Setting Volume Levels

So I’m new with Cubase. I’ve successfully recorded several songs now and know my way around pretty well. I mic my guitar/drum amps into my Yamaha MG12XU mixer, then USB into Cubase 9 LE AI Elements on my pc Windows 10. However, when I set all volumes at the preferred level (at 0 to avoid unwanted distortion/clipping) on both my mixer and in Cubase, the recordings sound very clean and balanced, but the overall level is a bit low, especially after I export a file into an mp3 and upload into SoundCloud and other music sites. Can someone please advise me as to how I increase the overall volume of my recordings inside Cubase, without distorting it. Is there a quick easy process/tool to use?

thanks in advance!

Bill

The tool you want to use is a Compressor as an insert. While they are not functionally difficult to use, they are super-easy to misuse (most commonly through overuse). Do a search and you’ll find a ton of videos on using compressors. It’s important to understand the basic concepts of how they work since the actual controls will vary a bit between different compressors.

I’d also advise on ignoring the presets that come with any compressor. The actual settings you’ll want to make will be specific to the audio you are processing. Even if you start with a preset you’ll still need to modify the settings to work on your audio (sometimes a huge amount). It’s better to understand how the controls work in conjunction with each other & set them up based on the audio you are processing.

Put a limiter on the master bus in Cubase, set output of the plugin to maximum -0.5dB and turn up the input of the plugin .

Thank you guys so much for your advice, very much appreciated !!!

Bill