How To Master Real-Time Audio C++ With Fabian Renn-Giles | WolfTalk #021

In this podcast episode, I was delighted to be able one of the most prominent people of the audio developer landscape: Fabian Renn-Giles.

Fabian is a former lead developer of JUCE, currently working as an independent contractor. He has worked with many great companies (e.g., iZotope, Behringer) and has an incredible portfolio. He is regarded as an expert of real-time, low-latency C++ audio programming.

You may know him from his talks at the Audio Developer Conference or at CppCon.

He’s also an incredibly kind and modest person; anyone that I’ve talked to about Fabian only had praise for his skills and his very down-to-earth attitude.

In the light of all the above, this interview is a real treat for everyone who’d like to become a real-time audio C++ expert!

Note: If you like the podcast so far, please, go to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review there. You can do so on Spotify as well. It will benefit both sides: more reviews mean a broader reach on Apple Podcasts and feedback can help me to improve the show and provide better quality content to you. You can also subscribe and give a like on YouTube. Thank you for doing this 🙏

Episode contents 

In this podcast episode, you will learn:

• how Fabian self-taught himself programming at the age of 6 (sic!),
• how he co-founded Fielding DSP, which serves as his professional outlet for programming services,
• how he became the lead developer of the JUCE C++ framework and what he learned from it,
• how to learn real-time audio C++ programming even if you are just starting out,
• how to become a freelance audio developer like Fabian (what you won’t learn at a university),
• how to optimize your audio code for maximum performance,
• the secret story of the “Real-Time 101” talk that Fabian did together with Dave Rowland and which is one of the most widely cited talks in the audio programming space,
• what are the issues in audio software architecture and how to conceptualize them,
• what are Fabian’s day-to-day programming tools for optimal productivity.

This episode was recorded on January 26, 2024.