Mixing already mastered songs in a DJ mix

[buckman]

Is there a tip to this?

I'm doing a DJ mix of tracks with EQ (bass) etc so the tracks don't clash, and have put the Ableton Limiter on the master channel.

With the mix transitions, and samples flying over the top, how do you get the headroom back, mixing 'finished' dance tracks together without it clipping?

Do I turn down the master fader to say -6db or turn down the individual channels to -6 (with the records/tracks on) and mix back in overlay loops and samples as if its a brand new track?

At the moment, I have a maximizser on the master and the finished mix is a bit of a brick (the tracks were a little anyway before hand) but just asking to see how others and professional DJ's overcome this to get dynamics and energy back into a DJ mix alongside riffs, and samples from Ableton?

[Tarekith]

Lower the clip volumes of all the songs until you get your headroom back?

[bkwsk]

Too much overlimiting there it seems. I wouldn't put a maximizer in the master channel if I were working with finished pieces of music, you're going to destroy them. Just put a limiter to "catch the peaks" -which you might not even need- and that's it.

[yur2die4]

Decide if you want it to sound loud on small systems, or Good on loud systems.

Loud systems can always compensate for quietness, but if you lose the dynamics, you might as well be hugging an angry badger.

[buckman]

Lower the clip volumes of all the songs until you get your headroom back?

So this is the actual clip waveform volume in the warping section, and NOT touch the channel volume sliders?

[Tarekith]

Correct, that's how I prep my tracks to dj in live personally.

[oblique strategies]

Lower the clip volumes of all the songs until you get your headroom back?

So this is the actual clip waveform volume in the warping section, and NOT touch the channel volume sliders?

Correct, that's how I prep my tracks to dj in live personally.

Are there specific benefits from lowering the clip volume (in advance/preparation) rather than adjust the channel volume faders when mixing, or is this just a personal preference?

[Sibanger]

^^ I'm thinking, after adjusting the clip to the desired volume, if you slide your Volume Slider to it's peak level, it will never be too loud in the mix.