Clipping dilemma

Question

I've tried to make sure my individual track levels are not clipping, but many of them are maxed out (just dipping into the orange/red area). My overall Master Level is clipping in spots however, especially as the song intensifies. If I lower the individual track levels I lose some of the punch I'm trying to get out of the sound. If I lower the Master Level I can't raise the already maxed out track levels without having them clip. This is a dilemma. Is the solution to lower ALL track levels incrementally and in the right proportion to each other, then RAISE the Master Level? Or did I go wrong in the actual recording? I thought you were supposed to record with the levels set where you want them as long as they don't clip.
Also... is clipping okay if you want to get more crunch out of hip-hop style drums? I notice that,
playing them from inside the loops library drums sound crunchy, but the Master Levels don't clip.

Answer 1

It sounds like you are using up all of your headroom. On my songs, the tracks seldom get into the orange individually. I usually leave the master level at unity (zero Db) and never move it, then I mix the tracks by ear, and keeping an eye on that master level meter. If I get a bit of over there, I'll try to find what is doing it, and apply limiting to that track that is the probable culprit. When I am all done with the song, I use the C3 multi compressor on the master track to get the most overall loudness from the song without clipping. It is not part of GB, but it is free and you can find it here http://www.apulsoft.ch/
Another thing, you said "...record with the levels set where you want them". Well, the level slider on the track in GB has nothing to do with the input level. It controls playback level. My first take, I usually leave it at unity, then the first playback, it is almost always too loud for the mix, so I then balance it better to hear my part with the song. If I do a second take, I leave it there, and the recording level doesn't change at all, only the playback level.
There is a volume slider for auditioning the loops in the browser, and so they will often play at a different level than they do in your track when you drag them there. I usually back that slider off so they aren't so loud when I audition them. Also, be aware that if you start with a software loop, that first loop sets the track's instrument setting, and any other SI loops you drag to that track will play using THOSE settings and not necessarily sound like they did in the browser. For instance, if you choose a SI drum loop that is a rock kit loop, and then you drag a SI hip hop kit loop into the same track, the hip hop loop will play using the rock kit. The same with all other SI loops. You can take an organ loop and make a track with it, then any SI loop you drag into that track will play on organ, even if it is a piano loop, or even a drum loop. This only works on the SI loops, though, not the blue Real Instrument loops.