Hi to all you on Music Discussion :) Anyone up to some questions?

[MusicForFun]

Hi. My name is Martin and Im from Norway. I have been playing with Studio One and FL studio for a while, mostly trying to make EDM music. But recently I started to take music production more seriously. I have a couple of questions, if anyone could answear them it would really help me to understand a lot more

1) If I find a "user" preset on a synthesizer I like, and tweek the sound so much that almost nobody or actually nobody can guess the orginal preset I worked out from, does that still count as a preset or does it make it my own sound? ( I know it would still be a preset, but is it my "own" preset/sound or whatever?)

2) same as above but with "factory" made presets. And does alot of tweeking go under the category as sound design or mixing or none of them? And what if I use different preset sounds from different synthesizers and tweek them to sound unique together? Is this still just layered presets?

3) I see people really get mad about other people using presets, is it okay to use it or not? And if it is okay, does it mean the producer lack quality?

4) Im so confused about all this "preset" talk, are piano players bad because they use piano preset then? oO

Please help me understand how this works

[Bob]

Welcome:welcome: !
Hopefully somebody can help, with your questions.

[MusicForFun]

Thanks Bob

yeah I really hope someone will help me, so confused.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

welcome to MD MFF....

sorry i cant help you, but im sure our esteemed friend Jerome will shortly.

[MusicForFun]

thank you CH from MD haha

anyway, I have been googling this for a while and really want to understand how it works, but I just can't find any answer at all :/
Even I do some sound design myself, mostly hard kicks/bass or tweaking my own voice pretty much like Savant do it, but Im not that far into dubstep sounds like savant. I enjoy making acid/saw lead sounds for any of my needs to


Well, I think I might have asked questions not many people can answer properly, but does anyone know if there exist any sound designers on this forum anyway? Or anyone who do know alot about this stuff?

[Jerome]

Just got in from the office. Too tired to type a whole long response to this at the moment but my basic answer to all of your questions is simply this - it does not matter whether it is your sound design, a factory preset or a mixture of any of these. A sound cannot be copyrighted only a series of notes (as in a melody) so don't worry about it. Focus on what you are trying to achieve musically. If the sound fits the composition - use it, whether it is a preset on a soft synth, a live hardware synth or made on milk bottles. All those people who are getting upset about it are wasting their time arguing about crap instead of doing what they should be doing - which is making music. Do what you think is right. I use presets all the time. Remember, a sound designer took the time to design them in the first place, and if I like them, I'll use them. Don't let musical snobs get the better of you. I'm willing to bet half the ones complaining about this have not produced a decent piece of music in their lives. Forget them.

As for piano players - a quote from Harry Truman - 'My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference.'

[MusicForFun]

Thank you so much Jerome ! I do agree with everything you said. This will really help me focus more on the music production, just like you said.

I would really like to hear your whole long response, if you feel to share it and are in the mood for it some day