Hello!
I’m Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer.
The weather has suddenly gotten much colder these days—hope everyone is staying healthy.
As for me… I caught a pretty bad cold and honestly, it’s been rough.
It’s been a while since I last wrote a post, so normally I’d pick a proper topic and organize my thoughts.
But today I’m a bit worn out, so I’ll just keep this as a simple life update.
First, a paper I submitted on a relatively straightforward topic was rejected by JASA.
Rejection itself is nothing new, so that part didn’t bother me too much—but it was a desk rejection that took two months, which honestly stung a little.
As soon as I saw the decision, I resubmitted the work to JAES, since I had already prepared a version in that format. If it doesn’t work out there, well… there are other options. I’ll just have to wait and see.
Next, I sold my HA73EQ and picked up the HA73EQX2.
I’ve been consistently satisfied using it for recording, tracking, and EQ work,
and I’d been wanting to do more stereo tracking as well.
I did consider the Phoenix Audio Ascent, since the price was appealing,
but on the EQ-equipped model, the mic input and line input aren’t separated—which ultimately led me to choose this unit instead.
Of course, I could work around that with a patchbay,
but if phantom power is engaged and a patch cable gets bumped or shorted… well, that could be the end of a very precious microphone..^^;;
I’ve already finished all the measurements on this unit,
so I’ll write a proper review when I get the chance.
Also, the headband on my main headphones finally gave up.
I’ve been using the Ultrasone Pro 2900,
and while replacement earpads are easy to find, I couldn’t find anyone selling just the headband.
In the end, I ordered some Velcro and a headband cushion from AliExpress and fixed it up myself—simple and effective.
And after a very long time, I finally traveled to Japan again.
Actually, now that I think about it, this was my first real trip in ages.
The last time I traveled was around April 2019, to Sapporo—so that makes it about six years and eight months.
I visited Kyoto and Osaka. Kyoto, in particular, stood out for its clean air, mountains, and nature. The farther you go from the city center, the more rural it feels—it reminded me of visiting my grandmother’s house when I was younger.
On the way back after visiting a temple, I came across a small jazz band I’d never heard of before.
I found myself thinking, “Wow, that’s a really compact kick drum—interesting,” as I watched them play. The sound level was comfortable and easy to enjoy, which made the whole experience even nicer.
In Osaka, I visited the famous Osaka Castle.
To be honest, though, the inside felt like little more than a concrete museum, which was a bit disappointing.
I also stopped by Miki Gakki to check out and play some acoustic guitars.
Unfortunately, none of them really moved me.
I tried some fairly expensive models too—like the Collings D2H and the Martin D-42—but still didn’t feel that spark.
I suspect the space itself wasn’t ideal for evaluating guitars acoustically, which may have played a big role.
As for the cold—it probably came from walking long distances during the trip,
and then continuing to work on paperwork back at the hotel without much rest. The fatigue caught up with me.
Please take good care of your health,
and I hope everyone finishes the year safely and peacefully.
I’ll see you again in the next post. ^^
Jooyoung's Music Blog 
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