delete a preset in Arturia Mini V? (ver 2 not the brand new one)

[ENV1]

I just checked that out and for the life of me couldnt find a delete preset option.

But then i noticed something: It indeed appears way down at the bottom of the list, but only when youre not in the 'All' category. And it appears not only in the standalone, but in the plugin too.


So there you go jbraner, aMUSEd just found us a way easier method.

(Cant believe i never saw that in all those years. I must be getting old or something.)

[ENV1]

The problem with older versions is, like XILS stuff, these are not discrete files but entries in a database

BTW, i dont know how it is on a Mac, but on Windows and V2 the presets are definitely single textfiles inside normal folders, i.e. there is no database.

V3 does have a database file now, but it only contains the paths to where the presets are stored, i.e. not the actual preset values themselves.

(Like i said, thats Windows. It might be different on a Mac.)

[aMUSEd]

Not sure but I know Xavier who developed the original Arturia plugins and now the XILs ones has always said their preset system is based on some sort of database rather than a one to one relationship between named preset files and banks, that only seems to have changed when they brought out the SEM which does have that. If they have gone back to a database system that's a step backwards imho because it makes presets management much harder.

[ENV1]

No, either Xavier expressed himself incorrectly or somebody must have misunderstood something he said because neither his Arturia plugins nor his XILSlab plugins have any kind of database. Its all based on single files, and in the case of the Arturia ones on single files in folders and subfolders.

The only thing that he changed when he went from Arturia to found his own XILSlab was how the presets would be organized on the harddrive. The Presets within SubBanks within Banks system was technically retained, but all presets were put in one single folder and the 'descriptor' file now contained the info on SubBank and Bank as well. (Plus some other things.) The parameter system itself is still the same too.

Heres 2 screenshots that show you how it works on Windows. The first is from the minimoog, the second from XILS3. As you can see, in both cases you have a 'descriptor' file and then another file that holds the values. No database file, only these two types of file which form a whole preset.


click for fullsize

[jbraner]

So there you go jbraner, aMUSEd just found us a way easier method.

I usually look under "all" - so maybe that's why I couldn't find this
I thought that you could only delete user presets - but not factory ones. I'm still new to mini V, and I added a few (free) 3rd party presets that I found online - so I'm never sure what's a factory preset or which is a user one.

I'll look some more, but mostly the conversation was just turning hypothetical - I was just being curious and guessing what would happen. It *would* be nice to clean up the categories though...

[ENV1]

I usually look under "all" - so maybe that's why I couldn't find this

Yeah, same here. Because thats what the synth starts up with, and i have everything organized into one main bank anyway. (No 3rd party stuff here.) And the mean thing is, if you go from the 'All' dropdown to the SubBank and then to the actual Presets list, the 'New Preset' option IS there so you dont get the sense that something is missing there.

I thought that you could only delete user presets - but not factory ones. I'm still new to mini V, and I added a few (free) 3rd party presets that I found online - so I'm never sure what's a factory preset or which is a user one.

I dont think Xaviers synths make a difference between factory and user presets and what you can delete and what not. (At least i cant see a mechanism that would allow for such a distinction.) I could be wrong on that, maybe there is something thats not obvious, but then again it should be easy enough to find out for someone who still has the factories on the drive. (I dont.)

[Examigan]

I usually look under "all" - so maybe that's why I couldn't find this

Yeah, same here. Because thats what the synth starts up with, and i have everything organized into one main bank anyway. (No 3rd party stuff here.) And the mean thing is, if you go from the 'All' dropdown to the SubBank and then to the actual Presets list, the 'New Preset' option IS there so you dont get the sense that something is missing there.

I thought that you could only delete user presets - but not factory ones. I'm still new to mini V, and I added a few (free) 3rd party presets that I found online - so I'm never sure what's a factory preset or which is a user one.

I dont think Xaviers synths make a difference between factory and user presets and what you can delete and what not. (At least i cant see a mechanism that would allow for such a distinction.) I could be wrong on that, maybe there is something thats not obvious, but then again it should be easy enough to find out for someone who still has the factories on the drive. (I dont.)

I just tried it: When you click on a Factory preset, the delete button disappears, and if you click on a User preset, the delete button is there again. When you try to overwrite an existing preset it, will switch to "Save As" and it will go into the User directory.

EDIT: I was checking this with v3 but I think it worked in a similar manner in v2

[ENV1]

OK, good to know.

(I would have checked myself but ive deleted the factories a long time ago.)

[ENV1]

EDIT: I was checking this with v3 but I think it worked in a similar manner in v2

I was just going to ask about that because i saw your first edit where you added 'User Directory'.

Anyway, i just re-installed the whole setup into a sandbox (to get the factories back) and the upshot is this:

The MainBank dropdown contains 2 types of presets: Those above the dividerline and those below.

Those above the dividerline can NOT be deleted via the UI. (Nor can new SubBanks/Presets be added.)

Those below the dividerline CAN be deleted via the UI, and new SubBanks/Presets can be added too.

I still didnt check what the mechanism is that makes this distinction possible, but i think i will do that just to know for future reference.

So in conclusion: Some Banks/SubBanks/Presets in V2 can be deleted via the UI but others cant. The manual method can therefore still be useful.

[ENV1]

Got it.

The banks above the dividerline have a FACTORY tag appended to the MainBank name.

(In the descriptor files in the P folders.)

Remove that tag and they will be 'unlocked'.

After that, stuff can be deleted and added via the UI there as well.

Note: There is a hex-zero after the string, but it doesnt seem to matter, so Notepad will do. To retain the hex-zero, use a hex-editor.


One strange thing though: If you remove the tag from the very first bank, (by default C.Duncan in P0), the dividerline that separated the factory-tagged banks from the non-factory banks gets pushed up to the very top so that the factory-tagged ones would now be below it too. (Regardless of whether you keep the hex-zero in the descriptor file or not, so thats not the cause.) Im still not entirely sure whats behind that, but i think what happens is that the plugin checks the banknames for the factory tag, and as soon as it hits one that doesnt have the tag it will automatically put all following banks below the dividerline regardless of whether THEY have the tag or not. This observation is supported by the fact that if you remove the tag only from the second bank (by default C.Engel in P1), the first bank will still be above the dividerline. The factory stuff that got placed below the dividerline still cannot be deleted or added to though, so ultimately its only a visual thing which can be ignored.

So in conclusion: The factory banks that are originally above the dividerline can be turned into non-factory banks so that stuff can be added or deleted there as well. Just get rid of the factory tag in the descriptor file in the banks P folder and youre good to go. The factory banks below the dividerline are editable anyway, so no changes have to be made there.


EDIT: Edited for clarity.

[aMUSEd]

Then again presumably they would get reinstalled if you reinstall the plugin. That tends to be why factory banks are non editable/deletable. Although at least there are probably no more updates for this generation of the Mini anyway so now is the time to do away with factory banks if you want.

[ENV1]

Then again presumably they would get reinstalled if you reinstall the plugin.

If you mean update, thats very possible. Arturia and XILSlab installers are indeed rather indiscriminate when it comes to things like that. So i for one would either make a backup copy of the 'save' folder before letting the update run, or better still, install the update in a sandbox and only take out the new DLL/EXE so i can replace the older version manually, thereby making sure that my presets arent being touched by anything in the first place.

Of course the best solution would be if the installers simply provided options for every part of the package so that the user can decide what is being installed/updated and what isnt. A simple 'Dont reinstall Presets' checkbox would be enough. Updates would also go much faster that way because its the tons of single files and folders that need the most time to be created on the drive.

[jbraner]

Thanks for all the good info here - guys
I should tidy up these presets, but I'll wait to see if something happens with the new version first...