Editing And Mastering Original Recordings, Beginner Basics Options

[horvath]

I just finished recording a new CD of original songs using a Roland VS-1880 Digital Recorder. Now I want to take those tracks, edit them and master them on my Mac G4 (OS X) and I'm educating myself on the processes involved.

Is the editing process where I would equalize the volumes of each song, so each is at the same level? Or is that part done in the mastering process?

Also, one song has some background noise (a car passing by - lol!) that is audible at the ending of the song, as it fades to 0db. Agian, is the editing process where I would remove that? Or would I best eliminate that in the mastering process?

Any knowledge shared about all this is greatly appreciated - I presently have ZERO understanding about editing and mastering.

Thanks.