I was wondering what the initial mix of a song should consist of (before the mastering stage)with respect to eq'ing, reverb and compression etc. being that when you master, you basically use the same plugins(?).. Are you suppose to use certain plugins a certain way when mixing a track compared to when you are mastering it? I ask because i tend to use a lot of compression and eq within the initial vocal mix while at the sometime I use compression and eq'ing in the mastering stage and i feel like i am overkilling my vocals with all the plugins. As a result, i believe, my vocals don't sit well..