Rightfully or wrongfully I always approach a multitrack the same way. I just group everything together in a logical way (at least what I view as logical). Then I get a general sense of about where I should initially start the faders at. From there I just kind of go for a balance that sounds good to me without any processing. Just trying to get a feel for the song as it were. After that I start the processing.
I'm gonna be honest I didn't know what to do with those background vocals at all. There just so many of them lol. What I ended up doing was a small submix of panning and level. Then it was just processing on the submix. In general some EQ and a "gentle" helping of compression, and the second set of background vocals were actually pretty hard to get to do what I wanted. After a lot of listening and pondering I settled on the notion of having them reinforce rather than be upfront because if I wanted them to be upfront with everything else I had already done they would not have been treated in a "pretty" fashion. A lot more forcing than what I have done. Now, really the main issue with background vocals besides there being a lot of them was the question of what did I want them to do? Again after much listening and pondering it turned into a situation of where I felt it more appropriate to treat them kind of like "group" of people chanting not much unlike what was heard on
C.W. McCall's Convoy. Obviously, in this song these are different, but the idea I approached them with is similar enough. I guess it is one of those decisions that you kind of make and try to live with it.
Most of the things you highlight in the way I brought up instruments and such was purely informed by the multitrack itself. I really try to let those be the guide and try not to run wild with it unless I feel it is in benefit of the song. I know that after I had done my initial mix of static balance and such I went back and did quite a bit of volume automation to get things about where I felt they ought to be. I think that can be a tough line to stay if you're not careful. Volume automation is powerful and you do have to be wary of whether what you're doing is in service of the song or in disservice of it. It would seem as though I did all right with it
I knew something sounded off about the bass! Not saying I did the right thing with it, but I KNEW IT! Initially when I was listening it seemed that the bass was just a bit lacking. That would also explain the low mid heaviness of the multi too. Now, the low mid build in my mix is honestly probably a result of my monitoring. I know the room I'm in does nasty things in the 200-300Hz region. I think at this point I really need to get myself some proper treatment for the room, but at the same time I'm not sure how I'm gonna stuff it in here with everything else (topic for another day). It is noted.
Now, while I've been typing this I've been toying with the suggestions you had for the mix. Definitely, correct on giving the bass more "lows". Really, I just used the EQ I had on it (Pultec style) gave it more 60 and then cut out some 500. That really helped to even it out. As for the vocals, I tried a program EQ (something based on the Altech 9063B) on that buss and just lowered 100Hz and upped 15KHz. Greatly helps the vocals and their clarity. Though I think I'm gonna have to go in and do some sibilance automation to get rid of a couple of the nastier spots. The vocal itself to me wasn't overly sibilant and a simple de-esser took care of the issues I encountered pretty well. But as I'm sure you've experienced sometimes you just need to get in there. Heck sometimes it is easier just to automate that stuff out or mask it in reverb if the song allows.
The only issue I'm having is that snare. See, me personally I like the snare a lot. I get where you're coming from. If I listen to it I can hear a disconnect from the snare and the rest of the kit. I guess this stems more from my roots than anything, but I've always liked really tight hard hitting snares (the Roland TR-606 has a wonderful snare, SO SNAPPY). I was almost tempted to make this one make your ears twinge from each hit. But I backed off on that because I wanted it to be a little more natural sounding. I don't really know if I'd wanted to be much different. Man, snares are really one of those things that make a huge difference in the way a mix is perceived aren't they? Now, in my mix I added more reverb than what just the room had. Even after quite a bit of playing around with compression and such on the room I never really liked it much more than ambiance it gave the kit. So, I added in some extra reverb and used that to create a slightly bigger sounding area. Just a little extra decay and such. The blend of these two reverbs is what ultimately creates the sound of the drums. However, I'm not sure I'm fan of really increasing the snare's presence in the reverbs much. It does make it linger on a bit more and kind of connect it more to the kit, but I'm not sure I'm a big fan of it. I dunno maybe I just like the sound of indecisiveness lol.
I'll set on this for a couple of days myself and see what I think of it. I really do appreciate the feedback. Definitely, puts me into a different kind of thinking. Always interesting to hear what others think because it is never quite what you expect. Lots of food for thought. As I said I really just tried to approach this mix with a bit more of a modern sensibility than anything. One of those things for sure is the drum sound, low end, and vocals.
Slightly off topic, but I'd like to say for the record those guitars were so annoying to get sounding right. I think I spent like 2 hours just trying to get them to compliment each other. Seriously, why did EGtr 1, AcGtr 1, and AcGtr 2 have to be all playing at the same time? Though it wasn't until I was about ready to curse up a storm that I remembered I still had the DI for EGtr 1 and AcGtr 1. That greatly helped in letting the ear find them. Take away folks remember your DI. It can save you a lot of headache.