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The easiest way of telling if you're destroying a tune in the mastering is by listening and comparing. It's also good to listen at an average volume for a good amount of time and seeing if you experience ear fatigue caused by too much compression and/or limiting.
As for EQ, either compare the sound with other well-mastered tracks, or use a spectrum analyser to compare the basics and seeing how you might approach the track with EQ.
And, no, mastering doesn't 'make' a tune, but it can make a great tune GREAT.
Limiting, as in the Waves MultiMaximizer, is only a step in the mastering chain. If that's all you're doing, then you're not mastering but only limiting. This will give your tracks loudness, but not so much 'energy', which is where a multiband compressor comes in.
Unless you're looking to pursue a career in mastering though, I seriously advice you to forget about mastering altogether and just work on creating a good mixdown. Use compression to give certain elements energy, but don't worry about the master bus at all.
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Put an end to the loudness war. Don't limit or compress your mixdown until mastering; leave the master channel alone.
Contact me for mastering.
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