Hey guys, I'm new to the forums, but I've had my Eleven Rack for a while now. I'm getting more into recording acoustic & electric tracks. After I record the guitar tracks, I import the vocal track that is sent to me through "Import Audio" option on Pro Tools 9. How can I get a good professional sounding track with 2 acoustic tracks and a vocal track? I can't seem to get a very loud volume for my recordings, and I am not familiar with which plug-ins to use. Do I need mastering software? I use a Taylor 814ce to record acoustic and a Fender American Deluxe strat and Gibson Custom Shop 1960 VOS Les Paul to record electrics, all through my KRK 6 monitors. I'd appreciate any help I can get!

Go online, and read all the info you can on mastering and mastering plugins. Gearslutz "low end theory" is a good place to start. Yes, you need to start using a compressor, or multiple compressors, and a limiter. But the art of mixing and mastering is something super complex -- I sure haven't come near mastering that skill yet -- and there's no way I could even begin to explain it here.

Some things to start with: throw a plugin compressor on each of your individual tracks. The Bomb Factory 76 and the basic Digi compressor plugins that come with Pro Tools are a good place to start. See which one sounds best on each track. Again, compression is another art in itself, so start with the presets and tweak to taste. Then throw Maxim on the master fader. Play with presets and tweak it from there.

You'll start getting familiar with how all these things work, and how to get your mixes closer to the commercial standard volume, which is nearly impossibly loud.

Play with that stuff for a while and then come back if you have any specific questions.