Could you say more about how you work? I know C (very well) and the principles of synthesis (very well), but I'm trying to get my head around the idea that you find it easier to . . . implement your own DSP algorithms from the ground up than using tools like sc?

It took me many years to learn how to get the "sound in my head" programmed into a synthesizer. You do this with the fast fourier transform? Huh?