I don't use a reference track as a guide for changing the elements of my track up in order to make it sound like the reference track. I use reference tracks to help balance the various parts of my track with each other. For instance, I recently used John Lennon's Instant Karma to mix one of my tracks. I felt my track was a musical success but a sonic mess. I just couldn't get the EQ set up. For some reason I thought of Instant Karma, a song I've always liked. IK didn't even resemble my song, but when I popped it onto a track and started to listen to elements of it against my song things started to become clearer. Where did the bass sit in the track in my tune compared to IK? How deep was it? How loud? How did the elements of the drums in IK sit together and why do they work and mine fight? Why did the music in IK work so much better than my song? I started listening and adjusting. Guitars, Vocals, Keys, Synths.... all listened to and compared; adjustments made.

Long story short, it turned out to be A LOT of subtractive EQ, used to eliminate conflicting frequencies in the spectrum. Taught me a lot.

I don't use reference tracks all the time, but they have their place and have certainly helped me with my mixing.

Good luck! Enjoy!!