Is using presets cheating?

2 words: What The

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_sound

One of the most infamous presets I know - at least from my old raving days. “What The” was a preset used almost everywhere for the Hoover sound.

If no-one used the preset, would we have Mentasm or other similar classics?

I always make my own sounds based on presets, on all my synths. I don’t consider this cheating. I get inspiration from something I like then I make it my own. The sound I get is usually pretty different from what it originally was but still, it’s the original preset that takes me there. I guess I’m more of a recycler than a cheater. :slight_smile:

EVERY SOUNDS IN THE WORLD (universe) ARE “PRESETS” !

No

And let us all remember that unless you go out of your way to make a special “zero’d out” preset folder for all the synth engines, we all start with a preset on the OP-1 :slight_smile:


Aside from DNA and D-Synth, of course. Or, if you load a preset then dial it all to zero immediately.

Sigh, my point sort of ran out of steam as I kept tearing it apart lol…

Or if you push shift+1 on the synth page.

PQh7bxu

Reminds me of this http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2013/11/09/vangelis-uses-presets-or-the-sounds-of-the-yamaha-cs-80/

PQh7bxu

We calls it the Hipster Authenticity Death Spiral


or HADS

Boom

HADS. I like that.

Omfg killin’ it with the HADS.

One thing that reminds me to not give a damn about the source, but only the music, is the way Martin Garrix started Animals with a loop he found on the internet.
And remember, part of caring about ‘only the music’ is registering whether its mostly your work, or someone else’s. If you’ve put in effort and made a track out of someone else’s four bars, that’s what shines.

You are only cheating yourself if you don’t use MOON WEED on every single track.

You are only cheating yourself if you don't use MOON WEED on every single track.


+1

Something very basic like playing a 4 note chord will transform that preset to a certain degree. Stick an effect over the top and bam - its yours

Don´t think that´s cheating. First of all, think that a piano is a kind of keyboard with only a preset :slight_smile: And I don´t feel confortable to call Philip Glass, Mozart or fucking Beethoven a cheater :stuck_out_tongue:


I do believe that powerful and creative music can be made with presets (someone reminded the classic Sleng Teng riddim, made with a Casio preset MT-40; which, by the way, was made by a Casio young employee who liked reggae a lot, making a kind of crazy zeitgeist full circle thing), and the OP-1 offers instant ways to fully change and destroy original presets sounds.

Indeed, I always use preset patches, and never created a kit by myself into the OP-1 (although I use some patches made by other forum users).

However, I understand a personal discomfort with, for a lack o a f better word, solutions that feels generic, souless or even easy. For example, I never use loops made by others - it´s not that I rationally think it´s wrong, but I don´t feel comfortable. I always need to sample my own stuff or simply program/sequence/play things.

Is sampling Kraftwerk cheating ?

Not anymore !!!
:smiley:

Is sampling Kraftwerk cheating ?
Not anymore !!!
:D
Edit: Comment removed as it unwittingly had a certain innuendo

HADS… perfect.

Today, Graham Cochrane from
therecordingrevolution.com sent one of his very regular newsletter. This
one was called “Is using drum samples in a mix cheating?” I don’t know
if he felt inspired by this thread but here is an interesting extract :

One of my students asked it point blank - “Do you use drum samples in a mix and do you think that’s cheating?”

It’s a two part question, so here is my two part answer:


1. Yes, I occasionally use drum samples in a mix. When it’s appropriate.

Notice I don’t ALWAYS use drum samples in a mix. Rarely is there a thing
that I ALWAYS do when mixing (other than grab an EQ or compressor at
some point).

It’s important to not get locked into doing anything just because it’s
what you do. Every song is different and it’s your job to discern what a
given mix needs.

Sometimes the drums were recorded well enough that I have both the tone
and control I need (more on that in a second) so samples are rendered
pointless.

In those wonderful scenarios I can happily move on without them.


Other times, I feel it’s appropriate to bring in a sample or two, for two main reasons: needed sounds and consistency.

Sometimes the kick drum might have the low end I need but not the beater
attack. I’ll then look for a sample that has lots of snap and “click”
to blend alongside the recorded kick (this is key) to get the perfect
sound.

That’s a good example of needing a different sound than was given to you
(or possible) in the recording phase. But other times I grab a sample
to enhance consistnency.

For example - if the drummer was kind of hit or miss (pun intended) on
the snare drum - sometimes hitting the center, sometimes near the rim,
sometimes hard, sometimes light - a sample can bring balance to an
otherwise erratic performance.

I’ll grab a snare that fits with the original (and the overheads) and
blend it alongside the recorded snare. This sample will likely be the
perfect hit every single time, thus giving the drum performance a more
polished and professional sound.

Notice how in both examples I mentioned “blending in” the sample alongside the original. This is the key.



You rarely (if ever) want to completely sample replace the drums. It simply doesn’t sound natural.

Instead you want to sample enhance - by brining in a sample to augment
what is already there. This way you keep both the tone and the
performance of the original while adding the polish and consistency of
the sample. It’s truly the best of both worlds.



Now on to the all important second part to the question - is using samples cheating?!



2. Yes. (But it’s all cheating)

If using drum samples is cheating, then using MIDI and virtual instruments is cheating.

If using drum samples is cheating, then editing in your DAW is cheating.

Heck - if using drum samples is cheating, then using an EQ, compressor, or tape saturation plugin is cheating.



All of it is manipulating both the sound and performance of what was originally captured. None of it is real.

But then again - that’s the point. It is NEVER simply capturing what
really happened that day in the studio and releasing it directly to the
world. Rather it’s the complete opposite - we are audio engineers,
people who “engineer” a more amazing thing out of the original
recordings.



So you see - in reality none of it is cheating.

It’s just part of what we do. So to say that using drum samples is
cheating, just doesn’t make sense. It’s no more cheating than any of the
crazy things we do to make our mixes sound awesome.

In fact, if using a drum sample is the one thing between an OK mix and a great mix - why WOULD’NT you use them?[/quote]

Thx @artsun, it’s a nice article :slight_smile: