When mixing a project, couldn't you just throw fruity balance on the bottom of each mixer slot, and adjust the gain either pre or post FX? You could do the same with the Drum/synth/bass busses and not have to touch the faders... so what's the point of the faders in FL?

The process for me is now mixing AS I go and not obsessing about gain staging and going more for the feel, like you would do with an artist in a session. They don't want to sit there and wait for you to fiddle knobs all day. They typically want shit sounding GOOD fast.

So I take that approach mixing alone, create, mix, create, arrange track, mix. So by the time I get to "mixing", all that's left is what final touches to add for the busses, and then finally mastering the track.

However, I'd still like to get the best mix possible, and besides EQ cuts, saturation, dis, etc, the internet screams gain staging which should be done as one mixes.

As always any and all advice would help. Everyone has their own way of doing things, but at least with FL studio, what's the best way for headroom sake. An issue I keep running into is making sure nothing clips when mixing, then things are too low. I then master my track to raise up the volume, and everything is still WAY too quiet compared to commercial tracks, such as a pad completely disappearing, or drums being too overpowering, etc.

This is after applying compression to mix busses...

 

Well, I found that in FL Studio the best way to start a track without having to deal with the track sounding too quiet is to mix with a clipper in the master (fruity soft clipper will do a nice job).

Do your things and create the song itself, then, when you finish the base structure of the song, you can start messing arround with the knobs/faders and remove the clipper of the master (or not, I actually don't even master, just throw a soft clipper in the master and im goof good xD)

 

Faders shouldn't be automated, they aren't meant for that. Fruity balance is better used for automating buss volumes. For single sounds you can automate the volume knob from "Level adjustment" section