Welcome to the Audio Equipment Podcast. My name is Griffin Breshears, an audio engineer obsessed with uncovering the stories behind the tools used to shape the musical landscape of the past, present, and future. Join me as I invite the makers themselves to share their journeys of how they created the paintbrushes musicians use to paint their masterpieces.
Way out west in Perth Hills, Western Australia, there's a myth. A myth that's been passed down from studio engineer to studio engineer. An urban legend about a mad scientist, known only as DrAlienSmith: Half man, half alien, half Australian. Usually found in his lab, DrAlienSmith, known sometimes to the locals as Al Smith, has created quite a stir with his inventive yet sublimely usable studio tools. Rumor has it that the doctor's creations have been seen in many high profile sessions and studios, including the famous Abbey Road studios. Please join us as we uncover the truth behind the doctor, and hear directly from the mad genius himself how he got started making his mad creations.
Today I'll be joined by Mark Fouxman of Samar Audio Design. An innovator, highly skilled concert pianist (including prestigious music festivals across Europe), professor of piano, and leading voice in the field of microphone design, Dr. Mark Fouxman not only achieves precision and technical ingenuity in the field of audio capture, but highlights its beauty as well. Samar Audio Design is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Mark's designs are hand-built in the USA with an emphasis on artisinal craftsmanship, guided by cutting edge engineering. Every aspect of production is done in house, including the machining, assembling, even winding their own toroidal and bobbin transformers. Aiming not to mimic classic designs but instead venturing to create unique enduring classics of their own, Samar's focus is on pushing the envelope of great sound capture from a wisdom earned by years of Mark's research on the finest details of microphone design. Today Mark will be discussing his journey designing his own audio equipment growing up in the Soviet Union, being a concert level pianist, the importance of the physical aspects of his designs, and the importance of off-axis response in microphones.
Today I'll be joined by Nelson Walkom from the one man operation Hohm Microphones. Designed and fabricated from scratch in Melbourne, Australia, Hohm makes premium ribbon microphones at an attractive price, made possible by selling direct and keeping overhead costs low. The designs and sound are unique and ruggedly built from raw local materials, aiming to combine the warmth and natural intimacy associated with ribbon mics, with lower floor noise, extended high frequency response, and lighter weight than what would usually come to mind for a microphone of this type. Today Nelson will be discussing his journey, the technicality of his microphones, and covering a broad combination of audio topics.
Today I'll be joined by Rok Gulic of Ollo Audio, a small headphone company specializing in hand-built reference-grade headphones for mixing in stereo and spacial audio. Alongside mixing headphones, Ollo also offers the S4r line of headphones tuned for tracking and performance. Located at the edge of the alps, Ollo Audio has been building their reputation online with high profile audio engineers and anyone who needs a set of headphones they can trust for proper mix translation. Today Rok will be sharing the history of himself, his company, his thoughts on a wide variety of audio topics, and what his goals are for the future.
Today I'm joined by Jon Szabo- musician, audio engineer, and the software developer behind the one man operation Psycho Circuitry. Psycho Circuitry is known for their meticulous attention to detail in their modelling of less commonly modeled hardware equipment paired with clean, usable workflows for professional engineers. Alongside algorithmically modeled software directly inspired by classic designs, Psycho Circuitry also makes innovative original software informed by Jon's unique take on different topologies. Today Jon will be telling us a bit about himself, his work, what's to come, and what inspires him to develop high quality tools for musicians to help craft stories of their own.