Hi JJJ,

There is a tendency to think that mastering is an essential part of the recording process, but this isn't altogether true. Back in the days when we mixed for vinyl, the tape would go to the cutting room for final mastering and they would apply any EQ and compression which was needed to make the signal comply with the limited dynamic range of the medium. These days, digital doesn't have these restrictions, so if you have a mix which sounds good to you, mastering may only make it sound different. The thing which you may want to do is apply a little extra compression to the mix to bring the overall perceived volume up to the level of a commercial recording, which all tend to be mixed "hot". The more work you put into the mix, the less you need to fix by mastering. Hope this is of some help to you.

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