Just wanted to say that I really like the track, but I definitely think it needs a better mixdown/more work on the master, here are some tips:
I usually mix down to give me a lot of extra headroom (to -5db at least)
- Check out the master before you start mastering. Open it up in a spectral analyser - it can reveal a lot of stuff your ears often ignore after listening to the same thing for many hours without stop. In dancefloor music, more often than not, you want to have a relatively even response curve from 300hz up. You can achieve that either pre or during mastering.
- First device you should have in your master bus is a "preliminary" EQ. Use it to cut off everything below 20hz (any sound there won't be musical, if you leave it there it will just make the final mix queter). Also add a high-pass to cut off the very end of the spectrum. Sound up there won't be too musical either, will irritate headphone listeners and won't be replicated in clubs.
- Use a multi-band compressor (one in Ozone is great). How you use it is up to you, but you often want to compress different frequency ranges separately.
- Stereo Image! Your sub and your kick should ALWAYS be mono. The more wide a sound is, the quieter it will be on a mono speaker such as a subwoofer. If you want to add wide stereo range, do so in your top end.
- Using harmonic exciters is really awesome, you should check out the one that comes with Ozone. Ozone in itself is an amazing investment, and is definitely a good way to go when it comes to mastering. Harmonic exciters can really fatten the parts of a track that don't stand out as much as you want them to.
- If the track has a sub that is doing it's own thing (doesn't follow the rest of the melody) - it is often a good idea to layer a second instrument that is of higher register to play the same melody as the sub. This means that people who listen to your music through apple headphones (or other devices that don't replicate the lower frequency ranges) can hear the sub melody without hearing the sub itself. You may want to use a plugin like MaxxBass in order to do this instead.
- After you have done all of that, slap on a compressor and limiter. Compress your track until it hits 0db - higher ratios for loudness, lower ratio for improved dynamics. Increase the gain on the limiter until it's as loud as you want it, yet the drums are still punchy and driving.
- Last step: leave your track alone, come back to it in an hour - take a nice listen to the master, just once or twice - and do any final tweaks. Leave it for a day and repeat.
Other tips:
- get some good vsts that you can work with. While I heavily recommend ozone - I only use it for the multi-band compression and harmonic exciter. I really like the Fab-Filter plugins, Pro-Q and Pro-C especially.
- If you want your drums to sound fuller while retaining dynamic range, use parallel compression. Send the drums out to a return effect, where you slap on a compressor with a high ratio and low threshold. Mix this wet signal with the original dry signal.
.