It depends on your music and approach. My brother’s never tweaked a preset or synth in his life, but he’s a great musician. He’s got some ancient Yamaha ROMpler and he’s happy as a clam. The focus of his music isn’t really sound design.osiris wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 8:37 pm I don't think they had memory chips. So yes, no presets. MS-20 came with no presets, but the VST comes with over 200 (I believe.) So, basically you're not a real musician unless you wipe those out and just fork around with it for an hour or so to get something you like? I feel like the preset designer is like the Hollywood Screenwriter. Underappreciated, then everyone else takes credit for their hard work.
But if the focus of your music is sound design, and you’re just putting presets together in some very basic way… that becomes a bit like collage, though if it makes you happy, go for it. The odds of anyone breaking into the big time is so tiny it doesn’t really matter, so have fun.
I’m a bit in the middle. I like to program my own stuff from scratch, but I also like to take a preset and find ways to fit it into my music. I put so many expressive hooks into presets that they become something else anyway. I’ve always hated one-finger-song presets that just sort of become a big chunk of the composition. One of the first things I do with any synth is turn off sequencers and arpeggios. I’ll provide the notes, because that’s my main passion.
