i need some help with levels

[Foo-bu]

hey everyone. i'm still kinda new at recording so i'm just kinda learning things as i go along. but i need some suggestions.

i find that usually my mixes arent very loud when i listen to them on a cd player. i've had people suggest to me in the past that when i'm mixing, i should just crank up my master fader so that everything gets boosted but not enough that it clips. i've tried this method and it seems to help quiet a bit but i notice that the mixes just dont have enough presence as well.
if i were to use a compressor would this help out?

also would it be a wiser idea to boost the volume of my mix with a compressor rather than the master fader? keep in mind that i'm not very skilled with compressors. i sort of understand how they work but whenever i try to do anything with them, they seem to do the opposite

if you suggest that i use a compressor, what ratio/threshold would you recommend?

thanks very much!!!

ps. i'm using a Roland VS2400, in case that helps you guys

 

[Ronan]

The loudness difference that between your mixes and other CDs that you play in your CD player is that the other CDs have been mastered. Part of the process of modern mastering usually entails hard limiting to bring the overall loudness up.

 

[Foo-bu]

is there any way i could hard limit my tunes? i would assume that if you put a compressors ratio to as high as it will go that should limit it but i could be wrong