Do you h ave a DAW mixing routine?

[Whoopysnorp]

By that I mean just a general basic procedure for how you start every mix. Here's what seems to work for me: once the basic tracks are down, I pull down all the faders and set the master to unity gain. I bring up the bass first, followed by the overheads and kick. Getting the kick and bass at a good complementary level is the first order of business here, and then I set the overheads according to what I wind up with. Next I bring in the snare, followed by the guitar, and finally the toms. By doing that, it seems to be pretty easy to get everything at a level where you won't have to pull back on the master volume too much to avoid clipping. Does anybody else have any tricks like this that help them along in mixing?

[Nubus]

I guess I tend to listen to all the faders up first and go from there. Avoiding clipping the master sucks. Analog summing.

for avoiding clipping in the box- always make sure to check pre and post fader. if you find a clip try and automate the volume just a smidge to avoid the clip.

[Whoopysnorp]

Actually, within the box with digital summing, it probably makes no difference whether I have the faders way up and the master way down or vice versa. It makes me feel more secure keeping the master around unity though. Dunno why. Probably just a good habit to have in case I ever find myself working on an analog board someday.

[Nubus]

Originally Posted by Whoopysnorp

Actually, within the box with digital summing, it probably makes no difference whether I have the faders way up and the master way down or vice versa. It makes me feel more secure keeping the master around unity though. Dunno why. Probably just a good habit to have in case I ever find myself working on an analog board someday.

why wouldn't that matter? I would imagine that clipping the channel faders with a rediculous boost of EQ would sound bad even if the master was pulled down not to clip. I always check the post fader eq when mixing and the pre fader eq when tracking. some programs must not offer this, huh?