Mooh, I empathise with what you say about recording and EQing. I'm mixing fifteen tracks for our ceilidh band at the moment, and the balancing is a nightmare. Apart from the fact that my ears are finally going, I don't really understand EQ, I just go with what sounds right to me... but every so often the whistle plays one note with a tone that goes right off the meter, and I think 'where the hell did that come from... and what do I do with it?'
But the great thing about home recording is that you think up your own new tricks. Typically, I'm working with a Zoom R16, and I can't get a decent sound from the fiddle pick-up; but if I record the fiddle both DI and through a mike at the same time, using two channels, then I can work them together into a decent sound.