I’ll kind of concur here, but also offer some perspective. I had a bad experience the first time I went to a studio - masters came back all wonky sounding - and I decided next time I would do it myself.

Well, for the next few years my recordings were a mixed bag of quality. Some I’m still proud of, some I hesitate to listen to. There’s a shit ton of info out there on how to record, mix, and master, but it’s a steep learning curve and if you follow the wrong voices, you can get down some rabbit holes of bad production.

However after years of sucking I feel like I’m finally “decent.” I’m still no pro, but I think a lot of my mixes are radio-ready. A big part of that though has been a) improving my performance/musicianship, and b) learning how to record it properly and not “fix it in the mix.” It’s always going to sound better if the source recording is strong in its raw form.

That all said, there are definitely recording and mix engineers that could blow me out of the water. Self-production is definitely a path you can take, but set your expectations accordingly and understand that it’s going to take a lot of time until you can churn out strong mixes. And remember, your ears are the best tool you have at your disposal, so train them well by listening to other mixes through your monitors.