diff --git a/app/internal/bot_manager.py b/app/internal/bot_manager.py
index 11afff7..e860264 100644
--- a/app/internal/bot_manager.py
+++ b/app/internal/bot_manager.py
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ class DiscordBotManager:
 
             LOGGER.info(f"Checking opus status before transmitter init: {opus.is_loaded()}")
 
+            try:
+                encoder = opus.OpusEncoder()
+                LOGGER.info(f"Manually created OpusEncoder successfully: {encoder}")
+            except Exception as e:
+                LOGGER.error(f"MANUAL ENCODER CREATION FAILED: {e}", exc_info=True)
+
             # Create and start the new AudioTransmitter
             transmitter = AudioTransmitter(
                 voice_client=voice_client,