BPB GIVEAWAY: Dawesome Kult + Oblivium Alpha & Omega Expansion Packs (WINNERS ANNOUNCED)

I am a preset tweaker :)

Presets

I am a songwriter, music theorist, arranger. Not a sound designer. I get decision fatigue tweaking every knob & eventually can’t decide what sounds good anymore. With presets, I can focus on what matters most: making music.

presets and tweak..depends on the track! ;-)

I prefer making a sound from scatch over using a Preset but not in every case

I’m a beginner, so this is a preset for now.

I prefer to use presets and then start configuring the way I need to get the sound I need

presets

Both, it just depends on the synth.

Dear BPB why pick a random entry and not reward those who put efforts into writing a thoughtful comment?
Many such posts do have great value as research material for brands. They pay research companies when they can read quality comments on your quality site…
I previously wrote such posts, drawing on my 20y experience selling and buying gear and testing probably a good thousand plugins.
Anyhow as a reply to this post I start from presets, my valuable advice is for companies to devise a smart preset browser such as what U-HE do.
I don’t just tweak presets I most often will build custom FX chains on top, particularly saturation and filters.
Overall I find synths build-in FX mostly useless as I much prefer using my personal delays and reverbs.
Only a few synths have really outstanding FX. One area where many synths lack is a truly great filter section.
I can’t recommend enough the lesser known Zebra CM, goodness what a delicious freebie !!
Thanks BPB anyhow and best producing to all.

Presets with small tweaks

I love sound design so I like to start from nothing and build up a sound. However, when writing actual music it almost always makes sense to start from a preset and tweak.

i wrankle the knobs and hope it sounds good. no presets.

I usually find a preset.

I like to browse through the presets and then modiefy them

Start with a preset and tweak!

=)

I often use presets as inspiration when creating my own patches.

I’m using presets & programming 50/50

Both. Even though I am the creator of KULT I sometimes dissect the presets that other sound designers made, because they are using techniques that I had not in mind! there is always something to learn from. But sometimes its also fun to start from scratch. And when I create a synth … there are simply no presets in the beginning, so I have to start from zero.

I like to start by browsing through some presets and then tweak from there to get the exact sound I’m looking for. Thank you for doing this giveaway! Kult is an amazing synth and the expansion packs sound incredible! Good luck everyone! :)

I usually create the beat using presets with slight tweaks at most. Then at the end of the composition really dig into each sound and make sure it’s perfect to the idea in my mind. This way I don’t end up spending like 1 hour just tweaking a synth and forget my song idea.

– Marco

I am usually too lazy and too impatient to create my own sounds from scratch. The selection of good synths and presets is also very large. But sometimes I change presets so much that they no longer sound like the original and then save them when I like them. Most of the time, though, they’re more random hits haha.

But I really like it when you can automate sounds to make them sound more alive or just to create some movement.

Do I prefer using presets or programming my synth patches from scratch?
Yes :-)

Preset first to have some inspiration then tweak it

Presets

In most cases, I make the bass from scratch, and the rest I look for in presets and modify them.

Presets

I like programming my own synth patches from scratch. That said, I do use presets and even buy presets when learning a new synth, being able to load presets from other sources I feel like it is the parts of software synths I admire alot.

I will prefer ready to use preset and small tweaks for perfect sound.

I produce in a flow and if I started sound design while producing it will break my flow state so I love to use presets.

Most virtual synths have one or more “init” presets. I have never missed the opportunity to start there and explore the thing. Polished presets are fun but often make us too humble to begin our own trip into the unknown!

Love to hear awesome and inspiring presets but also want to create something new.

I prefer to make patches from scratch.

Start with a preset and tweak to taste

I use presets mostly, but only because my own sound design skills aren’t as good as I’d like them to be yet. I’d love to achieve the level where I could sell presets myself.

Programming for the win! Always fun and you can get the exact sound you need.

Start from presets and then go on from there.

I program from scratch, but if there are certain sounds I can’t really replicate, I’ll open a preset and do reverse engineering to understand how they make the sounds.

90% of the time I prefer making my own presets

Love building my presets from scratch. Helps make my music more unique and I learn all about the synth in more depth, rather than just relying on the inbuilt presets.

Good luck everyone in the competition! :-)

Well even though I love sound sculpting and feel the need to be original but have to be honest and say that I prefer presets. I gets me inspired so quickly and keep it melodic from there.

Q: Do you prefer using presets or programming your synth patches from scratch?
A: Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me.

In my case it’s always a combination of both. I usually start with a preset and prepare a demo of a song, and the further I go, the more I tweak the patches and create a couple of new ones when necessary. With millions of patches available, often created by top notch sound designers, it makes no sense not to try and adopt them in my music. Besides, deadlines often make you take a shortcut when possible so you can spare some time just in case you have to focus a bit longer on mixing and mastering.

I prefer doing my patches from scratch. But I like preset browsing too because sometimes thy can show the full potential of a synth.

I prefer to program my patches from scratch

I usually use presets and tweak them a bit, but depending on the context sometimes I prefer to make my own sounds from scratch

Usually just use presets honestly, tweaking them if necessary

I prefer use presets and tweak them till they fit in overall mix and blend perfectly in vibe.

Start with a preset then customize it

i love make start patches from init patch .-) from null to somethink new :)

Usually I find a preset that is the closest to the sound that I look for, and then tweak it to my taste

Both depending on what I need.

Programming patches, saving them and being surprised by them later when trying in the context of another track. Some become recurring, like when you make a unique and effective bass patch.

40% – use my own presets, 60% – presets from developer

Presets are a great starting point to see what the synth is capable of. There are some sound designers who can really create a work of art. And then you try to come up with something that is not a work of art but work in progress but that is fine. It is always learning from the best and trying to get better.

I can do both depending on what the music is doing or needing. I do like to find a preset that I like the general vibe of then launch off into new tangents with it and see where that ends up.

I prefer programming my synths patches from scratch.

Like everyone else, I prefer to use the best of both worlds.

Presets I guess.

Presets…

Hi. I prefer to tweak a preset.

I like to use presets most of the time, but if I’m feeling froggy, I sometimes build one from scratch and save it for later.

I’d say it’s 50/50

I like to start with a present, tweak and add fx.

a little of both for me. I’ll usually see what a synth can do by thumbing through presets, making tweaks along the way. Then I’ll often begin searching for the “init” patch or setting (sometimes for much longer than I’d like!). From there, I like to explore from scratch. When tweaking existing presets – they often sound so good these days, it can be pretty hard to make it sound anything but worse when tweaking existing presets IMO but all depends on the synth!

Presets define the sound I’m looking for, then slight adjustments can sometimes get it to a finished state, when I want to get really creative, I go for a preset that is not really suitable, then try to mould it using an arsenal of tools and effects… Experimenting can often bring totally new flavours to a once simple sound, which never fails to surprise my ears.

I love finely crafted presets that I can tweak to my liking rather than start from scratch. I’m not big into sound design, I’m more of a plug’n’play kinda guy.

I like to find a preset, strip it of FX, tweak it and then later add my own effects. That’s the ideal way to get where I want to go

I prefer using presets because I don’t have any sound design skills.

i tweak that preset til it doesn’t sound like that preset any more.., and then i’ll tweak it some more..

Presets will make me lucky more :)

presets all day

presets mostly

I like using presets as a starting point fit programming my own patches quite often.

I usually go through the presets when demoing a synth and then, if the synth stays in my toolkit, I try and ignore the presets and make my own until I have a good grasp of the instrument.

I like to explore presets and then I tweak them to get the sound I want when inspiration hits.

Presets

From scratch for me, it’s just more satisfying. That being said, I do make the patches often a fair bit before I use them, and I tweak them for every song I make just a little, aside from sound designing the output a bunch as well.

I like to start with a basic waveform then discover where I can take it via various processings and manglings:)

I like creating my own patches, but that’s more random exploration rather than designing a particular sound. When producing, I tend to use tweaked presets.

Start with preset then tweak

I would try the presets first.

I prefer to use presets and then do some tweaking, if needed.

I like to build a synth by myself with a reference sound to achieve the sound that I want.

It entirely depends on each new track; presets as starting points or starting from scratch.

I prefer to create a patch from scratch. I use presets to learn and for new ideas to explore.

Both!

Start with preset then tweak

Presets are a great way to get inspired !

Mostly Presets, but later adjusted to my needs.

I’m a preset tweaker!

I prefer to made my own presets from scratch and I use them if I can.
Of coruse I also like to use original presets or modify them – it all depends on what I am looking for.
Making sounds is for me nice hobby – like making music.

I like to mix and match. If I like the preset then I use as it is otherwise I tweak it till I hear what I like.

I’m relatively new to making electronic music, so I always start with a preset that matches the vibe of whatever song I’m working on. From there, I’ll modify it (usually with a bitcrusher or LFO, my favorite effects).

I like to start with presets and then go crazy experimental :)

presets

I usually start with presets and then tweak them also. I actually find it quite hard to create whole sound in any synth from the scratch

I start from scratch to check, using a few of my favorite settings, how the synthesizer sounds compared to others that I already know.

I overwhelmingly prefer creating patches. Some days I’ll sit with one of my synths or plugins and just design sounds, with no goal other than the pleasure of creating something new. And those experiments often inspire new tracks, which demand more new patches. It’s a beautiful creative feedback loop.

Presets

Quality presets are always welcome

use preset settings as an idea to help understand how a new vsti can be used

I like me some well-crafted presets

Combination of both. I understand synthesis and enjoy programming my own patches, but sometimes I just need something quickly. If I am familiar with the preset library, that can be the fastest way to get a patch I want; but if not, then it may be faster to just program a patch from scratch, depending on the synth. For FM stuff, I tend to use presets.

Man, tough to say as it really depends on my mood and the synth and what I’m trying to achieve. I always feel slightly weird about using presets in a song (zero judgment of others doing this though!). Dawesome is becoming a top 10 dev in the past couple years. Epic style and ear for what sounds great!

Start with preset then learn to build from scratch.

Dawesome & Spektralisk both killing it at the moment!!!!

I prefer to start from a preset and then tweak it a bit, for speed.

Both ways, but most often I tweak a Preset.

I prefer to program my synth patches from scratch, but whenever I have time, I try all the presets and save those which inspired me as favorites, either to use as is, or to dissect how they were done, or as a basis for a new patch.

i prefer to use presets, but i always tweak them (and they end up sounding totally different and not like what I expected, but that’s the fun part of producing :)

I love using presets and then set to taste

Mostly prefer programing my own patches from scratch.

Presets

I prefer using presets

When I had time in my youth? programming them.
Now that I’m a father and need to pay the bill, presets !

I do a combination of both. I make presets from scratch, and use factory presets (mostly tweaking the parameters)

Thanks for the chance!

I start from a preset and then I work from there if I feel the sound needs that.

Use your favorite presets. Program the software you are familiar with from scratch.With love from Japan！

For architecturally complex/unusual plugins my standard MO would be to pick a preset that’s close to what I want and tweak to taste. Or, if there’s a randomise button, I’ll hit it until I get something I like, and tweak. Subtractive analogue-style patches are way more likely to be built from scratch.

– Do you prefer using presets or programming your synth patches from scratch?

– I prefer tweaking the presets. We can learn much by analyzing the included ones.
I think it helps to understand the workings of the more complicated plugins.

It would be awesome to animate the changes (sliders, knobs) – some interfaces can do that, but that can be very process-heavy and can increase latency.

Usually start with presets then dial it in further to my preference for a given track.

Yea, I’m usually a bigger fan of making my patches from scratch.

I prefer presets for a starting point, if I really know the synth, I will make adjustments, or occasionally start from scratch.

Ooh! Pesets save me Time….and I Can sculpt myself from them.

Often I using presets for a starting point but I also built sounds from the scratch or using random generators.

Presets and then some tweaking

Sometimes from scratch, sometimes start from preset

I like to use random parameter generators and then tweak from there.

Do you prefer using presets or programming your synth patches from scratch?

Sometimes I prefer tweaking a preset and at other times I want to create my patches from scratch.

Both of course

Making your sounds from scratch can be fun and unique but I prefer presets. As presets let’s me get vibe of the melody more quickly as I can change through fast.

I always start with a preset as a jumping off point.

When I was much newer to music production, I would exclusively use presets, but now using some knowledge that I have gained from learning synthesis, I like to experiment with synths to get the sound that I want. However, if I am a bit bored, I might use a preset.

I like to program my synth patches from scratch, but sometimes i surf factory presets

I use presets

I usually start with presets that get me in the ballpark of what I need, or presets I have made beforehand :)

Thanks for the chance!

Presets for inspiration

Mainly design my own but will use a preset for some sounds, like a sampled instrument for example.

I’d love to design my own presets, but I’m afraid it would take me too much time.
That’s why I stick to existing presets.

Presets

Presets normally but I do like to experiment from scratch to blend a sound to a track, normally lead synth.

I do both

I create my own patches or modify an existing preset. Occasionally I use a preset but make it my own with effects.

Only from scratch !

Usually presets

I like to use presets when sketching out a track, then tweak / remake them / kill my cpu with a giant fx chain to start building the colour and character. :D

I like using presets, but modifying them if necessary.

I’m on a slow path to get to design my own patches, but as of now, I use presets and tweak them if necessary.

I find whenever I try using presets I spend so much time sorting through ones that aren’t quite what I’m after. Especially when I’m not tying myself to a particular vst so I have potentially thousands I *could* use. In the end I get much more done making my own cool sounds and then working out what I’m going to do with them.

I like to do both and I like to tweak presets to fit the vibes i am going for!

I started out making patches from scratch, and sometime still do when trying a new synth. However when actually in the zone, making a song, I always reach for presets to tweak.

using presets

Presets. I then give them a tweak. :))

I start with a preset and then make adjustments to match what is in my head

I like presets first to get a base for tweaking and inspiration

I usually start with a preset, then tweak or add effects.

I like to start with presets for inspiration

I usually start from an init patch and create a sound, but sometimes I do the opposite, start from a preset and tweak it to my liking

I find look for a preset that sounds good and tweak it until it sounds perfect.

I like starting with presets to get a feel for the instrument, but then tweak or start from scratch to get the sound I’m looking for.

I prefer to patch from scratch but still like to study good presets. !

I like to tweak presets because they have usually been made with an understanding of the synth’s architecture, especially if it’s a complex one.

Both, but usually I start with a preset.

If I start from scratch, I lose track of time,
I try to start from a preset.

I like to do both. It depends if I’m in a hurry or not.

I might use a preset to sketch in a sound—to figure out the general kind of sound I’m aiming for, but I almost always end up rebuilding the sound from scratch.

I prefer using presets and maybe tweaking a little since I’m bad at synth programming..! :)

Honestly I go with presets more often than not, but sometimes I’ll tweak it and almost always I’ll use various FX to customise the sound to being more to what I want. It’s very rare that I’ll just use a preset ‘straight’ as it were, but also I’m still figuring out how to make patches from scratch.

With so many great producers good enought to provide fantastic presets, why re-invent the sound? Just use the presets as a base and develop the sound you need. The only difference to this scenario are synths like Omnisphere that can accept your unique sound input to develop …… still a bit like presets I suppose:)