Join us for an insightful conversation with Garaint Luff, a renowned DSP engineer from Signalsmith Audio, as he shares his unique approach to digital signal processing and audio programming. Garaint discusses his upcoming talk at Audio Programmer Interface (API) on Hilbert transforms and frequency shifting, explaining how these fundamental techniques enable creative effects like frequency shifters and barber pole flangers. Rather than following a traditional fundamentals-first approach, Garaint advocates for starting with the sound you want and working backwards, building intuition through practical experimentation while maintaining mathematical rigor.
The discussion explores Garaint's creative process, his relationship with the Audio Programmer community, and how his ADHD influences his work style, pushing him to create elegant abstractions and well-documented code. He emphasizes that DSP innovation isn't just about inventing new algorithms but about making interesting sounds accessible through thoughtful interface design and creative combinations of existing techniques. From his early days programming as a teenager to becoming a full-time audio developer during the pandemic, Garaint's journey demonstrates how passion, community, and persistent curiosity can transform a hobby into a thriving career in audio development.
Originally recorded on July 7th, 2024.
