Every track of mine that has been pressed so far, I have had nothing but compliments from the Mastering Houses/Cutting Houses. With comments like "It is already mastered already, we don't need to touch it” So, I'd like to think that I know a thing or two. (I know, it sounds like I'm bragging, but I just wanted to post some credentials first.)

Anywho, I'd say yes, master a bit on your own. Save the coin. (My god I just took business away from me hahaha). However, just be careful, there are a lot of mastering packages/finalizers out there that sound great but actually make your track sounds like shit once it hits vinyl. So watch out.

Mastering takes time and experience. It's like and art with some rules that you should follow. But don't expect mastering to make your shitty mix downed track to sound like the next Compound.

A badly mixed downed track is just that. And no compressor, limiter, or EQ'ing can fix it that much once you've dumped it down to two channels (left and Right).

anywho, as mark pointed out, you can read books and books and books on this shit.

Drop me a line if you need a hand, anytime
-Patrick DSP
www.patrickdsp.com
Icq: 68377933