Hi guys, just a quick suggestion re mastering.
As you all said - mastering is pretty hard to get right without having in depth audio knowledge..
Mastering is even harder to get right if your room in not acoustically treated for mastering purposes( recording room, mixing room, mastering room - all have different specifications and treatments)..
To actually hear what you processing you need far field monitors for the full range spectrum not near field ones..
To get the best sounding audio, rich in transients, with great dynamic range, mastering should be done by mastering engineer who does it on the daily basis, who can correct whats needed, enhance whats good. It is very very difficult to get good sounding master by someone who compose, record and mix the track simply because at this stage our brain won't perform much of active listening, the decision making is affected by this person 'feelings' towards the song. I know and understand that not everyone can afford to pay for mastering service and thats fair enough, but its worth to remember - mastering is a form of investing in yourself, your career, hobby, passion...
As a full time mastering engineer I would give 1 strong advice - instead of focusing on 'own mastering' get your mix at the top level and use Mix Buss Compressor on your master channel to get everything 'glued' together. Forget about limiters, eq's, other compressors. Use only designated mix buss compressor. It's less possible you going to squash your music that way, less possible something goes wrong along the lines.
I would recommend 3 different mix buss compressors :
Slate Digital FG X
SSL Mix Buss
PSP Vintage Warmer.
Each of them works differently so you have to find your way to achieve desired sound.
I'm more than happy to answer your questions guys if any problems.
Thanks
Tom