Opening and defining sound

[Storyville]

I'm new to mastering. I know that as a mastering engineer one of my goals is to help define sounds that are not really shining in the mix, and another goal is to try to make the mix either sound open (if its too cluttered) or full (if its too thin). Now I've got a mix that has a little snafu. The mix is extremely dense between 350hz and 1000hz, especially at 400-500. At the same time, the snare drum has an extremely broad frequency base, that spans from about 400hz-1000hz. The snare could use some defining. So how can I define the snare while at the same time opening up the mids? I tried using an expander to pull the attack in the snare up, it worked to some extent but didn't give me much room to maximize the sound.

I know the sound needs a couple of things, multicomp on the bass for balance for one.

This is the untouched stereo mix.

[Lagerfeldt]

I would see how far good equalizing can get you. That's the first step, and you need to spend more time here as it might fix a lot of your other problems.

Then try experimenting with adding some punch to the track (and snare) with a compressor with a not-too-fast attack to add some snap. Or maybe try with that expander. Even though that's two opposites both might lead to a good result.

But remember this is not mixing. When you're focusing on the snare you'll change something else in the mix, so mastering is a compromise. You must have the whole of the song in mind.

Mastering is like having your eyes fixed on the horizon instead of the road.