Does this happen often:
You buy a synth (the ones with more high range price). And later you want buy preset packs for this synth, but you see the preset pack is same price as some other FULL synth. Do you buy a new synth and not the preset pack?
Somebody suggested Ana2 here in forum, and I see it is same price (or even CHEAPER!!) than some preset packs. And after demo it sounds nice and is guite nice to use (not best to use but nice). I was just thinking do people often think they go buy preset pack but end up buy a new synth? What was your synth you did buy after this way/do you like it?
Synth vs preset packs = same price
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 123 posts since 24 Aug, 2020
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- KVRAF
- 1901 posts since 8 Jan, 2005
It's your decision to make.
The way I see it, presets are just there to demonstrate what the synth is capable of.
It's on you, if you further on decide to make your own sounds with it or just use it as a preset player. If you choose the latter, it's also on you to decide if the work of other people who created the presets is worth your money.
If you want to buy another synth worth somewhat the same amount than the presets of a prior synth you don't fully want to learn.... I'm not sure there is any advice here that can really address your question. Since you'll probably gonna want to start buying presets for the new one and then we go full circle
The way I see it, presets are just there to demonstrate what the synth is capable of.
It's on you, if you further on decide to make your own sounds with it or just use it as a preset player. If you choose the latter, it's also on you to decide if the work of other people who created the presets is worth your money.
If you want to buy another synth worth somewhat the same amount than the presets of a prior synth you don't fully want to learn.... I'm not sure there is any advice here that can really address your question. Since you'll probably gonna want to start buying presets for the new one and then we go full circle
void main(dumb)
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- KVRAF
- 7341 posts since 9 Jan, 2003 from Saint Louis MO
Nope. I don't buy presets, I rarely even use the factory ones.
(Something like a DX7 emulation is different because it is a PITA to program -- but usually all I want out of it is a particular kind of glassy pad sound or an electric piano. And even this is getting really rare for me.)
So there's going to be a wide variety of opinions here and you just need to decide for yourself which has the most value for you.
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 123 posts since 24 Aug, 2020
Sorry, I did not want to ask what I should do. Maybe I was not clear sorry. I was just very curious how people feel for preset packs vs synths same price 
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- KVRian
- 666 posts since 18 Sep, 2010
This is a very valid question, and it is something I've pondered as well.
A lot of the decision 'depends'. Musicians tend to lean toward presets in general. They need a quick sound to fit a song. Sound designers tend to be far more interested in the underlying synth capabilities for unique sounds. One common goal they share is in accessing a variety of sounds that they don't currently have.
With that in mind, it can still 'depend'. A new synth comes with factory patches, oftentimes far more new presets than most preset packs, but sometimes those factory presets are rather generic (but certainly not necessarily, depending on the synth). They may add a lot for a preset user (or they may not), so a musician might (or not) find adding professional preset packs for their existing synths a better value (and they are generally designed by true professionals). A sound designer is looking at the underlying capabilities, and sometimes the factory patches don't really stretch those capabilities. They might see opportunity.
At equal cost, it's really tempting to lean towards a new synth (perhaps with lots of factory presets), especially with capabilities that are new, over YAPP (Yet Another Preset Pack). The more experience one has with sound design, the stronger that incentive is (and even musicians will slowly gain more confidence in tweaking their synths over time, which might lead them in that direction). Over time, they might find that overly expensive preset packs (sometimes called 'expansions') are just no longer worth as much to them, and switch to focusing more on the underlying synth capabilities.
When buying a new synth, it makes a lot of sense to check out the quality and price of existing expansions (along with the capabilities and quality of the synth itself). Those preset/expansion costs are something very much to consider, with potentially very different perspectives depending on where one sits on the musician/sound designer spectrum.
So it's up to you.
A lot of the decision 'depends'. Musicians tend to lean toward presets in general. They need a quick sound to fit a song. Sound designers tend to be far more interested in the underlying synth capabilities for unique sounds. One common goal they share is in accessing a variety of sounds that they don't currently have.
With that in mind, it can still 'depend'. A new synth comes with factory patches, oftentimes far more new presets than most preset packs, but sometimes those factory presets are rather generic (but certainly not necessarily, depending on the synth). They may add a lot for a preset user (or they may not), so a musician might (or not) find adding professional preset packs for their existing synths a better value (and they are generally designed by true professionals). A sound designer is looking at the underlying capabilities, and sometimes the factory patches don't really stretch those capabilities. They might see opportunity.
At equal cost, it's really tempting to lean towards a new synth (perhaps with lots of factory presets), especially with capabilities that are new, over YAPP (Yet Another Preset Pack). The more experience one has with sound design, the stronger that incentive is (and even musicians will slowly gain more confidence in tweaking their synths over time, which might lead them in that direction). Over time, they might find that overly expensive preset packs (sometimes called 'expansions') are just no longer worth as much to them, and switch to focusing more on the underlying synth capabilities.
When buying a new synth, it makes a lot of sense to check out the quality and price of existing expansions (along with the capabilities and quality of the synth itself). Those preset/expansion costs are something very much to consider, with potentially very different perspectives depending on where one sits on the musician/sound designer spectrum.
So it's up to you.
Last edited by rj0 on Sat Aug 29, 2020 9:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRAF
- 2989 posts since 5 Nov, 2014
Never stumbled upon synth that had more usable factory sounds than dedicated 3rd party bank for synth I love and use.
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- KVRian
- 666 posts since 18 Sep, 2010
True. Professional sound packs should (and almost always do) sound better than the factory ones. That's what you're paying for.Passing Bye wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 9:27 pm Never stumbled upon synth that had more usable factory sounds than dedicated 3rd party bank for synth I love and use.
One other thing to consider, primarily from a preset user's view, is whether a new synth might provide access to a new selection of professional sound packs for that synth (and again, the cost of each). (A pro sound designer might see a lack of quality expansions as an opportunity to fill a gap. A sound tweaker might judge the sysnth's capabilities worth the trade-off.)
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- KVRian
- 666 posts since 18 Sep, 2010
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- KVRian
- 666 posts since 18 Sep, 2010
Wanted to get back to the OP's specific question.SoundHunterrr wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 10:29 am Does this happen often:
You buy a synth (the ones with more high range price). And later you want buy preset packs for this synth, but you see the preset pack is same price as some other FULL synth. Do you buy a new synth and not the preset pack?
...
In a roundabout way, I hope I've answered, in that the decision to get another synth (perhaps with a very different set of features) versus another set of presets for the current synth, at equivalent prices, depends a lot on one's approach and objectives (and perhaps whether one already has too many of one or the other
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- KVRAF
- 7341 posts since 9 Jan, 2003 from Saint Louis MO
I agree with your post generally, except...rj0 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 9:16 pm A lot of the decision 'depends'. Musicians tend to lean toward presets in general. They need a quick sound to fit a song. Sound designers tend to be far more interested in the underlying synth capabilities for unique sounds. One common goal they share is in accessing a variety of sounds that they don't currently have.
-- Some musicians -- admittedly mostly not synth players or producers, and not a subset of guitarists -- aren't really looking for "a variety of sounds that they don't currently have."
-- "Sound designer" to me is a job title. Someone being paid to design sounds for movies, video games, advertising, electronic devices, apps, the automotive industry, etc. (Or preset packs...) And a lot of them tend to be musicians anyway, paying the bills. Brian Eno and Suzanne Ciani both have a pile of "sound designer" credits to their name...
It's kind of funny how the more experimental guitarists are still recognized as "musicians," but some people are willing to throw synthesists under the bus and apply narrower definitions of what "music" and "musician" mean. Likewise, I don't think people who rely on presets, ROMplers etc. should get any flak for that either.
(And if this is off base and not what you were getting at, sorry for the derail!)
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- KVRAF
- 18551 posts since 16 Sep, 2001 from Las Vegas,USA
Other than the current Ana 2 sale can you point me to some sound sets that cost as much as another synth ?
Most sound sets are what 20, 30 bucks tops ?
Other than the Air music plugins which are commonly on sale for 1-15 dollars I can't think of any off hand.
Most sound sets are what 20, 30 bucks tops ?
Other than the Air music plugins which are commonly on sale for 1-15 dollars I can't think of any off hand.
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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- KVRAF
- 7624 posts since 21 Dec, 2002 from MD USA
what preset bank cost $50 for ana 2? Are you sure you aren't talking about like a who package of many banks?
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