to limit or not to limit?

[Mikhail]

When I mix my songs, sometimes I run every track through a (-3dB to -6dB) limiter to chop off the peaks. This allows me to make my song much louder, but the evenness makes the song less exciting. Should I give in to the "make everything louder" theory, or should I not limit every track at a cost of a quieter song?

[kmshroom]

i would not limit every track. i would limit the overall mix.

and only limit enough to make your recording as loud as any normal recording out there.

[kmshroom]

by limit i mean i put a maximizer on a song that has been mixed and bounced down to two tracks. mroe specifically, i use the Waves L1.