# Do some synths lend themselves more to tweaking than others?



## spacedout (Dec 17, 2007)

I've recently purchased a Waldorf Blofeld keyboard (yesss!), and one thing that's immediately struck me about it is how much more I'm inclined to experiment with it, coming up with crazy (and often unusable!) sounds, as compared to some other hardware synths, where I'm more likely to find a preset and then modify it as necessary. Now, both of these approaches are valid in my book (it's all about getting the sound you want/need in the end, not about how you get there AFAIC), but I'm wondering what it is about each synth that makes me more liable to do one than the other...

There's a couple of possibilities that I can think of. The first (and this is definitely a factor) is the interface presented by the synth. The Blofeld has almost no controls on the panel, just a few knobs that control whatever parameters you select from a matrix. Even preset selection is only done through three knobs - one main one that cycles through patches, and the other two that can narrow down the selection by bank or category respectively. This means that scrolling through presets is relatively slow, while editing (even very deep editing) can be carried out relatively quickly. My Yamaha S90 ES for example, on the other hand, has a total of over 30 buttons devoted to preset selection, while editing is carried out using buttons to select screens/parameters, with a single rotary control (or +/- buttons) to change values (along with 4 sliders for quick editing). This obviously has the opposite effect - preset selection is fast, while editing is slower.

However, I'm wondering if the synthesis method itself also has an effect. The S90 ES is primarily a sample-based synth, and I tend to use it with a few to getting a reasonably realistic imitation of an instrument - piano, bass, etc etc. Now, the presets that come loaded have obviously been set up to use the samples to achieve that effect exactly, so it could be I'm subconciously thinking in that way each time I begin editing - get near enough with a preset, and then hit the target with any edits. The Blofeld, OTOH, is more wave- and wavetable-based (there is 60MB of sample memory as well, but it's not the raison d'etre of the synth), which means you're more or less always starting from a blank canvas, even if you do choose a preset, so it's more a case of just seeing what turns up. This, I guess, encourages a wilder approach to begin with :scratch:

What do you think? Is there something - anything - about some synths that makes them more prone to be messed with than others?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

A few years ago at our church we bought a Korg Triton when it was touted to be one of the best available. It had so many adjustments not to mention some really cool demo tracks that we spent days playing around with it for hours at a time. I really think its more up to the user as to how much you tweak or even build your own sounds and what it is used for Live or studio.
As it is with most home/studio audio equipment some like the minimalist look with little to no adjustments on the face of the unit and others want all the buttons and knobs within easy access.


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## spacedout (Dec 17, 2007)

Sure it's up to the user, and different people will use the same gear in different ways - some will only ever use preset sounds, others would feel they could never hold their heads up if they ever used a sound they hadn't programmed themselves  My point is that I'm not naturally inclined one way more than the other - I have no inbuilt compulsion to trash all the presets as soon as I buy a synth, and if I'm happy with a preset I'll use it as is. Conversely, I also won't shy away from editing a patch or programming one from scratch. Even so, I'll tend towards one approach on one synth more than another, based on my experience thus far, and I'm left wondering exactly why...

BTW, the panel of the Blofeld is pretty sparse - check it out here.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

spacedout said:


> BTW, the panel of the Blofeld is pretty sparse - check it out here.


Very clean look and by the description a great keyboard.


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## spacedout (Dec 17, 2007)

Right on both counts - I've only had it a couple of weeks, but I'm loving it


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## glen1980 (Jun 23, 2010)

The Nord Lead, but particulary the Nord Stage lend themselves very well for extended tweaking


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## spacedout (Dec 17, 2007)

Nord gear does indeed look interesting - sadly never (yet) had the opportunity to try them...


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