Linux Audio Plugin Development (LAPD)
Audio Assault
Linux Audio developer interview with Enrique Díaz from Audio Assault
This interview was conducted by Amadeus Paulussen in 2024 and first published to his blog.
Dear Enrique, could I ask you to say a few words about yourself and your role at Audio Assault?
Hello Amadeus! Thanks for your interest in my work. Well, people don't usually talk about design in software development, and I appreciate your interest in it. My name is Enrique Díaz, I was born in México City and studied Graphic Communication in Oaxaca City from 2010 to 2014. At the same time I studied music (guitar) and music production (self-taught). So today I'm a graphic designer, music producer, guitarist, singer and a conventional family man. I've been involved in the development of Audio Assault since 2013, when Alex Damián (CEO and developer) asked me to work with him on the design of the first amp sim suite called Grind Machine.
How important do you think the user experience (UX) of audio software is, and what role do you think the look and feel (UI) of a brand's products plays?
As human beings, we feel pleasure and confidence through sight; the more pleasant the element we interact with, the more comfortable we feel using it. I think the visual experience is very important because it is the gateway to the product, it can show how friendly the product can be and it can also show us the quality. Audio products are like any other products, so design is as important as software development. I think we want it with our eyes before we put our hands/ears on it.
What motivated you to relaunch the pro audio plugins in your portfolio under a different name (5dB5)?
5dB5 is a division of Audio Assault responsible for the development of mixing tools. As a company we have focused on the development of tools for guitar and bass players, the mixing tools are as important as the amp sims you all use, something we had forgotten since 2021, so we decided to visually refresh 5dB5, the technical/sound part has not changed, some features have been added, but the real change comes with the redesign that tries to imitate analog components that many musicians are familiar with, we thought it would be a pleasant experience for the users.
I would like to congratulate you on the redesign of the 5dB5 plugins! Not only do I like the new design language, but the operation of the plugins feels more mature as well, much more enjoyable than the plugins felt before the redesign. What was the process that led to this great outcome?
Plugins like Head Crusher, The Channel Strip, EQ and Comp have been with us for more than 5 years, as musicians we use them in our productions, so the redesign and re-implementation of better codification/algorithms was necessary because the industry demands it. Computers from more than 10 years ago are incompatible with new software, hence the need to update them and create a new image to make them attractive to users. One thing I would like to mention is that Alex, like me, believes that we can always improve our work, so now you know why we send out so many updates every month.
In my macOS days I sometimes had the impression that the pro audio industry, or even that of hobby music producers, must be huge. There seemed to be new brands and tempting new plugins on offer almost daily. I was constantly tempted to buy something new because it offered an interesting approach to a problem that I could already solve with other tools or just because it looked good. ;) I'm not saying that many of the plugins didn't had sonic strengths as well, but UI/UX often played a deciding factor whether or not to buy a new plugin. Or to put it another way: I often didn't buy a plugin that sounded great but looked bad or was unpleasant or buggy to use. What is your take on this?
We try to strike a balance between sound quality and good looks in our plugins. As you mentioned, sometimes we prefer a nice looking product instead of the best tool we need for a specific job. As a support assistant, I see that many users prefer some things just because they look good; they say they can hear a better sound even if it is the same algorithm, circuit or code. The visual part is a game changer these days, especially for those new to audio production. Users feel more comfortable working with plugins that are pleasing to the eye.
Can you say a few words about what motivated you as a company to support Linux with your products in addition to macOS and Windows?
It's nostalgic to remember, but Alex and I loved using Linux in our student days; we couldn't afford a Mac or a nice Windows computer. We had cheap laptops that were slow running Windows XP/Vista. One option for us was to install Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint or even Puppy Linux. That way we could use design software like GIMP or Inkscape, or audio software like Audacity, Ardour or Reaper more efficiently, since the capabilities of our computers didn't allow us to use commercial software, which we couldn't afford anyway. xD This was the main reason why we supported Linux from the get go. We imagined that there are a lot of users in the world who might not be able to afford a fast computer, and Linux is a great way to improve the performance of a cheap computer.
Did Audio Assault ever consider to go open source?
We don't have any plans for that at the moment. It is something we have not talked about so far. And the main reason is that we have a "company" perspective; we want to be a developer company that offers things that other companies can't. Like sound quality that can compete with big companies like Neural DSP, but at incredibly low prices.
Can you say anything about whether or not Audio Assault is looking into GPU Audio?
We have not considered it - yet. Maybe in the next few months we can talk about it if the industry demands it.
Do you use your plugins personally?
Yes, of course. I didn't mention it, but the main reason why we are in this business is because we started out as "music producers". Alex had a recording studio and so did I. I had the opportunity to help a lot of metal bands from my hometown to produce their albums. At a time when we couldn't afford nice amp simulations, I suggested to Alex that we make one ourselves. This is how Audio Assault began, with the creation of the Grind Machine in 2014. So I use our plugins and I'm still producing music and helping bands with mixing and mastering. These days I use all our software on every production. I enjoy using the plugins that I have helped to create.
Do you make music yourself?
Yes, I do. I'm actually working on my 5th studio album. I have a death metal band called Demential. I play guitar and sing for the band. I also created a studio Prog/Tech Death Metal band in 2014 named "Anticosmic Conqueror" and recorded an EP, which was sold out at the time here in México. 😄 The EP was released under my Record Label "HellBlast Records", now the label is no longer exist but still offering Mixing and Mastering services under the name of "HellBlast Music Production".
I have been playing guitar since I was 16 years old. I also love drums, but I'm not a good drummer. I really enjoy programming drums for cover songs or new songs. And lately I have started to use some other instruments in my productions, like piano, violin, harp and choirs. All with virtual instruments, of course.
These are some links to music I have created:
What can we expect from Audio Assault in the future?
We have so many plans. We want to bring back some drum instruments, more amp sims and maybe some collaborations with artists. We also want to expand our market here in Latin America because there is not a lot of information available in our native language. So it is a very young market in terms of audio production because most of the topics and tutorials are in English. We aim to help people get access to great tools, information and feedback in Spanish as well.
Thank you very much for the interview, dear Enrique!
Thanks again for your interest, Amadeus; this was a very nice experience!