Why am I doing this?
An EffectiveFX Manifesto
Sometimes, I still wonder.
On the surface, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. There’s little money in audio plugins, and my old job paid well. I have a great family and friends I could spend more time with. And developing plugins is hard - very hard.
The reason I’m doing this is that I can’t not do it. The worst moments of my life were spent battling East Coast traffic, on my way home from a job I despised, so that my real life could start at 7:30pm. But when that time came, the exhaustion, stress, and loneliness didn’t matter - there was real meaning to the work I was doing.
For whatever reason, I was blessed with the ability to imagine new ways of manipulating sound - creative audio effects that have never existed before. It’s a weird skill, and often frustrating, but when something finally works, it’s insanely satisfying. The best moments of my life are spent hearing a new effect come together for the first time, and sharing something truly new with other people that find it exciting.
Like many who will read this post, music is one of my life’s great loves. Something about it is deeply fundamental to the human spirit: it’s universal, a part of every culture through all of history, and always changing. New ideas and fresh energy keep it alive.
From a large and growing list of exciting concepts and prototypes, I am on a mission to create as many new, sonically distinct audio effects as possible, for musicians who love to make music. I want to prove that the possibilities in music and sound design, as they always have been, are completely endless - I invite you to help me!
Wow, mate. You sure know how to bring a complete stranger to tears. That's one heck of a manifesto. It shows a keen insight into your values and the sacrifice often required to pursue them. Before being forced to "retire early" due to disability, I worked in supporting marginalised teens and refugees to not just survive, but find/create a reason for living, and so often this revolved around arts, theatre and music.
Personally, I have always had a fascination with sounds, and even after decades of playing in bands, and losing much of my hearing as a result, I will still catch myself striking two knives on a benchtop to hear the different harmonics, or playing a lick on a rubber band holding closed a box of crackers. So, I was super excited to come across your website and can't wait to see where you go with it all.
My friends often ask me why I am so passionate about the idea of a Universal Basic Income. This is why. Not because I'm a "commie", but because I believe that what truly defines humanity is not our ability to make money, but to express our values through the act of creation - creating art, music, theatre, space, hope, joy, community. But we need the financial freedom to do so. Not to become millionaires, but to have enough. Enough to be able to invest the time and energy in the act of creation. My hope is that you will have the means to continue with your acts of creation, and this will inspire your family, friends and community to do the same. I have no money or expertise to offer you. I wish I had. I'm no mentor or coach, but I'll gladly join your cheer squad. GOoooo Ross!