Question

Volume is acceptable in Studio 4 but after exporting, songs are difficult to hear.  I suspect I am skipping some important mixing and/or mastering steps,  but I don't know where to begin.  There is probably not a simple answer to this question but I'm hoping to at least get pointed in the right direction .

Both responses I received referred to Projects which I apparently do not have. I assume I need to upgrade to the Professional version in order to address the volume issue?

Answer 1

If your just exporting tracks for your own listening, you might want to add a Compressor or Limiter on the Main out, so you can push the volume up a bit (all radio and pop music is pretty heavily compressed which makes the song sound louder but at a loss of dynamics. I usually just add a limiter on the main for volume in the Song page for exporting and remove it when I bounce it for the Project Page.) But it's usually better to master a group of tracks into an album -- New Project,  should help get you started with that.