reference tracks are likely to be mastered, which means they’ll be considerably louder than your unfinished mix or master; matching the levels allows you to compare the two tracks without being affected by loudness bias. REFERENCE 3 gives you the option of matching the reference’s level to your song, matching to the quietest track, or matching both to -14 LUFS (often the streaming service standard for loudness). The default option, “Match To Original” (your song) will usually be the most useful, as it allows you to compare the tonal balance, dynamics and stereo image of both at the level that you’re currently working with. This will likely be the most comfortable, especially after a long mixing or mastering session working at the same volume.
After matching the levels, the Master Scope provides more detailed analysis. The options are Level Line, which shows your song’s frequency balance, Stereo Width, which shows the stereo image, Over-Compression, which highlights areas of the mix with reduced dynamics, and Phase Issues, which identifies areas of the spectrum with low phase correlation.
It’s worth remembering that these metrics are based on an algorithm that analyses your audio, not any human judgement. With mixing and mastering, subjective opinion should take priority over objective analysis; you might want the stereo image to be narrower in certain sections to create contrast, and low phase correlation may be the result of a phaser plugin used creatively. REFERENCE 3 shows you this information, and compares it to your reference track; it’s up to you to decide what to do with it.
Additional Tools and Workflow
REFERENCE 3 also includes several quality-of-life features:
- Mix Instructor: Turns the Master Scope analysis into written mixing suggestions. Covers the low, mid and high ranges, with suggestions for EQ, stereo, dynamics and phase.
- Mix Balance: Analyzes the balance between vocals, drums, music (instruments, synths and other tonal sounds) and bass, and suggests gain changes to more closely match the reference.
- Track Align: Automatically compensates for silence at the beginning of reference tracks.
- Output Options: Lets you monitor references in stereo, mono, mid or side, which is useful for monitoring the stereo image and ensuring your track translates to different listening devices.
I found the Mix Instructor, Mix Balance and Match % a bit gimmicky. The Mix Instructor gives you direct advice, such as “Low EQ: cut by 4dB”. This can be helpful as a reminder of the tools you can use to rebalance a song, but it doesn’t tell you where to make the cut, how sharp the cut should be, or how it’ll affect the rest of the track. The same goes for Mix Balance: the advice is generic and can be more confusing than helpful. Match % can be useful for tracking your progress, but chasing a higher % can distract you from making the decisions that best serve your vision for the song.
Using REFERENCE 3 In Practice
After using the plugin on a few projects, a few things stood out:
- Smart Reference Tracks is only useful when you have a large library of references, so it’s worth curating a high-quality and diverse library first.
- Critical listening is more important than responding to visual information. Try to figure out the differences between the tracks with A/B listening: the analysis is there to explain the differences between the tracks, not to overrule your personal judgement.
- Metrics like Phase Issues and Over-Compression are more particularly useful in the mixing stage, where you can address problems at the source rather than trying to correct them in mastering.
- Don’t be afraid to change the reference track. Different references can teach you different things; you may want to use one song as a baseline for the dynamics, and another to compare the frequency balance, and so on.
It’s also worth noting that REFERENCE 3 combines excellently with the larger Mastering The Mix ecosystem. For example, you can use FASTER MASTER to generate customised mastering starting points, which can then be compared to your reference library to see which most closely matches your desired sound. MIXVAULT and STEREOVAULT also work well alongside REFERENCE 3: you can cycle through different spectral and stereo profiles to see which best match your reference track, then use that information to inform and refine your mixing decisions.
Our Thoughts
REFERENCE 3 is a great plugin for improving your workflow and decision making in mixing and mastering. Being able to organise a reference track library, get recommendations on which track to use, swap out the reference at any time and compare key metrics can be a game changer if you’re not used to using references. It simplifies and speeds up an important part of the mixing and mastering process, putting everything you need in one easy-to-use plugin. The feature set is a bit bloated, and you’ll get the most value from A/B listening and occasionally checking the Master Scope.
Overall, I’d highly recommend this plugin to producers and engineers who regularly mix and master, whether it’s your own tracks or other artists. Having the entire referencing process in one place is a big workflow upgrade, and I’ll definitely be using it on any future mixing and mastering projects.
- Fast, well-organised reference workflow
- Excellent level matching and A/B functionality
- Smart Reference Tracks can save time when choosing references
- Detailed tonal, stereo, phase and dynamics analysis
- Works well with other Mastering The Mix plugins, particularly FASTER MASTER
- Mix Instructor, Mix Balance and Match % are a bit gimmicky and don’t always translate to better mixing
- Requires your own reference library
- Advanced metrics can be confusing for beginners
REFERENCE 3 is currently available for £59, with a 15-day free trial for Mac and Windows.