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Context: I work at Sequential Running a business is not easy. Weathering a storm like this is not easy. Synth company or not, we're in difficult times. A lot o
by IAmPym 4y ago
Context: I work at Sequential
Running a business is not easy. Weathering a storm like this is not easy. Synth company or not, we're in difficult times. A lot of businesses will close but the people who are patient and can manage to wait it out, be flexible, and figure out new ways to innovate when the whiplash effect swings back in our direction will push forward the next generation of amazing instruments. Prices will go up, as they naturally do, and we'll have new winners and losers. No reason to get all doomsayer on it all at this point, kind of a few years late on that one.
- Pr0ject217 4y agoHow is the atmosphere at work? It's incredibly sad that Dave passed away.
- IAmPym 4y agoIt isn't easy carrying the torch of a legend but standing on the shoulders of giants is how we move things forward as a species. I'm confident I can speak for the company when I say we are doing our best to keep his legacy going.
- Pr0ject217 4y ago<3
- CoastalCoder 4y agoI'm curious about the technical expertise that goes into making a good synth. If economics force the synth-making hardware / software engineers into other industries, how long does it take to replace (or restore) their expertise once the economy recovers?
- IAmPym 4y agoThe difference is people in our industry are typically already taking a huge pay cut. People shuffle in and out but usually they end up back in the audio industry because... well... it's freaking awesome. How many other places can you work where you regularly get rockstars inviting you to hang out backstage because they love your work? Typically we have more people willing to leave a high paying job just to work in our industry than we have people leaving but, just like any industry, losing experience and contextual knowledge always hurts.
- CoastalCoder 4y agoThanks! I understand your point about there being a ready supply of great talent. My question was more along the lines of, how long does it take a good engineer / programmer, who hasn't developed synths in e.g. the last 5 years, to become highly productive?
- IAmPym 4y agoIt depends on the team and the way things are organized I guess. I've only worked at a small company where we are all obsessed and I couldn't imagine anyone coming onto the team without a similar level of enthusiasm and excitement, so relatively quickly. At a larger company I'd expect it would be the same as any other onboarding time. Now to be truly great at this? Much longer answer. When I get there I'll come back and answer it properly.
- ad8e 4y agoMy opinion is that someone who is comfortable with graduate level signal theory can reach synth mastery in one year. The physics and math are shallow and can be picked up quickly. The psychoacoustics takes more time for experimentation and reading research papers. Whereas, audio professionals who avoid mathematics because it looks hard, like complex analysis, do not ever reach an acceptable level.
- testermelon 4y agoDo you have any list of recommended resources for the topic of psychoacoustics? And any cursor on where to start the experimentation?
- ad8e 4y agoRecent developments are often interesting, and that means the information comes from research articles. You don't want to read research articles; they are long, difficult, and usually misleading. Books and surveys are easier. You can evaluate the quality of a book by checking the citations: "is this book citing recent articles?" For example, I read a chapter of "An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing" and found it to be useful. I haven't seen a sufficient diversity of books to give an accurate recommendation, however. There may be better books. They'll generally look scientific and dry. For example, "This Is Your Brain on Music", a pop-sci book, will not be useful. Surveys are where an active researcher talks about what everyone else is doing in the field, and what the important developments are perceived to be. Experimentation: keep a global goal in mind, such as: "I want to classify all possible timbres and put them on a manifold", or "I want to understand the full mechanics of how a human turns tones into perception". Then you can try synthesizing sounds in pursuit of this goal. Right away, you will find all kinds of strange nonlinearities, and that simple models work poorly. For example, if you hold down sine tones at 400 Hz and 600 Hz, then play an 800 Hz tone, you'll note that sometimes the 800 Hz tone has an attack and sometimes doesn't; this will lead to learning about transients, place vs periodicity, FFR, ITD, and phase sensitivity of the ear. You'll also notice that there is a "click" at the beginning of each note, which will then lead you to discover gammatones, derivatives, and envelopes. This method works because whether your predictions succeed or fail, you are either learning something cool (a mistake in a model) or building something awesome (a great theory).
- brudgers 4y agoThe Sequential where you work for today is not the same business entity that made the famous synths of yesteryear. Which is why I saw the headline and thought “going bust is what happens to synth manufacturers” and this is that part of the cycle. And not to say that it isn’t a bummer. And not to say that today’s Sequential doesn’t make great gear. Just that making synths seems to be a hard business, like most manufacturing and art based businesses.
- IAmPym 4y agoIt's a REALLY hard business. Roger Linn repeatedly tells people that the easiest way to lose money is to build a synthesizer and he's certainly right. Then again, I ignored that advice. I think we're all just a bit crazy and hopeful that it will all work out in the end.
- brudgers 4y agoIf you make synths, at least you don’t have to sell to enterprise. Making synths seems to be more the life of an artist than many other possible pursuits. The standard formula is the best way to make a small fortune is start with a large fortune and do X. In the first version I heard X was build a golf course. It was from people involved in building golf courses. The money was in the lots along the fairways.
- pvarangot 4y ago> The Sequential where you work for today is not the same business entity that made the famous synths of yesteryear. The first synth I ever played was a "vintage" Prophet 5 in the 90s, now I have a reissue Prophet 10 from this "not the same business entity", as you very much are correct to call them. Even if they are not the same business entity, I know a lot of the people involved in making my Prophet 10 are (or where) the same people making the famous synths of yesteryear. When you play the Prophet 10 you can also tell. I am really sad I can't say the same thing about my Moogs.
- KerrAvon 4y ago
- krnlpnc 4y agoWhat new sequential gear are you most excited about?
- alfiedotwtf 4y agoWoah... seeing Pym here on HN is the best crossover in my universe I could ever see. Thanks for helping bring my beautiful P5v4 into this world.
- IAmPym 4y agoGlad you are enjoying it! I have become much more interested in the business and entrepreneur side of things lately... take that as you will ;)
- tjr225 4y agoLove everything you guys do from the mopho to the rev2. Always on your jobs page hoping some crusty old sysadmin decides to retire
- IAmPym 4y agoWell if it helps: I was a sys admin before I quit in a huff and decided to never work again unless I was in the audio industry. Doing that was the single defining moment of my life and the one I am most proud of. Took a MASSIVE pay cut in financial terms but a MASSIVE improvement in my overall well-being and life satisfaction. It can be done!