@foxwolfen: Thanks for listening and the tips.  I hear the same mid problem myself, especially when the lead comes in.  I tried pulling back on the mids for the organ but I think all I did was thin it too much and that the problem may be the Rhythm Gt's.  I'm going to try and refine my overall guitar tone and re-record.  This is more a test than a final mix.  I've got an album's worth of material to record but I kind of want to work out all the kinks before I start tracking everything as I've really grown impatient with doing the same thing twice. For the pumping, it is probably the Art Pro VLAII I have in the master bus chain.  I'm still learning it's settings and am actually thinking about having the third-party upgrade done as it seems a little too over sensitive to some frequencies.  At 2:1 ratio it's barely working and at 3:1 it seems it clamps down tighter than somebody getting a tooth pulled..LOL

@chuckebaby: Thanks for checking out the tune and your tips and the compliment, much appreciated.  I've got a EMT640 on the drum bus but I think I was a little light on the mix%.  I used a twin-reverb type spring on the guitars, but again probably a little light on mix%.  I usually throw master-plate on the master bus, but left it off till I got this room issue completely resolved.

Best,

Hello All,
    Another thanks too all for listening and the very helpful tips.  They're very much appreciated.
    I don't know why I haven't tried posting here before.   Much more helpful than anything I could get from friends (non-engineer types) who feel the need to spare my feelings and in turn spare some honesty.  I can't fix what to me doesn't sound broken to me or may sound broken and I blow it off to listening fatigue.

    What a wonderful place and what a fantastic group of people & peers.

    Thanks again!

Best,

I agree with most comments above too.  

Some reduction in 3k on all guitars (-6 db) would help.

The rhythm guitars should be split L/R to open up the middle and to give more space to the mix.  James pointed that out.  The drums could possibly use a stereo room reverb just for them to liven them up.  

Your playing is good on all parts. 

Rimshot

Nice tone on the guitars. I can barely hear the kick through my headphones, though. On a song like this, I would definitely beef that up. Maybe a little more tightness on the snare. I'd probably pan that main rhythm guitar to the left some, since it sounds like you have another to the right. This would open up a center spot for the lead and spread the stereo effect out some. Just my thoughts.

All of the above comments are good ones, yet they are relatively easy to incorporate.  This song is good enough to take the time to get it right.  I think you should start with panning, and some of the other problems may diminish.  This is an enjoyable song to listen to.

Well, I think you already heard from some of the best ears around these parts, and I think about the only thing I would add is that the snare sounded a bit 'tight' and dry to me... like maybe too much comp and not enough verb... BUT... that may be the sound you're after, as those things are largely a matter of taste as opposed to right or wrong.  Nice tune.

Hello All,
     Thanks again for all the great advice.  I think I found out the two biggest problems I was having (though not necessarily the only ones).

     Below is a remix of the track using a Samson Server 170 amp on a pair of JBL 4206's, replacing my KRK V8 Series 2's.  The KRK's biggest problem was that the high-end seems to be extremely hyped and the low-end is a bit suppressed.

    Adding to the difficulty was the dbx/Driverack's auto-eq.  It has two settings on it for 'pinking' the speakers/room  1) Stereo which is a stereo-linked auto-eq and 2) Dual-Mono which adjusts the graphic eq twice, left and right.  I was using the Stereo-linked version and just assumed it was correct.  However, when browsing through settings, I happened to glance at the GEQ and saw a bunch of bands that were max-cut or max-boosted.  Interestingly, they were very same bands my mixes were having difficulty with.  I switched to the Dual-Mono mode.

     There are two links below, the original with the KRK's and the latest with the fixed eq and JBL4206's.  I'm still putting the tune together and writing lyrics so there still isn't any vocals yet.

     If you have a chance for a A-B listen and critique, it would be greatly appreciated.
         Original KRK Mix         New JBL4206 Mix


     Thanks again.

Hey Chuck
I don't know how much help I'm going to be because I'm listening on a pair of computer speakers but I guess It's just the fact that the mix comes across sounding good on whatever your listening on.
     
The KRK' mix is very brittle sounding.  The high end is definitely standing out compared to the mid and low end which sounds muddy and hard to hear instrument separation.  The snare/bass guitar are heavy on the mid/low end muddiness. The kick drum is very hard to hear.
 
The JBL mix has a nice warmth to it. The snare now has a nice mid range and snap. The bass guitar doesn't sound muddy or like its fighting the snare for space in the mix. If anything it sounds like you have some room to play with mid and high end on the mix if needed.
 
That's what I'm hearing on my end hope it helps.  GREAT sounding tune looking forward to hearing the finished piece.



Kev

drumstixkev


Hey Chuck
I don't know how much help I'm going to be because I'm listening on a pair of computer speakers but I guess It's just the fact that the mix comes across sounding good on whatever your listening on.
    
The KRK' mix is very brittle sounding.  The high end is definitely standing out compared to the mid and low end which sounds muddy and hard to hear instrument separation.  The snare/bass guitar are heavy on the mid/low end muddiness. The kick drum is very hard to hear.

The JBL mix has a nice warmth to it. The snare now has a nice mid range and snap. The bass guitar doesn't sound muddy or like its fighting the snare for space in the mix. If anything it sounds like you have some room to play with mid and high end on the mix if needed.

That's what I'm hearing on my end hope it helps.  GREAT sounding tune looking forward to hearing the finished piece.



Kev

    


        Thanks for listening and the critique, Kev.  I'm actually in the process of dumping the KRK's and am going to get a pair of HS80Ms.   Sure am glad I kept those JBLs though.  After recently reading this quote from the KRK manual:
                   "What people tend to think sounds good is not necessarily “flat response”.
                     A perfectly flat monitor tends to sound harsh and abrasive – technically correct
                     but not very musical."

        It made me wish I was one of those folks who read the documentation before trying everything else.  I thought I was buying "flat" not "musical", LOL.

        Thanks again.

Proper monitoring... yes, that is the trick... I try to listen on as many different systems as possible...

Lstening to the re-mix... the kick & bass sound better than I remember, but the guitar is very harsh to my ears... but that doesn't mean much, because harsh is arbitrary, and a subjective non-techy discription...
I should have said; I don't care for the guitar sound, and would probably never use that sound in a production, but a lot of other great producers might... it's just a personal taste issue...

I still think it's very well done...