Audio troubleshooting forced me to slow down and separate assumption from observation. I had to trust measurements, verify them, and question them again. There were moments of frustration. There were moments of doubt. There were moments where I thought I had made an irreversible mistake. But every problem had a cause. Every cause had a solution. Sometimes the solution was technical. Sometimes it was mechanical. Sometimes it was simply persistence. Surgeon 25 now exists as a w

For audio paths, the goal was short and direct, but not strained. There needed to be enough slack to lift a board for service or to redo a connector. That margin proved useful more than once. For DC wiring to toggle switches and LEDs, the priority was different: clean routing along the chassis floor, organized and separated from signal paths wherever possible.

Panel design was a particularly rewarding part of the project. It was the point where technical decisions, workflow considerations, aesthetic preferences, and practical limitations came together within a finite space.

Power and grounding are more than just support systems. They set the conditions under which everything else operates. They affect noise floor, stability, safety, and how predictable the system is once everything is connected. Mistakes here not only sound bad, they can be a real safety hazard.

Part 3 focuses on how mid-side was integrated into the system. Along the way, I made my first major mistake on this project, one that changed the direction of the build and made it clear I would need to step beyond assembly and learn new skills to move forward.

In this design, gain, frequency, and bandwidth are all selected using rotary switches rather than continuous potentiometers. That choice places strict demands on consistency: each step must behave the same way every time it is engaged, and corresponding steps between channels must produce the same result. Any variation becomes immediately audible when working at the small adjustment ranges typical of mastering.

In mastering, small inconsistencies add up quickly. Even slight channel-to-channel differences can become audible long before they show up on a meter. Starting with tightly matched components reduces the need for later correction and makes behavior more predictable across the entire control range.

In late February of 2023, I embarked on a musical journey as the recording engineer for the US Air Force Band of the Pacific in Tokyo.

"Shulamit Rose" is my audiobook debut. It was an exciting and interesting process for me, and I'd like to share some of it with you.

After many months of deliberation, uncertainty and planning, I have moved myself and Clear Echo to Tokyo. Well, Kawasaki, technically,...

GIRAFFES ON HORSEBACK SALAD is out now!!

Nam Tran of Hinode Visuals joined us for 3 of the recording sessions. Here is part 3 of his documentary, featuring our Harpo, Kaoru...

NPR has already given the book not one, but two excellent reviews. Now they have given the project a full feature on Weekend Edition and...

I've always dreamed of owning a Neumann U87 microphone. But at $3000-$4000 a pop it was never an option. Then I discovered that the...

Salvador Dali wrote a movie for the Marx Brothers in 1937. The movie was rejected by MGM and the screenplay got lost in the archives of...

I will post occasional updates about projects and other activities happening at Clear Echo from time to time. Keep a digital eye on this...