Mastering help please!

[Hardnox]

I am having trouble getting my levels up! I am A-Bing with some commercial releases and I am way lower...almost like the masters on the other CDs I am referencing are sitting higher in the monitors than my masters. Any tips would be great. I am using Waves LinearMB compressor and L3. For a while this afternoon I was just using the L3 and Q10 for EQ. What frequencies should I focus on with EQ? On the waves LB Compressor I am using Adaptive Electro Mastering setting. I felt like it was killing my low end and clouding things but maybe I was compressing too much. Is TC Master X a better way to go?

No I am not at the same tool and skill level as the mastering engineers on the CDs I am refernceing but I think I can come closer than my current results.

Thanks

[doug kaufman]

First, louder isn't necessarily better.

Make sure you're fairly balanced across the frequency spectrum. Instead of using the LinMB, try the LinEQ broadband to smooth out your frequency balance. Compress lightly (not multiband) to get some punch. Adjust your attack and release times, listening to what it does to the material. If you do use the LinMB, don't just plug in a preset and hope for the best. Isolate each band and adjust attacks, releases, and thresholds individually. Be especially cautious with the low end here, as it can be real easy to destroy it's clarity with multiband compression.
Limit to taste.

Good luck.