Ed: I've been reading over the comments...especially Rim and Shad's. Though I don't quite agree with them in how they may have explained what they were hearing, I think I sort of hear what they are saying. Me personally....I didn't feel the need to comment that in depth. Not because I didn't care, but there was nothing that blatantly stuck out to me as "yo dude, what were you thinking?!" I try not to comment in depth unless there really is a need.
But in reading their comments and listening again, this is what I have to offer since you seem to be interested in things a bit deeper.
I think the drums sound fine on my systems here but are a bit low. When they are low, they are not going to lash out and be as crispy as they could be. I don't think a crispier drum sound would compliment this particular song and didn't feel the drums were muffled at all as Rim had mentioned. That's not discrediting his opinion, I just don't hear it here. I will say this...if you're using that Steven Slate stuff, stop using it. It turns things that were once crisp, into cheap, analog sounding garbage. The dude needs to get his drum modules fixed before he embarks on processors and mixing consoles. I don't care who he's paid to endorse his stuff...it sounds like @ss to me and ruins everything it touches.
On to Shad's comments (again, not trying to discredit)....there is no such thing as a "mix with too much mids sounding harsh" Mids are boxy and make things sound congested and dead, not harsh. That is not the case here on my systems. Harsh sounds come from high end. The high end in this mix is due to the brilliance in the acoustic guitars....which are a bit too loud level wise, but still not a problem. They are dominating the mix, but I didn't feel they were competing with the vocals.
However, because of the brilliance in the highs of these guitars, I can see where it may come off sounding like competition on some systems. Also, the lead vocal and back-ups you are working with are what I would consider "thick vocals". These types of vocals sometimes need to be thinned out and the highs need to be accentuated a bit more so they are not lacking expression. You were on the border line here in my opinion of mid range congestion.
The vocals in this are sort of like our Janet placing her huge piano in a mix with smaller instruments. When you have something that is thick, you either need to thin it out, or make the other instruments sort of match it without competing. Less highs in the acoustic guitars and a little more brilliance in the lead vocal with a bit more brilliance and high pass on the back ups so they cut through, and this would take a turn for the better production wise.
Your bass....well, you know my take there. I absolutely hate the sound of any drive on a bass, especially yours. I love it when your bass tones are clean, pristine and have that new strings piano sound. The distortion on your bass degrades the quality of your tunes in my opinion even though you seem to like this sound. It just gives you this sub low mud and drive that degrades fidelity to my ears. This is the only instrument in this song to me that has a driven sound or "noise" so to speak, that I didn't like.
But I've been mentioning this to you about your bass tones since I was in the CHB. I didn't feel it was worth mentioning again because it's a sound that you seem to like...so I have stayed away from commenting on your bass tones in songs. I always like your playing, but bass sounds with drive are just not my thing brother. They make me cringe to be honest and unless something is a nu-breed sounding metal or alternative tune, this type of sound is just something I just can't handle. You have the bass of God over there...I'd try to deliver that over messing it up with drive that can at times, make it sound worse than something we could buy at Sears or K-Mart.
I know that sounds harsh and honest when I tell you, I don't mean it to be because I love you and respect you. But over-driven bass...when not done right, just totally ruins music to my ears to the point of me either stopping playback or totally trying to ignore it like I would the vocals of Glenn Danzig or some sort of death metal screamo band. That's how much it annoys me man. You're a great player....with greatness, comes great tone that people wish they could have. Think about that in the future bro...but if you are sold on this drive, as well as the Slate plugs....well, you're right where you want to be my friend.
Again, nothing but respect and love...not trying to upset you, but this is what I hear on this end. Curb the highs on the guitars, drop the levels a bit....control the thickness on the vocals a bit, thin out the back ups and make them a bit more airy, raise the drums, ax the Slate stuff as the analog sound is just bad in 2013 in my opinion.....since no one has it down anyway in plug format (or just start using tape) remove the drive from your bass and go back to that nice, thick tone you used to have with the "ping" of new strings. The above changes the sound of this mix ten-fold in my opinion and would push it to the next level. Just my honest opinion though...for what it's worth brother.
You've come a long way with this stuff and have improved on some things by leaps and bounds. On other things, you're losing a little ground in my opinion but of course that will always be subjective. I know you don't always like the sounds and productions I come up with and we've clashed heads a few times in the past....so maybe my opinion may not be valid at all. If so, please forgive me for saying anything. I'm not trying to make you sound or think like me....I just think some of the things I've suggested here will make a difference for the better regardless of what your personal preferences may be. :)
-Danny