For this month’s spotlight, we spoke to another vital technician here at 64 Audio. David Lyashchina is an experienced individual in the 64 Audio lab, having filled many different positions in his two years of employment.
Prior to becoming part of the 64 Audio family, David was working in a retirement center. He was welcomed to the 64 team through his connections with the founder and his family. David has known the Belonozhko brothers since they were all kids – they all grew up together in the same community. One day, “Out of the blue,” David said, “Bogdan [our current CEO] texted me and said, ‘Hey, come in for an interview.”
Shortly thereafter, David was hired as a technician in the lab. Back then, the employee roster was less than half of what it is now and consisted mostly of family and friends who had discovered 64 Audio much like David had – through the family that founded and operated the company. Everyone knew everyone.
“It was super small. I was one of twenty-five, I think. We were back at the old place…everyone was super close; it was super fun.”
Since then, the number of employees at 64 Audio has more than doubled, and we have moved to a new location with more space for our growing production and office teams. While the company has been changing over the last couple of years, David has been gaining experience in a variety of different stations in the custom production lab. Initially, he was hired to solder internal components together to be installed in the in-ear monitors. He then went on to work in engraving, faceplate application, and assembly. Now, he is in the graphics department, where he applies custom artwork and standard logos to our A-Series in-ear monitors.
When David gets the IEMs, their shells have been printed, their internal components assembled, and their faceplates applied. He customizes the faceplates with any logos or artwork that the customer has ordered. David takes the designs from digital to physical form by printing them out, then applies the artwork to the faceplates and seals them in acrylic. The exact processes are more complicated than just that, and differ in their details depending on the nature of the artwork. It is delicate work, though, regardless of the IEM’s design, and it requires a lot of precision.
One of the best parts about David’s job, according to him, is his familiarity with his coworkers.
“I grew up with a lot of these people so a lot of them are my friends. Working with friends is definitely a lot easier than working with strangers, which makes it cool.”
As far as he is concerned, it is also one of the best jobs that he has had. He believes that his position is “an up in life” compared to where he has worked before and perhaps the positions of other people his age. He shared, “I wouldn’t be where I am right now without 64 Audio.”
David hopes to move up in the company in the future. He shared. “It would be nice to be an assistant manager, maybe one day be manager somewhere in one of the departments.” In addition to showing interest in a lab manager position, he is also very interested in the Artist Relations segment of our sales department. As a musician, he would love to move to a position in the company where he gets to interact more directly with the music industry and its professionals.
Ultimately, of course, David would rather be a professional musician himself. “It would be cool to go full time band player, but that would be a perfect world.” Being part of a company, however, that is so involved in the music industry is a close second. According to David, it provides a lot of opportunity to develop skill. “You kind of compare to yourself to others. When you think you’re good, you meet someone else who is ten times better than you. Then you have to strive to be better and better.” Between working alongside other musicians and creating custom products for a wide range of artists, David has many opportunities to encounter musical talent.
David first started creating music when he began learning guitar as a six-year-old. He went on to learn the piano, violin, electric guitar, and drums. Now he is a member of several different bands and goes back and forth between drums and piano.
When he plays, he most often uses his 64 Audio A8s, but he owns three pairs of our IEMs.
“I have the A12s, A8s, and V8s. My favorite ones are probably the A8s. I’m a drummer, so the bass is really nice, and the design that I have on them is sick.”
As the artwork technician, David gets to take some unique creative liberties when designing his own IEMs. The results are always impressive.
While at work, he uses his in-ears to listen to music at his station. “I have the most random range ever. Bob Marley to country (like Blake Shelton), to EDM (like Deadmau5), to rock (like Three Day’s Grace), to like Hillsong. Anything in between works…” The genre that David plays really depends on his mood– he prefers to listen to music that reflects how he feels at different points during the day.
When he is not at work or behind a drum set, David likes to be active, especially in the great outdoors. “I go fishing a lot – fly fishing. I go hunting. I go to the gym. Anything that’s super outdoorsy.”
We might also be able to assume that David takes his canine companion, Kuddlez, along with him on his outdoor adventures.
We hope you enjoyed learning more about David, one of many individuals who make up the community here at 64 Audio. He is another great example of our musically inclined team that produces in-ear monitors for musicians, by musicians.