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Are you a preset jockey?


ElectricPuppy

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Of course not!!!!!! I delete all presets from any synth I use even before I listen to them. And I never save any patches that I create. I always create patches on the fly each and every time. And another thing . . . . I never tell a lie.

 

 

 

:p

 

 

Okay, I'll confess, I use presets as much as possible. If I find something I like then I'll use it. If I need something else I'll program it. No big deal.

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I am pretty new to the forum and I'm feeling a bit lost looking at your posts count but I really find this thread interesting as this is something I used to ask myself a lot.

 

Am I a preset abuser? Yes, I am. But that's definitely not the path I am looking for... Early this year I decided to start creating my own patches, spending hours creating different patches and saving them all. But, later on, I found I was just duplicating existing presets or sounds from songs I have in my head. So, after a few joints and hours thinking about it I decided to learn how to create my sounds fast and good enough to do it "on the fly" quoting Rooftree.

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I am pretty new to the forum and I'm feeling a bit lost looking at your posts count but I really find this thread interesting as this is something I used to ask myself a lot.

 

:whisper: (there is no wrong answer.) :wave:

 

And welcome to our little corner of Harmony Central. Pull up a keyboard and make yourself comfy!

 

 

 

I posed the question because a) I'm definitely a preset jockey, I mostly just hunt for something close and then tweak it to taste, and b) this topic usually comes up at least once a year and I noticed it was overdue, so... thar ya are.

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Creating programs from scratch is worth the effort, but if I find a preset that fits what I need, I'll use it... usually after a filter or effects adjustment.

 

I never believe anyone who says they delete all presets from their keyboard immediately after purchase. Total bull!

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I never use presets. I always program my own patches.

 

First of all, many presets are designed to "show off" the unit, and for this reason tend to be godawful sonic cacaphony with too many effects, too many layered waveforms, and too long releases. Those patches are not useful for my needs. Secondly, I run my rig in stereo, so all my patches are stereo, employing standard techniques to "thicken" the sounds (ie, often subtle differences between the two channels, such as different effects on each side, different EQ, slight difference in fine tuning, etc). Most factory presets are mono.

 

Virtually every keyboard I've used sounded notably different than the same keyboard in its factory state. For romplers, the most important thing for me is the raw waveforms, and I tend to like Roland's waveform library best for my palette. But if I was using only Roland presets, I'd probably never have bought one. Maybe this is way I have a much more favorable view of Roland products than most folks here.

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Yep. Preset Jockey describes me to a "T". The limited changes that I do make to presets are usually to deal with ergonomics (i.e., octave shift to place the patch in the register I desire for the hand I intend to play it with, MIDI settings to integrate into my over all rig, etc.), minor adjustments to effects settings and/or to tweak some facet of the patch'es ADSR. Musically speaking, I live in the world of working pop/rock cover bands - and spend most of my night with various combinations of pianos (accoustics and electric), organs, horns and strings - all sounds that have very good present patches readily available. I live in the IT world as part of my day gig. When I come home - I'm far more interested in playing my gear than programming it.

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Actual synthesis is frustrating. Getting new colors and tones [other than the generic 'miracles' (the electric pianos mostly)the factories have come up with] that are useable in a traditional musical sense just doesn't happen with the current technology.

 

Not that I'm any kind of keys guy but for me, presets with some tweaking are about the best that can happen.

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I enjoy making presets, it's fun for me...especially the "Hmm, wonder what THIS will sound like?" part. But, I've been doing synthesis for a long time, so it's kind of second nature and I can work pretty quickly. If I had to work at it, I probably wouldn't feel the same way.

 

The other thing is I do create patch sets. I did two expansion packs for Cakewalk's Rapture but have also programmed patches for E-Mu, Oberheim, Roland, Ensoniq, Peavey, DigiTech, Propellerheads, and a bunch of others so it's something I'm really into.

 

I never looked down on people who just use presets, not at all. After all if everyone made their own presets, no one would use mine :) But also, a piano is a preset...so is an acoustic guitar. Ultimately, it's the music you make on it, although the ability to change sounds to fit a particular musical ideal is a wonderful luxury.

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Depends on the instrument and interface. When you get a ROMpler that has hundreds and hundreds of presets that cover a lot of ground, there isn't too much guilt in using them since building something from scratch might come at the price of heavy menu-diving. However, owning an analog of VA synth that is completely geared toward original sound creation, I don't see how anyone would be content with just playing "Trance Pad A" or "Synth Lead 1" with a bunch of knobs and sliders sitting in front of them. Patch presets have existed on synths for decades now, it's not a big deal. Song and pattern presets on the other hand... :cop:

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I don't think preset users realize what they're missing. For example, when I auditioned the preset pianos on my Fantom XR, I didn't like any of them. I wanted a close-miked, full-bodied (ie, less hammer attack and more bass) sound. So I dove into the raw waveforms, found some more to my liking, and layered/modified them to come up with the piano sound I really wanted. Just out of curiosity, I inspected all of the preset pianos, and discovered that the particular raw waveforms I used weren't even used in those presets. (The waves may have been used in some other preset, but layered with some other sounds to create a preset you wouldn't use as an "acoustic piano". But those waves weren't used in any of the identifiable acoustic piano presets). I found instances of other waveforms, such as some sax and guitar waves, not used in any appropriate patches.

 

If all you're using are presets, your keyboard may have sounds you've never heard.

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