mastering CD

I have a bunch of tunes that I want to put on a CD and I'm looking for some basic tips on mastering the entire disc. I know the ideal thing would be to have it done professionallly but I'm broke

1. Compile songs, as is, on a disc and listen on multiple systems. Here you'll be taking notes, bass/mid/high shy or heavy, no-dynamics, too dynamic. 2. Next either go back to the mixing stage to fix these problems and then repeat 1. or adjust this stuff in the mastering stage using a very wide Q EQ along with some compression to reduce dynamics on the heavily dynamic songs in REAPER (unless you're mastering in another app, why you traitor). BTW- make sure you listen to your songs on different speakers and in a different room (if possible) when mastering that you mixed on (this really helps). 3. Put the songs on a disc again and take notes. Fix these in mastering. That's all I got, it works for me, as I too am very poor.

Mastering Audio by Bob Katz. A great book. But prepared. It can make your head hurt!

Mastering is a whole other game. There's many little tricks that the guys at master plans do. Fortunatly, I learnt a few of those tricks: - Use multi-band compression to even-out the spectral balance (obvious!) - A little EQ goes a long way. Drastic changes always sounds weird - For a more focused bottom-end, copy the whole mix in mono and mix it back with the original stereo mix, you'll have a tighter mix. - Parallel compression can be used to keep some of your original mixes dynamics while making sound fatter - You can use a Frequency Analyser to "see" a flaw (say a big uncontrolled low end) - Judicious use of De-essers can save a sibilant hi-hats and/or vocal, don't be afraid to experiment - Judge your mastering work with a good reference aside. It's easy to get lost in EQs and comps, take a look at your "competitors" work to be in the ball park - Don't take all of my tips as a receipe, as there's none! :D Good luck! -K