Aug 10, 2007 08:56 pm Well first off, Pro Tools pluggins are crazy expensive no matter what. The ones that come bundled with it are of course not the cream of the crop but can do the job. And sadly there are no free pluggings for PT out there as Digidesign does not allow it. They want to charge for everything, which is a pity because it will be their downfall in the end since apps like Sonar come with some killer high end pluggins and don't charge extra for you to have them.
That said, to get the track up to a maximum level you will want to use a maximizing pluggin if PT has one. The other choice is a good compressor/limiter. You simply set the ceiling for around -3 to 0 dB and let it go. YOu can also use some EQ if the track needs it but most EQing should be done on each track before the final mixdown. But often times the stereo master needs a little EQ help.
But the compression will help bring the mix up to a good level if used properly.