I've got a technical question about the sidechaining then. I'm using Reaper, and when I use the kick as the auxiliary input for another track's compressor, Reaper will register clipping in the auxiliary levels if I turn that track up. So my question is... does it matter? I've realized I can get rid of the clipping flag by turning down the auxiliary input gain then bumping up the compression ratio to maintain the same amount of compression as previously, but it's a bit of a PITA. Either way it's clipping on a sound that isn't heard, so what's the downside of leaving it to clip as it pleases?
The only thing that really matters is how it sounds in the mix. That said, if inputs to sidechain compression (or other sidechaining effects) are clipping, they tend to have more variance in response behavior to other small volume changes in both the track being sidechained, and the track you're sidechaining to. If that makes sense.