Every great song lives or dies in the details. From the way a vocal sits in the mix to the balance between analog warmth and digital precision, the difference between a track that connects and one that falls flat often comes down to choices made behind the console. It's time to fix your mix—because if the end user can’t enjoy it with ease, the work isn’t finished.

In this episode, we bring you Miles Walker, a Grammy-winning mix engineer and producer based in Atlanta, to discuss mixing, balance, compression, hybrid mixing, and what it takes to thrive in today’s music industry.

Miles is a Berklee College of Music graduate whose career spans from Nashville’s Music Row to studios in Los Angeles and beyond. He has worked with some of the world’s biggest artists, including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher, Katy Perry, and Britney Spears. From his early role as Usher’s staff engineer to Grammy-winning collaborations with Stargate, Miles has been behind numerous chart-topping, platinum-selling records.

Today, you’ll hear about Miles’ journey, his career before and after moving to Atlanta, and his insights on hybrid mixing, mix bus processing, balancing syntax, vocal doubling, automation, and techniques for riding and compressing vocals for energy and performance impact.

Episode Timestamp:

[01:14] A bit about Miles’ career journey

[08:38] Approaches to mixing vocal delays

[10:22] Balancing vocal syntax in a mix

[15:27] Mix bus processing

[19:27] Multi-band compression on the master bus

[23:05] Hybrid mixing: combining digital and analog models

[34:49] Vocal arrangement and achieving consistent balance

[41:48] Static vs. dynamic automation depth

[44:02] Producer-driven vs. production vocal effects

[46:44] Reverb and vocal doubling techniques

[50:09] Compression for energy and performance impact

[54:10] What Miles wishes he knew when he started out

Notable Quotes

• “Sometimes the fun ear candy that works in mixes only works if the songwriter has left the space for other producers.”
• “There’s no right or wrong way to do records.”
• “The more you put on your mix bus, the less you can do on the multi-track level.“
• “Multi-band is the most dangerous component to put on your master bus if you haven’t thought about the general levels.”
• “Feeling different is part of being different. “
• “Use your technical tools, but leading with the technical approach is not going to be better than doing something that is natural and feels good for the soul.”

Connect with Miles

Website: https://www.mixedbymiles.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixedbymiles/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mixedbymiles

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In this episode, we bring you Tony Maserati, a legendary mixing engineer based in LA, to discuss mixing, collaboration, the industry, and thriving under pressure.

Tony is a Grammy Award–winning record producer and audio engineer. With billions of streams and credits with artists such as Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato, Tony stands among the most successful mixing engineers in the world. He has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, including four for Best Engineered Album, and most recently won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Engineer.

Sound is more than just a technical craft—it’s an emotional translation of an artist’s soul. When you step into the studio, you’re not just adjusting faders or plugins; you’re stepping into someone’s talent and helping bring it to life. It takes humility, skill, and a deep respect for the creative process to craft a mix that not only sounds good but also feels authentic.

Today, you’ll hear about Tony’s journey, his career before and after moving to LA, and his insights on reference mixing, collaboration, mix bus processing, automation, and how to ride and compress vocals for more impact.

Episode Timestamp:

[01:10] A bit about Tony

[03:14] Tony’s move from New York to LA

[06:39] Collaboration in production

[11:06] Tony’s approach to reference mixing

[19:38] Tony’s mix bus processing

[23:22] Automation depth and dynamics

[29:37] Riding and compressing vocals manually

[35:15] The power of mono listening

[40:44] Reverb, delay, and space

[48:22] Mixing loud vocals and vocal focus

[50:29] Handling the pressure and the mixing

[01:01:21] Tips for lifelong learning

[01:06:04] Advice to upcoming mixing engineers

[01:09:13] What Tony wishes he knew when he started out

[01:11:46] Tony’s turning point

Notable Quotes

• “A great song has space in between the words.”
• “You’re the captain of the ship, you’re controlling the vibe in the room, and you’ve to be at the top of your game.”
• “Putting your face on Instagram and talking is worthless because nobody who hires Mixers is looking; they're listening to records,”
• “Find people you like and that you can gel with and make great records.“
• “You have to have that attitude, that every artist and creative person has a gift and you're allowed in the room to help that expression blossom and come alive.”

Connect with Tony

Website: https://tonymaserati.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/tonymaseratiofficial

Facebook: http://facebook.com/tonymaseratiofficial

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In this episode, we bring you Joshua Riley, Manchester-based Mixing Engineer, to talk about mixing, content creation, and social media.

Joshua is an experienced mixer, lecturer, and public speaker, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sound Production from SAE Institute South Africa.

Today, you’ll hear about Joshua’s newly built mixing setup, his to-do list after getting a mix, filtering and clipping, mixing vocals, using automation, getting into content creation, the power of social media, convincing artists about the importance of a mixing engineer, and the three things that Josh wishes he’d known sooner.

Episode Timestamps

• [00:38] A bit about Josh.
• [04:17] Josh’s mixing setup.
• [09:10] Josh’s workflow.
• [14:13] Mix bus processing.
• [17:07] Filtering and clipping.
• [19:54] Mixing backing vocals.
• [22:45] Automation.
• [27:33] VCAs vs buses.
• [29:41] Content creation.
• [52:25] Mixing and mastering.
• [55:29] Solving problems with RX.
• [59:58] The importance of having a mixing engineer on the team.
• [65:02] Three things Josh wishes he knew sooner.

Notable Quotes

• “There’s no right or wrong way to do these things.”
• “If you just sit all day waiting for that phone to ring, it isn’t going to happen.”
• “It’s not an easy industry to be in.”

Connect with Joshua

Website:www.mixedbyjoshua.com.

Instagram:@joshjriley.

TikTok:@mixedbyjoshua.

Support the show