it is improved in some ways, but i am not sure overall. it is feeling punchier, and it is louder, but now i am much more conscious of compression holding down the levels. what i am missing is the sense of "room space", or atmosphere... more specifically the decay of sounds... imo, that could possibly be helped by shorter release times. and less compression.
one clue here for me is the final chord: imo, it sustains for much longer and remains loud for a longer time than i think seems "natural"...then just dies. i think you need to paint a more realistic picture of physics, time and space. it could be surrealistic, but still somehow must seem more "free and easy" natural, and less like an obviously controlled recording situation.
also the mix is getting a bit duller sounding, as if you have altered a master bus eq. i think you've removed too much "air" from the bass and guitar...it is less "crisp" overall, less "presence". the drums come up nice this time but now they seem too "enveloped" (i wouldn't quite say "suffocated") by the thicker guitars and bass... i think that if you could eq the bass and guitar so they don't overlap each other frequency wise, it could help to "open up" this mix. also the envelope shape of the guitar is very round like a bass, i might try a longer attack on the compressor to see if some of the "pick on strings" edge can help sharpen up the guitars a bit. (opinion..)
vocal seems slightly improved, but you might still consider notching out some freqs that make it seem too thick... maybe you can try to emphasize the "exciter" thing about his voice and make it really airy sounding... or maybe a doubling effect down an octave could help anchor it more.. it's very thick in the middle like the other instruments..
dynamically, only the drums provide any contrast.. and then they start to sound more like they are standing alone... not in the same room. imo the rhythm section needs to work as a unit more.. it feels to me like the kick drum is not holding up it's end in working together with the bass.
maybe it is just that the bass is a touch too loud? all that "thickness" may be due to that... i think the bass sounds a bit high too, again i might notch or dip it at some places above 100 and especially above 300hz... i would look to cut the bass perhaps around 700hz too... to get it out of the low guitar's space, and to let the kick drum's attack through. i feel pressure in my head from the bass, but it needs to be lower, like in the chest... then i think this track would work much better.
as j. hall has emphasized, the vibe is so important, trumping all technical concerns... for me, it is getting too thick, and not light on it's feet and uplifting enough.. sliding the bass or kick drum tracks by a few samples could make a lot of difference too.. and also some vocal phrases could be editited for timing, imo...
at around 2:14... there is a "bad" guitar note (for me). i'd either fix it... or as j. suggested on the recent imp thread: "try to make something out of it, e.g. dylan has been doing it for years".... what exactly to do? i dunno... ask j! (i would fix it..) to "make something" of a mistake which ends up adding to the song, or at least fits in so it sounds "right" for the moment is an "advanced" mixing strategy that i am anxious to learn myself.
jeff dinces
