just did one of these today...used the waves api 2500 compressor for about 1-2 dB of gain reduction just to control the peaks and get a little character of the compressor. then fed the mix through my tube mixer just to warm things up a bit (not worth it unless you have a high end sound card and analog gear), then ran it back in, applied about 4 dB of gain in voxengo elephant just to get some more loudness. at most gain reduction was about 4-5 dB, but that only happened a couple times. dithered to 16 bit and was done!
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ccarltonn45

automate gain for tracks when not mixing. For transitions, apply a compressor with minimal gain reduction so that there is no increase or decrease rms wise. If you have time, a general EQ template for the entire mix which means you will have to EQ every track so that the overall EQ aesthetic for the entire album is cohesive. Probably easier to EQ the tracks before hand. Again, unless you have years of engineering experience, probably best not to do any of this.