PTLE gain staging/mixbus questions...
 

ive recently started doing some stuff on a digi 001/PTLE 6.4 and im curious about proper gain staging inside of PTLE.

i am recording all my tracks at -18dbfs average, then doing levels/automation/editing and some plugins ITB, then sending out 8 stems (some are auxes, some are just individual tracks) to a PM1000 for summing and outboard stuff. the mix is going back into PTLE (eventually to a 1/4").

i dont quite understand how the internal mix bus works and i want to make sure that i am not making things worse.

are there negative consequences to boosting track levels up a few dbs ITB? should i turn the other tracks down instead of turning one up? what about for auxs/outputs? should they be leaving the 001 at -18dfbs too?

maybe there is something i could read to better understand PTLE mixbus? thanks.