preset free synthesisers

[trimph1]

I like the presets on the softsynths that I have..and, if I can't find one..I can make some of my own...

@mcnoone...the Arp2600 can be a real PITA in that department..try going through a 300 page patch book..... ...that is how big my patchbook is here..

[4damind]

Some good synth in the past with only a small shipped preset library earned not many good words (remember the first release of Sylenth1!). With a growing preset library people find their love for a synth because they got an idea about the sound a synth can generate.

It's important to have at least some showroom sounds, showing the capabilities of a synth. This is also important for the developers because they can test if the algorithms are working correctly. Often bugs like hanging notes, too much CPU usage are earlier to find with some presets using "a bit more" then most will use later in a song.
Yes, it's also some marketing thing to show the users some showroom presets, so they are bit more interested to grab a demo and eventually buy the synth.

More important (IMO!) are template presets! A patch with one saw oscillator and a filter, a basic bass sound, a clean init patch etc. There are a lot of synth don't having a easy method to build a sound from scratch. How many synth having a "init" or "new sound" button?

So my summary:
Presets are important. Some showroom presets are very important and some basic starter patches ("templates"). For a synth with a special focus to some style of music or if the synth emulates some hardware, a library can be sometimes the important thing for the success of a synth. Don't forget a lot of people only using presets and rarely diving deeper into programming of own sounds.

[vurt]

All this "I write my own presets" elitism is just ridiculous. What use it is to tell other people that they are somehow inferior if they use presets. To me making music is all about having fun. It's not a competition of who does this or that or who doesn't. The day it becomes like that for me I don't want to have anything to do with music. Look at me, I have a two oscillator synth with lowpass filter, I am so cool because I make my own presets. Give me a break. It's not like those sounds haven't been heard before.

im not bing elitist. i have no issue at all with folks who use presets,loops or anything. i listen to a lot of music which uses presets, i dont sit and think "ooh this track would be bttr if they had made their own sounds" thats not how it works, its just i personally have no use for the sounds that are commonplace in many synths, i also understand that they are useful to others, which is why i suggested an alternative rather than just to release a synth with no presets at all. that way we all get what we want.

as for mcnoones complaints about not supporting my peers just because i suggested this, i buy synths, i would probably buy more if there where discounts for preset free synths, im not talking about huge discounts even 5 or ten dorrar! therefore i would be supporting more devs no?
and listen to what you want to listen to, buy what you want to buy, didnt realise we had to buy stuff we dont use just to support people? by that logic vegetarians and vegans should buy meat to support local farmers, i should buy drugs to support dealers and so on and so on.

and cool dog says you suck.

[KBSoundSmith]

I like synths to have presets. I don't normally use them, as programming a synth is to me part of the fun of using one at all, but I've learned a lot from the way other people program, and I've often been inspired musically by a preset.

And it also depends upon what you're trying to make. If you're simply going to be using a basic lead sound that can be found in every preset bank, why not use that rather than program the same thing again for the thousandth time? Maybe all you need is a slight tweak of a preset to get the perfect sound for your work. A bank of bread and butter sounds can simply be a time saver.

More complex presets may be the inspiration for an entire piece of music; it is then strange that you wouldn't use that preset. Sometimes a preset will be inspiring because it presents the right musical mood that you're looking for, even though it might be a sound that doesn't fit the particular piece you're working on--but wasn't it worthwhile having that preset as a creative impetus?

And I also like to have presets that demonstrate the unique qualities of a particular synthesizer. Honestly, most of the time people make the same damned sounds for every synthesizer, so it can be inspiring to see what some did on a particular synth that can't be done on any other (because honestly, what is the point of having different synths if they don't have unique capabilities?).

And for some people, there just isn't enough time to both program a synth and write music. I firmly will say that if my time is limited, I will focus solely on my musical ideas, sound design be damned.

[mcnoone]

as for mcnoones complaints about not supporting my peers just because i suggested this, i buy synths, i would probably buy more if there where discounts for preset free synths, im not talking about huge discounts even 5 or ten dorrar! therefore i would be supporting more devs no?
and listen to what you want to listen to, buy what you want to buy, didnt realise we had to buy stuff we dont use just to support people? by that logic vegetarians and vegans should buy meat to support local farmers, i should buy drugs to support dealers and so on and so on.

Actually it wasn't your idea that bothers me, or anything you stated.
It was some others who are doing soundsets for others, then speaking as if that's a useless thing. F that! It's not even useless if you don't use the sounds themselves. You can still learn tricks, and techniques through inspecting them. You can still find inspiration for your own sounds through listening to others sounds. Being closed off to that, is their loss, and will probably show in their work as well. Usually showing up as weak programming skills, or uninspired patches. It's like a person with a guitar, who never saw or heard anyone using one before. How the hell will they know how to play, or even be inspired by another guitar player. Sound design is an art form like any other. It has it's legends, and people who can learn from them, just like any other art form. It belittles that art, to say it's of no use to look at others art.
Not to mention there might be some instrument in a preset that can't be nailed down by a certain user...but there it goes in the trash bin. A trashed time saver, that could have been tweaked right in 2 minutes.

Really it wasn't your request that annoyed me. It was the so called designers who do them for the purpose of distribution, that in essence have no respect for the art. Your not in that category though, as your not doing it for distribution for others.
Then it's just a request, and that's okay.
So long as possible jobs wouldn't be affected by something like that.
Although the cheaper price for no presets, would not work, due to file sharing.

Still though, the question to ask is...
How does one know that presets do not fit into ones music, if they don't use or listen to presets to begin with?
I believe it's a valid question.
It's the same with music too. Most people learn and compare from each others work in similar fields. That's how we learn new things.

and cool dog says you suck.

I know...but there is no cool dog, without the alter ego hot dog.
Yea I sound like a d**k, but I put a lot of effort into my work.
Just sucks when you work hard on something, and have it dismissed as a useless feature. Whatever...I'm bummed out. I need a drink.

[polyslax]

im not bing elitist.

vurt, an elitist, now that's funny!

Not sure what the stir is all about? I don't think anybody said they were against people using presets. It's a personal choice, and options are good.

I've purchased presets in the past, but once I wrapped my head around things I discovered I enjoyed creating my own sounds. Tbh I don't even listen to the presets that ship with an instrument any more. It's not that I'm a superhuman sound designer... just that I enjoy exploring on my own and generally know how to get the type of sound I want.

[Bronto Scorpio]

im not bing elitist.

vurt, an elitist, now that's funny!

Not sure what the stir is all about? I don't think anybody said they were against people using presets. It's a personal choice, and options are good.

I've purchased presets in the past, but once I wrapped my head around things I discovered I enjoyed creating my own sounds. Tbh I don't even listen to the presets that ship with an instrument any more. It's not that I'm a superhuman sound designer... just that I enjoy exploring on my own and generally know how to get the type of sound I want.

+1

Cheers
Dennis

[vurt]

I know...but there is no cool dog, without the alter ego hot dog.

last night we where out in the local boozer, some charity collectors came in in fancy dress...
one of the girls was a hot dog, she looked miserable as hell kinda like "oh you get to be snow white and im the hot dog! "

at one point in the evening, the girl i was sat with turned to us and said "im sure i know that hot dog"
which doesnt seem as funny now as it did last night.
i almost pulled a girl dressed as orinoco the womble, blew it when i said she'd have to keep the head on!

[vurt]

but I put a lot of effort into my work.
Just sucks when you work hard on something, and have it dismissed as a useless feature. Whatever...I'm bummed out. I need a drink.

i dont think of presets as a useless feature altogether, just i dont use them.
i appreciate the work that goes into such things as i do it myself, so i know its hard work.
as te poll shows, not everybody feels the same as me, so presets arent a useless feature at all, just some people dont use them.

i didnt intend to bum anybody out, i was just floating an idea thats been swimming in my mind for a while.
ive been interested in some of the opinions offered on both sides of the fence, others have been a bit argumental, so i tend to ignore that as it shouldnt be an argument, but it is a valid discussion imo.

[Gamma-UT]

I can see how this is going to play KVR-stylee:

User: "I want to pay less for no presets."
Dev: "Okeydoke. How does a tenner off sound?"
User: "I s'pose it's something. I don't like the Arp either, you should knock something off for that."
Dev: "Okaaay. I'll take out the presets and arp and do it at 20 off."
User: "Sold!"

Some time passes.
User: "It's lame how this synth's got no presets and no arp. I mean, it's software, it's not like it costs anything to ship presets and an arp with the product. It's all bits and bytes and the stuff's on the server anyway for other people. And I'm not supposed to use the demo presets and the demo's free. What's that all about?"
Angry mob with torches and pitchforks assembles...

Anyhoo, software is pretty much a fixed-cost business (I'm assuming sound designers get a one-off fee or an NFR copy rather than a royalty on sounds). Comparisons with farming (or car production) don't work.

[zerocrossing]

The truth is that most people like presets and that hiring good preset authors is a very good way to show off and promote the capabilities of your instrument. Think of them as cup holders in your car. Maybe you never drink in your car, but they're not going to do a special version just for the few people who don't use or want them.

[vurt]

i dont even have a car?

[Gamma-UT]

i dont even have a car?

Well, you won't be wanting cupholders then. Or a car.

[hma]

Presets are great.

[davidka]

I voted fish, as I could always erase presets. For any synth I've tried in my life.

Also, in most cases presets are:
-a cool way to showoff what a synth is capable of
-an opportunity to distribute a preset designer's hard work
-a chance to keep that designer occupied (such as official preset expansions)

So I think it is good as the way it is