i'm not even sure how to ask this, but i'm having trouble finding a balance between dirty and clean in my tracks.

i've been "back to the drawing board" of late, and have sorted out a number of things. the track i've been working on most recently has better bass, a better groove, and more aggresive, dirty sounds. before doing any eqing, it was really full sounding - great for a rig, but sounded muddy on a smaller system.

now i've used eq on every sound, and they all sound good, individually, but somehow i've lost the glue that held the track together. the fullness and warmth are gone. it sounds loud and clean, but i like it way less. like the magic is gone. i know that's not very technical language, but that's my problem. i perceive this change but can't explain it.

it seems obvious to me that i must be over doing it with the eq, but how to find the balance, that is my question? do you just perfect the sound of your kick and lead synth, and leave the rest to mingle in the background, rather than bringing out everything? do you apply more fx to fill up the space taken away by eq?

any ideas greatly appreciated. it's like i need a kick in the head or something.

thanks