Thanks for all the listens and advice! Sorry in advance for what I expect will be a bit of a wordy response.
There are several issues I'm dealing with. First and foremost is that I have no idea what I'm doing. But another problem I'm facing is that most of the tunes on the new album were recorded at different times over the space of five or six years -- most of them with an old Windows XP computer with a cheaper audio interface, a very old version of Cubase, a nicer Taylor acoustic that I sold, etc. I'm trying to mash all these old tunes with vastly different levels and instruments and effects into a cohesive album that sounds at least marginally like it was recorded in a few weeks in the same studio.
I think one of the issues is also the "master" EQ I put on it. I Googled "mastering in Cubase" on YouTube and watched a tutorial where a guy said to put the "rock EQ" and the Maximizer on the master output. The Rock EQ (that I've actually toned down) looks like this:
It definitely made the songs brighter and louder, but I agree I'm probably pushing it a little TOO hard to get that level that the kids are used to.
The biggest complaint I've always gotten about my music is that it's too quiet. When people put it on their phone, it's in with all these songs from QOTSA or Foo Fighters or whatever, and when my song comes on in shuffle mode, they can barely hear it. That's annoying. I get it. My life's dream is to find a way to get that level without over-compressing or distorting.
Here's the Maximzer (basically a limiter, I guess). It's showing about 1.3 db of gain reduction.
The "graininess" in the vox may just be me, honestly. I don't smoke, but I have a smoker's voice. It's pretty grainy. Hell, I'm 50! LOL!
Surprised to hear the comments about the kick and bass. It's so hard to know what kinds of setups people are listening on. The bass rocks on my home stereo with Definitive speakers and a huge Klipsch sub. And I'm not even pushing the sub. LOL! With all due respect, without knowing what you're listening on or how much bass you have available in your system, I'm a little leery of pushing it TOO much.
Definitely interested in hearing more about the competing highs and vocal issues. There's no EQ on any of the vocals. The only EQ in the whole mix is the "Rock EQ" in the master channel. There are also no effects on any of them. That's just my voice that's "unflattering." Sorry. I don't fancy myself a singer. I only do it because there's no one else I know who can. And it's just not as fun if someone else sings all your songs for you. LOL! Love it or leave it, that's my voice.
Gear-wise:
Guitars: (main electric guitar) ESP AX-350; I also use a Jackson PS-4 from time to time for the tremolo; my acoustic guitars are terrible for recording (sold my Taylor (110?) to my brother-in-law cheap as an Xmas present for his daughter) -- Ovation Elite TX (fantastic guitar, but terrible mic'd) and a cheap Fender FA-something
Effects: I use a POD XT for all my bass and guitar effects
Bass: ESP F-104
Keys: All VSTs triggered by an old Alesis QS6
Drums: Superior Drummer 2.0 (I've never quite mastered that software -- way too many options); triggered with a Korg PADKONTROL
Mics: Behringer B2 Pro for vox and a cheap MXL mic for acoustic guitars
DAW: Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 rack interface; Behringer Autocom rack compressor for vox and acoustic guitar inputs; Cubase 9.5 (just upgraded from 4); JBL 3 series monitors; KRK Rockit 10" powered sub.
What did I not cover?
Thanks again for any and all input.