Help me get my mix together!

[Metalliac]

Hi! I've started mixing my band's first 4 song demo/EP and I'm having problems with the mix. It's hard for me to pinpoint where exactly the mix fails, but it seems to be all over the place. In addition the guitars sound somehow flat and lifeless and I don't know where to start with the EQ. I've spent so much time with the mix that I've almost become tonedeaf and the guitars are just a bunch of noise to me.

Here's one sample song. We haven't tracked vocals yet, but I want it to sound prime before any tracking and adapt the mix later. Any tips would be appreciated
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16419916/DPS Premix.mp3

Here's the updated version:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16419916/DPS PremixUpdt.mp3

 

[AceFireForce117]

Aren't you overthinking this a bit ?

 

[zakky]

lower the bass a little, add more reverb to the snare other than that it sounds nice!

 

[Metalliac]

Aren't you overthinking this a bit ?

Does that mean that you think the mix is fine?

I don't know.. I guess that I'd like the mix to have a bit more punch and clarity; the 3D that most professional productions do. Maybe I should send the mixes to be mastered professionally instead of crushing the whole thing with Ozone 5

lower the bass a little, add more reverb to the snare other than that it sounds nice!

Nice tips! The increased reverb made the snare sound a lot better.

 

[AceFireForce117]

Yes dude i think everything sits well. And yeah probably sending it to a pro to be mastered would be better but seriously for a demo ? It's not really worth the struggle and the money.

One thing though, you better carve some space in the mix for the vocals to sit

 

[foundations]

i know what you mean man it sounds a bit thin, good job though.. i would say you need some fatter sounding drums and rework your guitar tone from scratch.. how did you track the guitars?

 

[Metalliac]

Got into some mixing today and did some minor changes. I changed the impulses that I used for guitars completely and now they have way more presence.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16419916/DPS PremixUpdt.mp3

i know what you mean man it sounds a bit thin, good job though.. i would say you need some fatter sounding drums and rework your guitar tone from scratch.. how did you track the guitars?

The guitars are actually just my 7-string RG7321 with Duncan Blackouts and my friend's RG 7620 with some Dimarzio Blazes. We went straight into my M-Audio Profire 610's Hi-Z input. All processing is done by my trusty Guitar Rig 5.
Inside GR5 the chain is: Vintage VCA comp -> Noise supressor -> Graphic EQ -> the 5150 model split into 2 Reflektors (which I use to load impulses). Initially I used this Orange cab impulse that I found somewhere over here, but now I switched to use a blend from God's Cab 1.3 (which is so good, I might even consider donating some money to them!)

I know there still is a lot to do until I get the mix sounding pristine (particularly with the drums and the snare) but I think this was a nudge in the right direction!

 

[Metalliac]

Here's a gentle bump with another song from our demo. Your comments have been encouraging so far, but a bit more feedback wouldn't hurt. At least I improved the first mix a lot in my opinion (still listenable in the OP)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16419916/DPS2 Premix.mp3