First Timer Looking for Critiques

[Rendered]

Hello all, long reader, first time poster. I've been working for a while now on a bunch of songs for my band. I had released a first version of our demo previously when it was just me, but looking back the sound quality was horrible as was the mixing. So now that I have a bass player and a singer, I've decided to redo everything and start from scratch. Using what I've learned from this forum I feel I've come a long way but I still feel like my mix is missing something.

So I'm asking if the wise-ones of the Andy Sneap forums could help a new guy out? I feel like maybe I've got too much bass going on in terms of subs and whatnots, but I still want to keep the bass clear enough to recognize because I've got a bass player that really deserves to be heard. So please give it a spin and give me some words of wisdom, thank you.

Progressions

 

[oroinvictus]

Everything sounds unnaturally wide, like there's too much exciter or band-dynamics going on. Sounds like ozone. The playing is sloppy and needs some editing to get it on time. The guitar tone sounds undergained, air-y and honky, i.e. too much mid-high end. Drums sound very programmed, they could use some note velocity variations. If you want the bass to really be heard, I'd go for a much grindier tone.

 

[Rendered]

Thanks man, any recommendations on how I could fix some of those issues such as the band dynamics and exciter? Like any tips on how to properly use them? And yeah it is Ozone. As for the guitars, I don't want them gained out as I don't care much for that kind of sound, but thanks for the eq analysis, I had always heard something off about them but wasn't sure how to fix it, because I've tried all kinds of eq on them and still had it.

Also, what would be a good velocity range for editing? I know that 127 is uber hard.

 

[oroinvictus]

What I would do is leave ozone out of the equation, get the sources sounding as good as possible, and then use ozone to lightly touch things up - like maximizing loudness, maybe a little master 'verb if needed, everything in small increments.

 

[Rendered]

Ok I'll try that, it'll be a bit difficult cause I used Ozone for pretty much everything from eq to compression, but I'll try that. How could I go about making the mix wider without sounding unnatural? I'm going for a Devin Townsend Wall of Sound type of deal but with a little less reverb so that everything doesn't "wash out" with the speed. Thank you for the help.