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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