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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:58 am
by DZA
Depone wrote:Everyone uses presets to get a general 'feel' of a a track.
i dont
Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:20 am
by kriz
Sometimes I start out with presets and edit them to a point where they're unrecognizable. Especially with new synths and effects I haven't used before, to get a hang for the thing.
Some effect presets are pretty fine the way they are, depending on the purpose.
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:17 am
by 501dubz
Presets are good because they have been pre set. Its just a starting point but sometimes useful as such even without the tweaking.
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:22 am
by serox
I bet a good number of you people who say you don't use preset and like to make everything yourself are not making dance floor bangers. I see people getting so anal about trying to be unique they have no direction and they may have made a very nice sound but they have not made a good track.
Loads of producers who are big in the game have made massive tunes using a hook that is just a preset from a synth. This went on all thru the 80s,90s and will continue to happen.
I am not saying everyone uses them. There are a couple of people who have been at it a very long time and can program any box.
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:05 pm
by rynke
Serox wrote:I bet a good number of you people who say you don't use preset and like to make everything yourself are not making dance floor bangers. I see people getting so anal about trying to be unique they have no direction and they may have made a very nice sound but they have not made a good track.
using presets makes your track a banger tune, and no presets makes it a crap tune? now i've heard it all...
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:14 pm
by serox
Rynke wrote:
using presets makes your track a banger tune, and no presets makes it a crap tune? now i've heard it all...
Not what I meant at all!
People have made good tunes from day one with presets so it doesn't matter. Hardly any of the top artists in Dubstep dont use any presets. There are loads of geeks out there tho who never use presets and have been making nice noises in their bedroom for the last 10 years too.
There are too many people whining about it and trying to make something amazing they often lose direction and don't even make a good track.
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:50 pm
by legend4ry
Tbh.....
Most people don't have the TIME to spend a hour making a few patches for a tune......If you use a preset so what..like ive said before on this subject, companies spend LOADS to get professionals to make preset patches..If you're gunna get technical about it....... Build all your own synths and create a new way of synthesis and then build your own DAW and make your own file type instead of wav/mp3....
Cause whatever you do, its been done before.. facts.. stop being pretentious!
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:36 pm
by mondays child
I totally agree with Legendary above, I use combinations of tweked presets and my own stuff alongside my own samples. sometimes its good to try and create a new sound and experiment, but it can take a bit of time.
For me, I find I lose motivation and enthusiasm if I'm spending five hours trying to get the perfect bass.
Making music is supposed to be an enjoyable persuit, not a chore.
Just enjoy what you do and this will hopefully come through in your music.
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:51 pm
by whut
The_Dza88 wrote:Depone wrote:Everyone uses presets to get a general 'feel' of a a track.
i dont
Do you use samples or do you create your patches from scratch?
Have you got any tracks I could listen to?
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:57 pm
by dj vision
lately, i havent used any presets at all, and never really have for dubstep
i usually know what i wanna hear, and know how to make it
i used alot of presets in making hardstyle and hardcore and shit, but thats different
in dubstep, i think i have a much more definite style and shit if i make all my own sounds
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:36 pm
by fiziks
Presets are fine to use from time to time, but learning how to program a synth and how certain parameters are used in relation to other parameters (lfo on the cutoff for instance) opens up a whole other world with synthesisers.
Like I've said before, LEARN from presets. Don't just use one, but look at how it's laid out. Adjust settings and see how those adjustments affect the sound. I have a few presets that I use as starting points for patches. Some built in, some I made from scratch. I'll load em up and fit them to the tune. Usually when I'm done with them, they don't sound anything like the original, sometimes they do though. I've started from scratch before, worked for an hour on a patch, and ended up with something that sounded just like a patch I already made. The fact that synth companies hire pro's to make presets is a valid argument. However, the point is, if you learn how to make them from scratch, you can make the sound you want to make easier. As opposed to sorting through 1000 presets and 50 new vst's. Even if the sound you want comes from tweaking a preset, you'll know that assigning the pitch bend to the release will make the sound perfect (for example).
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 5:21 am
by hairblz
Has anyone else found the preset on the malstrom on reason 4 that sounds identical to the into to 'anti-war dub' by those dmz guys?
I think they used it straight out of Reason. Could be wrong, but I think that statement sums up my view on using presets.
Using an unedited preset is akin to recording a guitar or vocal or drum part in real life and sticking it straight into a tune without doing any manipulation or whatever.
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 5:35 am
by dj vision
hairblz wrote:Has anyone else found the preset on the malstrom on reason 4 that sounds identical to the into to 'anti-war dub' by those dmz guys?
I think they used it straight out of Reason. Could be wrong, but I think that statement sums up my view on using presets.
Using an unedited preset is akin to recording a guitar or vocal or drum part in real life and sticking it straight into a tune without doing any manipulation or whatever.
Digital Mystikz dont use Reason
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 5:59 am
by misk
these days i've been sampling shit i make in reaktor, as well as presets, and using the samples as a basis for shit i make in renoise and resample again and again.
i use presets too sometimes, but i dont really care - if it sounds good, it sounds good.
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:10 am
by jsilver
using presets is against my religion
Legendary wrote:
Most people don't have the TIME to spend a hour making a few patches for a tune......
"Take your time"
preset people: learn synthesis. start with subtractive synthesis. it's worth it. i promise.
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:41 am
by serox
DJ Vision wrote:hairblz wrote:Has anyone else found the preset on the malstrom on reason 4 that sounds identical to the into to 'anti-war dub' by those dmz guys?
I think they used it straight out of Reason. Could be wrong, but I think that statement sums up my view on using presets.
Using an unedited preset is akin to recording a guitar or vocal or drum part in real life and sticking it straight into a tune without doing any manipulation or whatever.
Digital Mystikz dont use Reason
U sure about that? I have heard quite a few presets and hits/fx from Reason in their early tracks.
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:42 am
by oblivious
i was a preset man for years, bought every synth i could afford just to get new presets, result i had the same broken shoes for 10 years,
but thanks to dubstep i have changed, now i can sqeeze wonderful sounds out of any freebie synth, and i have finnaly been able to buy new shoes, a pair of converse for 6$, and making music is fun again.
thanks dubstep!

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:52 am
by jsilver
Oblivious wrote:i was a preset man for years, bought every synth i could afford just to get new presets, result i had the same broken shoes for 10 years,
but thanks to dubstep i have changed, now i can sqeeze wonderful sounds out of any freebie synth, and i have finnaly been able to buy new shoes, a pair of converse for 6$, and making music is fun again.
thanks dubstep!

amen to this
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:59 am
by b-lam
Serox wrote:DJ Vision wrote:hairblz wrote:Has anyone else found the preset on the malstrom on reason 4 that sounds identical to the into to 'anti-war dub' by those dmz guys?
I think they used it straight out of Reason. Could be wrong, but I think that statement sums up my view on using presets.
Using an unedited preset is akin to recording a guitar or vocal or drum part in real life and sticking it straight into a tune without doing any manipulation or whatever.
Digital Mystikz dont use Reason
U sure about that? I have heard quite a few presets and hits/fx from Reason in their early tracks.
I have read in an interview mala used to use reason (don't know about coki).
Really though, who cares if you use presets or not? A lot of slightly older dance producers didn't even handle the computer, they directed an engineer.
I'm faaar more impressed if I hear a good melody than a good sound, and I think the majority of listeners are probably the same.