[albee1952]

Deep subject.....so here's my take. Mastering is part art and part science. It is also a skill that takes a long time to master(DOH) and I highly recommend you send your stuff to a real mastering engineer. Now having said that, I sometimes find myself having to "master" a project due to budget limits. Now I don't consider myself a mastering engineer(hence the quotation marks) so this is what I would do. Keep it simple(i.e. don't overdo it and make a mess). I would use judicious amounts of L2 and linear phase EQ. With L2, don't let it hit more than 2db of reduction and if that still sounds too much, then it IS too much. I haven't done much solo instrument stuff so I am no authority. As for the EQ, before you do anything, are your speakers high quality AND is your room acoustically treated for balanced response(especially in the low frequencies)? If not, plan on making modest adjustments and burning audio CD's so you can listen on several other systems before you settle on the best EQ settings. I would avoid the multiband compressor entirely(just me) because; it can do great things if used correctly. And it can dig you into a hole like you've never been in before. If you're bold, remember, small steps are the key. But a good way to learn that plugin IS to tweak and listen/learn what happens. Just don't expect perfection the first time out(or the second....third...)