Are DT missing an opportunity with their sound production?

[The Letter M]

I think overall 6DOIT is my favorite sounding album all around.  I would LOVE to hear a Ben Grosse produced DT record though.   

I haven't heard the name. What projects is he involved in?

Google-fu led me to Wikipedia:

Grosse has mixed and produced numerous albums for popular artists such as Marilyn Manson, Sevendust, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Filter, Fuel, Depeche Mode, Alter Bridge, Red, Vertical Horizon, Hollywood Undead, Ben Folds, 30 Seconds to Mars, Underoath and many others. As the mixer for many well-known songs from artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers ("Higher Ground"), Republica ("Ready to Go" ), Third Eye Blind ("Graduate" from the "Can't Hardly Wait" soundtrack), and Flaming Lips ("She Don't Use Jelly")

-Marc.

[goo-goo]

Thanks M. Nice list of credits.

[Lucidity]

Six Degrees sounds fantastic, maybe the fullest-sounding DT album. I think FII sounds really nice too. Let me be the first to say that I hate the way the drums sound on IaW, even if I love the playing. Especially the snare. This isn't my area of expertise, so maybe that was just the drumset being used.

I think Octavarium sounds great, especially the title track, it sounds so full. I feel like all and any audible basslines were lost after Octavarium, though... In fact, I can't recall a single DT song I remember the bass part too, or one I can trace the bass part for the whole song. I want to say that it's a fatal tragedy terrible shame that such a great player as JM would be so seldom heard... I feel like that's always been one of DT's biggest weaknesses, that you can almost never hear the bass...

[PixelDream]

I like I&W's sound, crystal clear, dynamics. It has that triggered snare sound, but it suits the songs so I don't give a damn. Dream Theater surely is the band to use 'that' sound. Awake sounds 'cooler', and still with enough dynamics. It sounds more raw, and fat, but still with the reverbs open. I love that sound as well. Falling Into Infinity has a really natural sound going on. In terms of pure sound quality, that one is no doubt the best sounding album.

But then came Scenes from a Memory. That album honestly doesn't sound good, but musically, it works. Six Degrees has a great sound, it's really compressed but it sounds wide and roomy. Totally digging that sound, even if it's compressed as hell. Train of Thought sounds appropiate for a metal album, but really too muddy.

From then on the DT albums just didn't sound good anymore. Systematic Chaos being the worst offender, that one has a really lifeless, flat clippy sound that I don't enjoy at all. It's plastic and it has no depth. Black Clouds & Silver Linings I can live with, especially nice bass frequencies on ANTR. ADTOE brought huge expectations with Andy Wallace (!!!!!) mixing the thing. I don't know what the f**k went wrong there. Does anybody know?

EDIT: Forgot about Octavarium. It's decent.. but why does the title track sound so much better and open compared to the rest of the album? And why is the guitar solo in TROAE so low in the mix? Weird mixing going on there.

[King Postwhore]

I think what's missing here is DT is willing to experiment.  I love bands that their sound to change and evolve.  Not stand still.  So I expect something different this time.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

And why is the guitar solo in TROAE so low in the mix?

THIS! One of the worst DT production things since WDADU, that bit.