Greetings again from Norfolk, UK.

Here's a puzzle which left me lost for reply.   I record at home on a Zoom R16, a machine which many users like a lot. I do not use the machine as an 'interface' for a computer, as most people do, (because I have always been unable to load the software) but I mix down on the R16 itself and copy to a master CD. That master is used for duplication, either at home or by a professional repro house.

Typical samples of the results, for our blues and ceilidh bands, are here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVKkwqWdU0Bafv42M_Qz_XQ

Our recent Blues from the Broads CD (it refers to the Norfolk Broads, a bayou-like area in the east of the UK) has gone down well and is on the playlist of a local pub. However, the manager says, it plays at a higher volume than any of the rest of his playlist CDs, and he has to turn it down every time a track comes on.

This has puzzled me. I recorded the thing at my usual level (just touching into the red bars on my meter). No one who has played it at home has complained.

The CD repro house has said it's nothing they've done, and commented that 'post mastering' is often used to make things louder, not the other way round. Recording studios I've worked with in the past say that a good, loud, but clear level is exactly what they want.

Is there a 'conventional' volume at which CDs should be recorded, and if so, how do I achieve it?

All the best
-Cappuccino (I think I may come up as a 'guest', because I haven't visited this forum for so long!