[[Benjamin]]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by surchur:
Maybe I can lower all the tracks so that my whatever track I need up is up and say the master gain should not exceed (???) please fill in the blanks! Then reimport the two stereo tracks to pt and boast somemore? or I quess thats what you do in mastering anyway is it not okay to clip like that even if it sounds good!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Indeed, lower your mix 'til it doesn't clip. You don't have to do this on individual faders, you only have to bring the master fader down til the red clip indicators doesn't light up anymore. If you see clipping, you should do this before adding any plugs on your master fader, to ensure what you are delivering if fine. You don't have to bring them back in later, you can add a limiter to the master fader and bring the level up a bit there. Lower the limiter threshold 'til you see the gain reduction "leds" lighting up every once in a while, on strong passages and transients, not too muc, just one or a few leds lighting up. If you go farther than this you're in black magic land, dangerzone. Getting a mix loud takes so much, more than mastering or limiting, it's an integral process that is started much earlier and involves a lot of advanced dynamics handling. You will not be able to compete with big current commersial releases without introducing severe clipping, and you have no reason accept clipping. You're better off preserving your hard-earned sound. Remember that no world-class mastering engineer on the planet likes squashed dynamics and clipping. Why this has come to be the current trend is a long story, I wont go there..

Ben