The Audio Programmer

Our new book "The Complete Beginner's Guide to Audio Plug-in Development" is here! "How do I create my own audio plug-in?" Anyone who has ever asked that question knows that the answers are complex. Audio programming is an amazing intersection of code, math, and creativity, and one of the most challenging parts is just getting started... ...until now! This is a new collaboration with @mhollemans that's designed specifically for people who are getting started - no coding experience necessary! Our favorite part about this book is that it TRULY takes you from the beginning and shows you not only how to get started, but also provides a foundational understanding of how plug-ins work. This is an ideal book for... • Sound designers • Music producers • Developers from other areas in software • Audio developers seeking a better understanding of how things work Here are just a few of the subjects we cover: • Downloading your first IDE (both Windows & Mac) • Getting started with the JUCE Framework • Starting C++ from the very beginning • Introduction to digital signal processing • Creating your first audio plug-in • Creating a custom look and feel • Debugging techniques • How to release your plug-in ...and much more! Find out more here: youtu.be/QUFgy8aZcpQ Get the book here:

How do I build a custom UI for my plugin? It's one of the most common questions I've had since starting The Audio Programmer. Producers don't open your plugin to evaluate your filter implementation. They open it, look at it, and decide in about a second whether this is something built by an engineer in a basement or something they'd actually want to use. Today, we're starting with the basics: ✅ What designers normally deliver ✅ Getting custom images and fonts into your project ✅ Setting up a style sheet ✅ Displaying images in your plugin Thank you to Alex Fundorin for the plugin design! Watch here: youtu.be/DhoHEajfcbU

🚀 MIGHTY SYNTH SAMPLER drops this Thursday, May 7th! A FREE rompler / synth sampler for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that plays sound packs, SF2s, SFZs, and custom instruments in standalone and AUv3. Powered by AudioKit! Make any sound an instrument. 🎛️

Cursor vs Claude Code - which is better for building audio plugins? Some folks in our community have been telling me Cursor outperforms Claude Code for plugin work, so I gave it a spin to see what the hype is about. I built the same ping-pong delay from last episode - same product spec, same Claude model running underneath, just a different IDE. Honest takeaway: for a plugin this simple, the two tools felt more or less interchangeable. Cursor's in-window file editing was more convenient. Claude Code wrote slightly more efficient code under the hood. From what I've seen so far, the question is more akin to what we see in the world of DAWs, where workflow largely defines the choice. So "which AI tool is best?" might be the wrong question for our world. It's more about which wrapper fits how you build. Full code review and breakdown in the new episode, including where I think the gap will widen as workflows get more complex. youtube.com/watch?v=BFhSYh…

My first web audio instrument, Spinjitsu. A small browser-based sound object — built to be played, not explained DM me for the link.

Big thanks to @RolandGlobal and @NeutoneAI for bringing something truly special to ADC Japan. Project LYDIA is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI in audio, blending hardware, creativity, and machine learning into a one-of-a-kind experience. #audio #developer

Livestream where I walk through the Scream codebase talking about: - How to get the iconic sound? - Creative ways it can be used - How to build a plugin - Code hotreloading - How to write blazing fast 2D GUIs rendered on the GPU youtube.com/watch?v=DqSPHB…

So many are vibe coding audio plugins right now...but the real power happens when you learn how the code works behind the scenes. In this tutorial, we talk about parameters, diving deeper into how to make them feel more intuitive and professional. This isn't just "copy and hope it works." This is where you supercharge your ideas and take your products to the next level. Let's dive in! youtu.be/zCndl6eHWns

@_allthemachines All will be revealed tomorrow. Hope to see you there!

@audioprogrammer Does this standardize around existing spatial audio formats (Ambisonics, VBAP), or something new? The implementation details matter a lot for adoption.

Eclipsa Audio is Google and Samsung's open-source solution for the next generation of spatial audio. Tomorrow, we have the privilege of sitting down with three key figures helping to shape how we will be interacting with sound in the future. Jani Huoponen - product lead for Eclipsa Audio at Google, driving the open standard forward from inside Chrome Open Media Scott Kramer - 15 years mixing for film and TV, eight years co-leading sound initiatives at Netflix, now consulting on emerging sound technologies at Green Field Sound Claus Trelby - immersive music specialist exploring what spatial audio means for artists, producers, and the way we reference music in 2026 We'll be covering: ✅ Why an open-source immersive audio format changes the game for creators ✅ How Eclipsa fits into film, TV, and music production workflows ✅ The state of device support — from Samsung TVs to Chrome to your phone ✅ What immersive music actually looks like in the YouTube age It's going to be a great conversation! Tune in live: youtube.com/live/vchKbwUjm…

Fantastic ❤️

Audio developers spend months (or years) learning how to build a great plugin. But almost no one talks about what happens afterwards... How do you actually sell your products? Licensing, storefronts, delivery, payments. There is a multitude of important factors that have nothing to do with DSP, but everything to do with whether your plugin actually reaches anyone. Today, I'm speaking with Tobias from Moonbase. He built the stores and licensing systems for Yum Audio and Black Salt Audio, hit every scaling pain along the way, and eventually turned all of that experience into a platform that now powers over 200 audio software businesses. If you've ever built something and wondered how to get it in front of customers, this one's for you! Join us live here: youtube.com/live/wQGq4KT55…

Last month, I vibe coded an audio plugin. The result was...ok. It compiled and loaded into a DAW. But I left too many decisions to the AI and had very little control over what came out. So I went back and did my homework. The biggest thing I learned? Claude actually recommends you plan before you code. Something like a blueprint. Features, constraints, even the things you don't want. I ended up building a project planner that walks you through this whole process. I've packaged this as a free Claude Skill you can download and use yourself. In the new video, I use it live and build a delay plugin from scratch. If you're experimenting with AI for audio development, this will probably save you a lot of frustration. Learn more here: youtube.com/watch?v=ky9dfy…

@rafabertholdo I see great promise!

@audioprogrammer Really excited to see iPlug3 coming to life. I built Studio Camera on top of iPlug2, and watching the framework evolve like this is awesome. Huge respect to everyone pushing it forward. The future of iPlug looks very bright.

API London — this Thursday 🎛️ The lineup: → Chris Nash: klang, live C++ for audio → Silas Gyger: Audiotool Nexus SDK → Geraint Luff: WCLAP, plugins anywhere → Oli Larkin: iPlug3 for the agentic era Almost at capacity. Grab a spot or join the livestream: theaudioprogrammer.com/events/api-lon…

Playing around with some unreleased ideas for simple camera automation, using the new shaders for a CRT-style effect. Going for nostalgia of some sort. #anukari #synth #sounddesign #vst #electronicmusic #audioreactive #generativevisuals

ADC Japan 2026 Tickets Available Now チケット発売中 Audio Developer Conference #Tokyo June 1-3 Join the developers shaping the future of #audio at ADC #Japan. Three days of talks, workshops, and collaboration. audio.dev/adc-japan-26/ #music #developer #programmer #technology

CLÄPP II - is out! Gives you the perfect clap sound for your track. No more browsing for the right sound, just craft it by ear. Modelled human clap engine that never repeats + new machine mode that models classic drum machine circuitry. get it at TermiteAudio.com

Insta-favorite. Punch in an equation, then hear it rendered in a surprisingly powerful synth engine. Plus more on how a real TI-82 or later can be a synthesizer: cdm.link/making-music-o…

Ready to learn some practical DSP? If so, we invite you to join us for tomorrow's The Audio Programmer Meetup! We will be joined by Musik Hack Co-Founder Sam Fischmann. Sam has had great success with well known plugins such as Master Plan and Fuel. We will be talking about useful DSP. Including... ✅ Filter basics, frequency and phase, not just frequency! ✅ Filters, when to use (IIR/FIR/linear/minimum phase/biquad forms/svf) ✅ Filter shapes, when to use (bessel, butterworth, chebychev 1+2 , elliptical/cauer/Linkwitz Riley/clamping) ✅ Filter implications for null tests and parallel processing ✅ Oversampling + aliasing ✅ Desmos for testing and comparing saturation techniques ✅ Saturation myths: Harmonic and inharmonic distortion ✅ Basic compressor/limiter design This will be a great conversation for anyone who is seeking to gain an overall understanding of how DSP algorithms work, and how to use them. Tune in here: youtube.com/live/XOadlMMGL…

🔗 More about Audiotool: New platform: new.audiotool.com Developer hub: developer.audiotool.com Dev Discord: discord.com/invite/X4cDXgy…

On March 12th in London, we're exploring what's next for audio programming! I'd like to introduce you to @audiotool - our latest guest at API. Imagine you could take the key ingredients of a DAW (tracks, timelines, MIDI, synthesis, effects) and use them as building blocks to collaboratively create entirely new audio apps... This is what Audiotool makes possible. If you're unfamiliar with them, they're a fully featured DAW that runs entirely in the browser. They've just opened it up with an open source API called NEXUS that lets developers pull from the DAW's core components and build custom tools with them. Compositional tools, AI powered mixing assistants, creative multiplayer sessions and more - the building blocks are already there, so you're not starting from scratch. There are no licensing fees, and your tools can run alongside other developers' tools in the same session. Join us in London on Mar 12th at pointblank Music School to learn more about NEXUS and meet the Audiotool team! Sign up: theaudioprogrammer.com/events/api-lon… Grab the NEXUS SDK and start building here: github.com/audiotool/nexus See you in London!