Question-answer melody: when they both "sing" together it gets too loud

[Bruellbart]

Greetings fellow musicians,

Currently I'm working on an Oldschool Trance track. I've got a nice lead with some kind of question-answer thingy going on: the first part asks the question and the second parts answers it (same sound/voice). After some back and forth they both "sing" together (in octaves) and that's where my problem appears: it's way too loud when they do this in comparison to the part before. Also they sometimes slightly alternate their timing rhythmically and that's when these particular sections become too quiet again.

My first idea was to handle this problem via Fruity Limiters built-in compressor to duck the loudest amplitudes and increase the volume of the quiter ones, but for the sake of god I couldn't get the settings right. I'm still very inexperienced with compressors and yes, a bit anxious, too, of using them because you can do so much wrong. I don't want the overall sound to be altered and I don't want to overcompress/overdo it or get trapped in the "louder sounds better" perception thing.

Does anybody with some experience has got some tips for me on how to get the settings right for a way more equal volume? Maybe my idea of using a compressor for my task is actually the wrong way and someone could rather offer me a better option to achieve what I want? I hope I expressed my task in an understandable manner...

Thanks in advance
Bruellbart

[kitchencarpet]

I would try using automation clips to control t...

[Bruellbart]

kitchencarpet wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:14 am...

[cowpatmat]

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[Trancit]

Hi Bruellbart, in such situations you describe...

[Bruellbart]

Wow... thank you very much for all of your answ...

[seiken-music]

Honestly, if you feel anxious that you don't kn...

[Zephyrean]

Sometimes, plain hard work will yield the best ...

[seiken-music]

Honestly, if you feel anxious that you don't kn...

[Aleix Fontanet]

I agree with Trancit, it's best to solve the is...