I pretty much dont have too much to add! I usually do all the steps D -Jam described, only difference being the fact that I mix “in the box”. I use one channel on the venue’s mixer and my “actual” mixing happens inside my software’s mixer where I set it so that my virtual faders are maxed out when testing – this way I can do more easily cuts then boosts without worrying about the “end” position of my virtual deck’s fader. So in essence my only difference is, in a real mixer I would soundcheck with the mixer faders all the way up and not at 8. When a track is quiter I compensate with the software equivalent of the “gain trims”, if its louder I just use the volume fader…..Again I do this for practical reasons, even though as a sound engineer and completely theoretically you should only use the volume faders for that – its just the practicality of performing accurate sudden cuts then boosts on the decks.
As for using third party software to “correct” any tracks of my collection, I avoid that in the same way I would avoid a 64kbps mp3. If a track is not suitable production wise for my gig – set, I dont play it at all rather than trying to correct a crappy job the producer – mastering engineer did – although I might play a crappy track IF I believe its artistic approach – musicality wins over its sound fidelity.
