Tracks are -7db yet the whole mix is -1db? What?

[AngryMonkey]

Hi,
Firstly apologies for what is probably a very noob question, ive looked around but am still very confused though.

I have a song, a mix, it starts with 1 guitar which is -7db, this is fine and the overall mix reads as -7db. Then some drums join in which are also -7db, but the overall mix now reads -4db.

Then the vocals join in, again they are -7db, but now the overall mix reads -1db...

So every extra track that joins in makes the mix louder, even though they are individually the same level.

This is causing problems because people turn their hifis to how loud they want when the intro comes in but by the time the vocal comes its all too loud.

What should I be doing here? Do I need to somehow compress the entire thing so it always reads the same level (would -1db be a good value)? Or should I be using some form of automation to change the levels of each track as new tracks come in?

Thanks,
AM.

[MetalDave]

When you add new tracks the db level will go up as you add more things to the mix you will need to turn other things down. This is perfectly normal. If they are kistening to a complete album, they volume of the last song should have them sitting at the volume they want. the next song starts low and they will usually wait until all the music comes in before thinking about turning it up. If you want it to be loud you can also envelope the track and make the single thing louder, then turn it down into the mix when the rest of the music starts.

[brandondrury]

What should I be doing here?

You should mix it all together so that it sounds good. You are putting way too much stock into numerical value of your levels in my opinion.

Brandon