I would say 90 % of the time the 1st ... most fast changes don't really sound that good (IMHO) there's generally a total decompensation of average total volume when that happens, also a lot of the tracks r really bottom rich so u kill the bass = u kill the tune... Still some styles suit this kind of fast mixing... But i would say its very much down 2 the quality of the eq, I don't like kills on the main eq, i rather have them seperate (if possible as switches and as rotary).. 2 me normal eq is 15 db cut and gain... maybe I am a bit of a tradicionalist...

I tend 2 mix by lowering the channel while compensating with the mid eq. if this is smooth it fools yer ear 2 believe u ain't lowering the channel at all , with this u gain space for the channel that's coming in!.. this is based on 2 sort of theorys..
1 - most of us pay attention mainly 2 the mids, 'cause very soon we start loosing the listeng of highs and lows (play a sine with the same vol @ 100 HZ, 1Khz and 10KHz... u'll realise the 1 KHz sounds lot's higher!!), also most of the sounds are around the mid range (lower and higher range)...

2 - we only perceive vol changes if they r bigger than 3db so if u take out a channel by small smooth progressive steps u don't really notice much..


anyways mixing is an art .. no science so there isn't any fixed absolute rules..

My 2 cents,

Z