06-10-2016, 11:41 PM
Some simple and coarse tips. If you think that some instrument is a bit quiet, but you can still hear it, then it is too quiet. And vice versa, if you think some track might sound a bit overpowering, but you can still hear other tracks, then it is too loud. It all comes down to your perception through the mixing process vs. the listeners first impression. You know your mix, but it has to translate to the listener as well. In your case the drums. Probably everyone here could hear the drums, but we expected them to be a bit more upfront. Listeners of course have some kind of 'prejudice' for the sound, and you should work with it, not against it. I don't think that is the case here, but just don't waste your time and resources trying to 're-invent' the wheel. Spend some time just experimenting. Overtweak the plugins and/or gear. Find out what really makes the sound worse (it's easier) and then try to reverse it. Twist the eq so that you really hear the bad resonance, smash the compressor so that you really hear when it turns into distortion and so on.