Mastering is a difficult subject and you are in for some more recommendations to do some reading. Keep in mind that there are professional audio engineers who do only mastering for a living, to get the great sound against which you might be comparing your recordings.

That said, here is a link to a product that can help someone in a home studio get better results. The software is called Ozone. Look on this page for a PDF file you can download called Mastering With Ozone. I use Ozone, but even if you don't buy Ozone, the guide is useful. All you have to do is read pages 3 through 6 and you should get a good idea of the importance of this subject.

http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/support.asp


BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.