Question: Total newbie here, not sure if this is the right place to post this. I'm trying to record some station IDs for an online radio station thingamajig I'm doing. I'm using a Samson C03U. My voiceovers sound okay when isolated.

However, I've noticed that my voice sounds very quiet when played over music, even when I lower the volume of the music and raise that of my voice. I've made sure to record my voice at the highest possible volume without generating peaks and to stay close to the microphone. The waveform doesn't look odd to my untrained eye.

I've found [these](https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/1178/why-do-my-vocal-recordings-sound-thin-and-muffled) [related](https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/3162/voice-recording-for-radio-what-effects-are-used) threads on the matter, but I'm wondering specifically if there are any audio FX plugins for Sonar I can run my voice through to help me achieve better results.

As I said, I'm a total newbie so I don't know anything about compression and all that jazz. I find it hard to wrap my head around abstract sound theory without *hearing* how certain effects affect input. Until now I've just been trying out stuff and seeing what sticks.

My microphone has a bunch of recording modes but I don't know if they're relevant to what I want to do. The theoretical explanation in the manual isn't doing it for me.

Answer: 
In addition to the fine suggestion from 50ndr33 to compress your voice channel, you might also set up your compressor to use a side channel: use your voice channel as a trigger to compress everything including the music. This will cause the music to "duck" when you speak.
"Trying out stuff" is still an option for even the seasoned recording engineer who is faced with some thing they have not experienced yet. There is no end to the over all learning curve as technology changes the target moves.

Before you try to compress your voice over track, review your signal path from mic to recording software to be sure all is optimized. Try another mic to see if you see any improvements, also with the original mic try a different recording package. Are you getting the same result when changing these variables?

Where are you recording the voice? Are you in an isolation booth like environment that blocks all the ambient background sounds?

Consider that there are natural born talented voices and some of these folks have developed this talent with a lot of hard work and now make a living to do VO work.
Their voices are already pleasing and interesting and carry volume without compression from the get go. Although audio engineers like to boost things anyways.
:>

Treat your voice over like you are going on stage at the MET. Warm up your voice. Sing some scales, hold long notes, take deep breaths, stand up right, learn to manage your diaphragm, and rehearse the content. Get a friend to listen to you while you perform for positive feedback.

Link: 
<http://www.vocalsplendor.com/diaphragm.html>

Lastly, you might not be cut out for this kind of work, so don't be too proud to allow a substitute to see if this is better or not.