The cool cats at Audio Assault are pretty good at making kick-ass plugins that don’t break the bank.

From smashing metal amps to distortion and compression effects – to the recent release of the mighty HellBeast – we like their style, so we thought it was time to interview them.

We’re in New Zealand however and they’re in Mexico, so we did it over email. The results were short but sweet. Check it out!

Laptopguitarist: Who are you guys? Where are you based?

Alex: I’m Alex, since 2019 we are a team of 4 people, we are based in Puebla City, Mexico.

How did you get into building software? Are you a guitar player interested in software? Or a dev guy interested in audio?

The whole thing started when I was in university studying E.E. and couldn’t afford a proper amp at the time.

Do you have heroes in the audio industry? If so, who?

I kind of came in sideways into the whole thing so I’ve never paid attention to who’s who but as far as mixing and stuff, Andy Sneap would be my hero.

Why did you decide to make music software? Did you see a gap in the market or is it a project of passion?

It started as a project of passion, trying to get a tone that I liked, which I wasn’t getting from the sims at the time.

What goes into making a plugin like yours? What’s the timeline? Walk us through it.

It’s kind of like writing a song, I come up with a riff, maybe another one later, and sometime in the future it will come together. It depends on the plug-in really.

Is it a challenge to be profitable producing software like this?

The relative low cost of living in mexico lets us make a decent living!

What advice would you have for younger audio dev guys looking to follow in your footsteps?

Watch your weight!

What’s next for you guys? Is there another project on the horizon?

We have a bunch of things coming soon, some bass amps that have been requested for a while now.

What’s the big picture dream for you? Where would you like to end up?

A retirement facility!

What kind of stuff do you listen to? Does that effect the stuff you build?

We mostly listen to metal, we still have yet to make a non metal amp!

Hellbeast is now available for the introductory price of US$19.99. Get it here.