First....Thank you to everyone for listening. I'm going to work on some of the suggestions this weekend. 

VOX: As stated, my wife (the vocalist) agreed that the vox were a bit too loud in the verses, so I'll re-mix with an envelope to control verse to chorus transition. Herb mentioned bringing back some bottom. Good ear! I scooped a bit at 250 to give the rhythm guitars some room and boosted a bit at 3K for articulation. Her voice has naturally got some depth to it. I'll see if I can bring some back in, but I really feel I need that space saved for the guitars. I EQ out of the box, so I can't really automate (very well anyway). 


Drums: Dave....you're right on with what I was thinking. I didn't put up a prior version that had some splashes and more creative playing. It was the scratch track, and the performance needed to be tightened up. Then I thought with all the percussion that maybe I should hold back a little. I totally agree on the aggressiveness too. I'm going to bring some attack back in. I over EQd the attack out from the close mics on the toms. I'm going to try a Yamaha sub-kick on the kick this weekend, so I'll re-record with more splash, accents and leave more attack. I'll also try some additional compression on the overheads.

Pitch: The boss (wife, vocalist) also thinks that there are a couple of notes that she is uncomfortable with. I'll give it a shot. I haven't really liked my past results using V-Vocal, but maybe just a subtle nudge will be worth the effort. At least it will be non-destructive!!

Thanks again all of you, and I'll re-post a version some time in the next couple of days.

So, here is a new version with as much of the advice received as I have the skill to incorporate added.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7zO6u23nSI

Dave: I tried to tap into my inner Liberty Devitto to get a more agressive take. I also brightened the toms with a bit more attack and added compression to the overheads. The cymbals are much more evident now.

Shad: I lessened the scooping at 250 from the vocal. It should sound a little fuller (and smoother).

Herb: I did lower the BGV to just above audible. I have the mysterious V-Vocal bug that won't even let me open the editor anymore. I'll be sending you the bundle to let you work on it shortly.

Last: I incorporated a new Yamaha Sub-Kick on the bass drum. It adds a lot more fullness and punch to the low end.


Thanks for any feedback suggestions!
TB

Much improved. The vox do indeed sound fuller. Now, to me there is something still missing. I'm having a hard time putting my finger on what though. I am tempted to listen to the originals, but that could result in just me trying to turn it into one of those versions, which sort of defeats the purpose.

Big improvement! The more aggressive drums are working well, the compressed overheads are giving it more of a 70's feel. Just one more suggestion to throw out: try putting a subtle delay on the snare.

Only heard the second version, sounds OK here thanks for sharing.

bitflipper


Big improvement! The more aggressive drums are working well, the compressed overheads are giving it more of a 70's feel. Just one more suggestion to throw out: try putting a subtle delay on the snare.

Thanks Dave! I've been wondering what to do to get that intro to not be sooo sterile and lifeless sounding. I'll try it.

foxwolfen


Much improved. The vox do indeed sound fuller. Now, to me there is something still missing. I'm having a hard time putting my finger on what though. I am tempted to listen to the originals, but that could result in just me trying to turn it into one of those versions, which sort of defeats the purpose.

Hi Shad-


Do you think what is missing is musical or production? I definitely agree that there is a brightness that is missing. Dave suggested adding delay to the snare which I think will help the intro. It's pretty sterile and dry.


Also, I pulled out all track or bus reverb. The only verb is slight from Ozone in the final master.


Thanks, and let me know if you come up with what's missing.


TB

OK... after another listen I think I know. I think this is a matter of taste, so take it for what its worth. But, I think you need to do more vocal layering earlier on. There was a moment (let me track down the time... 2:38) that worked well and I think could be use a lot more. It is hard to say for sure, but I would experiment with a layered vocal track from the beginning.. but it might not work and I might discard it.

There is some volume enveloping needed on the panning vox and in some of the places that are layered, thought it could also be one of two other things.

1. It sounds to me like you may be experiencing phase cancellation due to parts of the vox layers being nearly identical in wave form but 180 degrees out of phase. You can hear this as the sound "dropping out" in places in the last third of the song.

or 2. You may also need to look at the compression on the vox track layers as that might also be the drop out I am hearing (pumping).

There is of course some need of pitch correction on the vox in a few places. Subtle is all that needed. I might bring more yet into the bottom end of her vocal track (if there is any as female vocal harmonics do not tend to drop very low). Your wife has some good pipes, and I think with a few more tweaks you will bring them to life.