If you post "unmastered" mixes I recommend to normalize, maybe use a limiter anyway.
This will help listeners, to be honest who likes to pull monitoring volume 30dB up?
Personally I don't think there was anything wrong with the limiter in the 1st mix, I didn't hear any "destruction".
Also the snare was not even loud in the first place, just needs different EQ IMO.
As do the vocals, sounding rather muffled; consider how much brighter are the cymbals which makes the balance weird.
Brighten up snare and vocals, maybe cut a bit of the body of the snare so it lets thru other stuff but still use med/high frequecies to make a good impact.
Try also a little cut in the 300-350 area for vocals, cleans up a bit of mud and can give overall clarity.
PS: actually the mix is quite good to start with. Just those few corrections would make it really good IMO
This will help listeners, to be honest who likes to pull monitoring volume 30dB up?
Personally I don't think there was anything wrong with the limiter in the 1st mix, I didn't hear any "destruction".
Also the snare was not even loud in the first place, just needs different EQ IMO.
As do the vocals, sounding rather muffled; consider how much brighter are the cymbals which makes the balance weird.
Brighten up snare and vocals, maybe cut a bit of the body of the snare so it lets thru other stuff but still use med/high frequecies to make a good impact.
Try also a little cut in the 300-350 area for vocals, cleans up a bit of mud and can give overall clarity.
PS: actually the mix is quite good to start with. Just those few corrections would make it really good IMO