Etrian Odyssee Soundalike OST - Need mixing help!

[spacecowgoesmoo]

http://www.spacecowmusic.com/Sekaiju.php

(Track 5 is the best one )

I'm having problems getting the tracks loud enough, especially the last one which uses lots of low velocities. Everything aside from the drumset uses old sysex patches in FM8, which even on maxing out the master volume on all the instances results in the master fader hanging around at ~30% most of the time. I've found a few techniques for pushing the FM8 louder, such as using Unison or controlled Overdrive, but they kinda result in some inconsistent timbre changes for different instruments.

I've already added more Gain via the faders, but my loudest tracks are at 0 already and I've heard frequently that adding gain past 0 is not good and should only be used as a last resort. I'm currently using +2 db on the master faders as that last resort .

I could use some advice on the use of compression and such in this case. (The drumset is not an issue as Battery can go waaay louder). I don't really have much experience in compression technique aside from scrolling through presets, and I'm not really sure where to start aside from messing with random things on the interface.

[No Escape]

I have to say, you can't try to over-volume with tracks that light by nature. That said, it sounds like your tracks are missing some high and low end. You should use a program that can give you a frequency analysis, such as Cool Edit Pro, which is free with a simple crack. Compression is not really what you need, since it sounds like the sounds are relatively balanced. If you really want to increase the volume and use compression, I would add gain on the master fader until it reaches about -1 db. I would then look for transients (Spikes in the recording) and apply a nice over-easy compressor. Start your threshold at -6 and put the ratio at 1.5:1. Attack and release should be relatively fast ( I would set attack at 5 ms and release at 20 ms and see how it sounds. Keep in mind that the entire song should not be the same volume. Listening to something at -.1 Db becomes very tiring for the ears quickly, so you might want to create a fade from start to finish beginning at 0 Db and ending with a 1.5 Db gain to make your song progressively louder. And remember, NO CLIPPING. Digital distortion sounds like shit. Never go above -.1

good luck

[spacecowgoesmoo]

Thanks; I'm playing around with the compressor and I'm learning a lot . I should've been more clear tho; I'm not looking to use a compressor specifically, I just want to add a bit of volume to the tracks and compression is usually what I hear suggested for volume issues.

[Grayburg]

Scrub advise:

Just turn up the volume anyway.

My master track goes over 0db in most (all?) of my projects, but I never end up raising individual ones near 0db. Live playback and the rendered result don't clip at all.