basically youve got three sounds to deal with level wise. cascara ( the shells ) the heads and the bells for a traditional sound you want to balance all three with the bell pattern somewhat forward, if there's a conga player mix the cascara with the conga level so the cascara accents the conga pattern but is moved slightly back in level. sometimes compression works well to tame the bell but its best to get the levels right with mic position first. 57's work nicely on the shells and open head strikes but you need to position them toward the head to pickup the "muff" sound. the bell will really cut without being loud so adjust it with all your tracks playing it should be present without being distracting. hope this helps, yours in clave rrrrrrrrrrrr