One of the most important steps in the mixing process is Equalization. This is where you're going to trim the fat from your sounds and eliminate frequencies that are displeasing to the ears. Not only will this allow for more headroom in your mix, it also allows you to sit elements where you want them in the song.
Often times producers will battle with a sound they like, turning it up and turning it down trying to find a sweetspot when overall GAIN of the sound isn't the issue. The real trouble is coming from a few resonating frequencies that are already too loud, preventing the sound from sitting at the proper gain in the mix. You can resolve these issues easily by Notch Filtering....