Patch memory - now indispensable?

[JereFuzz]

In 2017, barring modular synths (Eurorack, mother 32, ms-20), shouldn't patch memory be a must? It's increasingly becoming a deal killer for me. I don't see any advantage to not having it ... thoughts?

[D.o.S.]

Entirely depends on the pedal, but I would say some are marketed on/interesting because of the "never get the same sound twice" spectrum.

[Strange Tales]

Yea but that also annoys people, a la the biggest complaint I've heard about the Geiger Counter. "I've moved this knob a tiny bit and now I've lost every sound and I can't get it back!"

[JereFuzz]

I was thinking more about synths than pedals ...

[Strange Tales]

Synths have had patch memory since the 80s, it's up to the user to use them though. There is no advantage to not having it though, it's just patch memory which is small nowadays.

[D.o.S.]

My favorite hardware synth is the boardweevil. Patch Memory is the death of creativity.

[echorec]

What baffled me about the Odyssey release was the lack of MIDI i/o (I ordered one anyway). Sure I could pay a synth wizard to mod it, but that's ridiculous in 2017 that I can't export and import sounds. That's part of the reason I don't own an MS-20, and I'm reluctant to dive into modular (yes, I know about voltage memory and limited patching, but I'd prefer a dedicated preset option).

And years ago I might've laughed at the idea of choosing iOS over physical hardware, but what entices about the Moog 15 app is dedicated user presets and 4-voices-----being able to play chords on a modular and not have to worry about losing the perfect patch really appeals to me. I'm willing to trade a bit of warmth and mojo (I can always add external fx), if it means not losing months of tinkering. Because when I see people tangled up in a jungle of wires, I'm thinking, "Fuck me, I couldn't handle 3-6 months of mixing and matching, only to lose it all with an impulsive misstep." ---But for people who enjoy that whole journey, good for them.

Yea but that also annoys people, a la the biggest complaint I've heard about the Geiger Counter. "I've moved this knob a tiny bit and now I've lost every sound and I can't get it back!"

I was/am one of those people and it's a big part of why I sold my Geiger. I was running a vintage Yamaha electric piano through it and the timbre/texture was totally different from one note to the next. Then if I moved a single pot a cat's hair up or down, all the magic was gone---it'd go from beautiful decay to just atonal sludge. I'm a fucking master at manual 'presets' ----I use clock face markings in a journal (none of this 25% blend for me----a four-pot archive might look like 10:37, 11:05, 2:50, 4:10. Even with these precise markings, stuff like the Geiger could not be tamed. It was just insanely sensitive, and I couldn't justify owning something where I could never recall a sound. The Sherman Filterbank 2 is quite similar (so many pots, so many different elements interacting with another. It was a nightmare to map sounds or to replicate ideal textures), but it at least has MIDI i/o and with the right programming, you could make it compatible with a dedicated controller.

[D.o.S.]

I guess i think it depends on what you're doing with what you have. For me, I do a ton of post-processing, so the recording/live aspect of using a synth is mostly "I think this will sound good" or "I've got this rolling in a nice way, i'll let it ride for a minute or 20 and then fuck with the parameters for however long to see if I can get something else that I deem usable" because I know that the good bits are recorded and, if I ever had to recreate the raw sound for anything outside of a DAW I have my trusty SP303 or a laptop or something.

[JereFuzz]

My favorite hardware synth is the boardweevil. Patch Memory is the death of creativity.

If u have patch memory you don't have to use it

[JereFuzz]

What baffled me about the Odyssey release was the lack of MIDI i/o (I ordered one anyway). Sure I could pay a synth wizard to mod it, but that's ridiculous in 2017 that I can't export and import sounds. That's part of the reason I don't own an MS-20, and I'm reluctant to dive into modular (yes, I know about voltage memory and limited patching, but I'd prefer a dedicated preset option).

And years ago I might've laughed at the idea of choosing iOS over physical hardware, but what entices about the Moog 15 app is dedicated user presets and 4-voices-----being able to play chords on a modular and not have to worry about losing the perfect patch really appeals to me. I'm willing to trade a bit of warmth and mojo (I can always add external fx), if it means not losing months of tinkering. Because when I see people tangled up in a jungle of wires, I'm thinking, "Fuck me, I couldn't handle 3-6 months of mixing and matching, only to lose it all with an impulsive misstep." ---But for people who enjoy that whole journey, good for them.

Yea but that also annoys people, a la the biggest complaint I've heard about the Geiger Counter. "I've moved this knob a tiny bit and now I've lost every sound and I can't get it back!"

I was/am one of those people and it's a big part of why I sold my Geiger. I was running a vintage Yamaha electric piano through it and the timbre/texture was totally different from one note to the next. Then if I moved a single pot a cat's hair up or down, all the magic was gone---it'd go from beautiful decay to just atonal sludge. I'm a fucking master at manual 'presets' ----I use clock face markings in a journal (none of this 25% blend for me----a four-pot archive might look like 10:37, 11:05, 2:50, 4:10. Even with these precise markings, stuff like the Geiger could not be tamed. It was just insanely sensitive, and I couldn't justify owning something where I could never recall a sound. The Sherman Filterbank 2 is quite similar (so many pots, so many different elements interacting with another. It was a nightmare to map sounds or to replicate ideal textures), but it at least has MIDI i/o and with the right programming, you could make it compatible with a dedicated controller.

I believe the mother 32 has patch memory

[actual]

My favorite hardware synth is the boardweevil. Patch Memory is the death of creativity.

Learning too.

[friendship]

If I needed a series of specific, instantly recallable sounds for a live show or something I would need presets. But I have a lot more fun without them for some reason.

[Strange Tales]

Probably because it feels more engaging and fun when you happen upon a sound versus "SYNTH, LOAD PATCH 5 AND DRONE PLEASE."

Too lazy to quote D.o.S.'s post, but patch = creativity death yada yada yada.

[echorec]

I believe the mother 32 has patch memory

It definitely has sequence memory, so I imagine you could tweak the various parameters, while recalling and editing your sequences. Honestly I'm not that knowledgeable about the M32. If you wanted to recall the settings, where a particular sequence was used, I imagine you could halt the sequence (based on this lower description) and trigger it externally, while manually adjusting the knobs.

[Save up to 64 sequences and perform
You can create and save up to 64 custom sequences on the Mother-32. While the sequencer is running you can temporarily mute playback, add accents, ratchet the sequence, and transpose the sequence for creative live performance potential.]

[JereFuzz]

My favorite hardware synth is the boardweevil. Patch Memory is the death of creativity.

Learning too.

I read "synth gods" and a theme by seasoned synth users is that using presets is sacrilege, but there are some really nice presets