not clipping the overall mix

[wes480]

I am still a bit confused on this...

my theory right now is, wherever something in the overall mix is clipping....start turning stuff down...until it doesn't...

But the problem is, then the volume levels for all of the different tracks are going to go up and down depending on where there is clipping and how bad etc...

Is this something that won't be noticeable to the ears? or should I turn down an entire track...at a time, instead of just one little piece where the mix is clipping?

Another thing I've always wondered...say you have a solo acoustic guitar intro to a song, and then a vocalist comes in. Do engineers ever turn the guitar down, when the vocalist comes in? Or is the level of the guitar kept the same?

Becuase on a lot of songs...it *sounds* like the guitar is going down...becuase the vocal is coming in stronger. But, I don't know if this is just a percieved thing...or if the level of the guitar is actually going down at that point.

All of that stuff seems pretty messy to me, I need some old school advice here

 

[ambi]

hmm

maybe its gating?

 

[littledog]

If you have a really good mix, especially with lots of automated fader moves, it's understandable that you might not want to mess with fader volumes on individual tracks.

You may be able to solve the problem by inserting a compressor or limiter on the main mix buss inserts.

And yes, a lot of times you do turn down certain elements of the mix when other elements are present. That's just a natural part of mixing.