Hello, clipping and distortion is a major problem and muddy mixes are not pleasant to listen to, i recommend study audio production (mixing and mastering courses) this will save ur time and make ur life much easier, for now, as a starting point, i recommend doing the following:
1- compose and arrange (midi tracks) with kontakt or whatever.
2- bounce (export) every track individually and then import it to the project as wav. File, and make sure every track doesnt exceed 0 db so it doesnt clip.
3 - after bouncing add some important plugins like compressors and EQs on the tracks that u feel they need it, and remember be subtle! Ps before adding these plugins i recommend u read abt these stuff and what they actually do to the track or mix.
Finally, check ur master fader (the stereo out) and see if the whole mix is still clipping, if so go back the tracks and lower the fader or u can lower the master fader to leave some headroom for the next stage, the mastering stage.
The mastering stage:
I highly recommend not messing around with plugins now, but u can always try and fail thatās the key of learningā¦
Bounce (export) ur mix after lowering the master volume like i said above, and import it again to a new session as a stereo file, add an EQ to roll off some of the low end around 35 hz
And give the mix some air by adding a bit of top end around 8 khz (1 or 1.5 db) not more!
Now add a multiband compressor and choose a preset.
Finally add a Maximizer and push that volume upā¦
Ps: this is not the best mastering in the world, this is very basic, but a good starting point to begin with, experiment with these tips, do some mistakes and learn from ur own ups and downs.
Please try any good course online or read a book if u r serious about getting ur stuff to the next level.
Hope that helped. Best of luck mate