Good advice from Herb above.

I'll add a few ideas.

First, what you have are listed are recording and mixing tools (your DAW software). You didn't mention effects in the DAW, nor did you mention any software you may have to master. To make things "sound professional" you'll need to acquire and learn both. For example, WAVES or Izotope (Ozone) can help to make a final mix sound more polished. CD Architect can help to compare one song's sound to the next.

You should also get a commercial recording you really like of each genre you work in, and use that as the comparison for your mixes. It can be a great learning experience (and humbling) when you do A-B comparisons of your mix to that of a pro.

Learn your particular monitors, and your room, for how they color the sound. And don't forget to test your mixes on every device you can think of: boombox, iPad earbuds, car etc. plus good headphones (for stereo separation and possible phase cancellation).

Take a read through the free guide on the Izotope site about mastering.


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.