how do you rate Live's preset content?

[Tone Deft]

given the Xmas freebie thread thought I'd put this out there. TBH I stopped looking at the preset clips years ago, none of it matches my style. I could maybe mangle them to please my ears but I just don't need to.

edit - I mean to refer to the clips and not instrument presets. IMO instrument presets are a given starting point to tweak from. IMO you have to be pretty good at synthesis to never use an instrument preset.

[chapelier fou]

I don't see the point of using presets. i mean, making music is everything but using presets. Never tried any.

[Pasha]

^^^
I'm just the opposite. I'm a preset addicted.
When Live 8 Library was released I was very happy, it was just something I was asking for
ages since L5. However having a big library for inspiration means you have more opportunities to tweak some and arrive to your particular sound. All depends on what genre you're after. That's way the bigger the library the more chances you have to find something that it's ok for you.
For me having presets means a lot and finally Live got into generic 'bread and butter' presets that the Joe user (aka myself) can use. That was for me the number 1 reason to upgrade followed by Multiband Compressor and few others.

- Best
- Pasha

[Tarekith]

I never use the clip presets, though I do tend to use the instrument ones as starting points as you say. No reason to start totally from scratch each time if already know the type of sound I'm going for.

[wehkah]

Instruments presets are even good to start up, i had never used the preset clips. 3 points

cheers
T

[Rationalizer]

I don't have Suite so the only thing i've got is presets from the Ableton synths. I'm not too impressed with them tbh. I mean they sound ok and everything but I just haven't found them very useful on my tracks. So I voted 2.

Edit. Oops, didn't notice that the question was about clip presets. Haven't really used them so can't comment on those.

[agent314]

What ARE these clip presets you're talking about? Are they part of the EIC?

I've got Suite 8 download and to my knowledge I have never seen or used said clips

[Tone Deft]

open the Library, it's the first entry in the list called 'Clips.' you might want to hit up Options-Repair Library to get all the content or to update the content.

[Hoffoman]

I don't use the preset clips either. I don't much like Live's presets in general. I do however like session drums and the drum machines. Also the time designer delay presets are nice. I do really like the suite instruments and Live's effects. I find Live's effect racks are usually overly complex and find it easier to through my own together than to dissect the presets.

[UncleAge]

I use instrument presets some, fx presets very little and clip presets never. It would not matter to me if they were good or not as I can't imagine a situation where I would use them.

[nathannn]

i have not touched lives clip presets since maybe late 2007.
i guess i just forgot they existed.

[ze2be]

I don't see the point of using presets. i mean, making music is everything but using presets. Never tried any.

Your a violinist, right?
Well, Id agree if certain expressive synths had only 1 very expressive preset, like an acoustic instrument. However, that's not the case. Most synths have tons of presets, and typically about none of them emphasize on expressive detailes in such ways it could rival the likes of an acoustic guitar or a tabla drum. So if you mean that lots of presets in general seems or feels like "auto play" style, step sequenced, intended for of-line sound design, wheres your violin in contrast is only real time-real performance and nothing else, I agree.

However some rare presets, for a few very good synths, seems to pop up once in a while. I got one or two like those amongst thousands of Virus Ti presets. Check out Madrona Labs btw.
I have played with the idea of using months to create just one preset, and sell it for good money. Joke aside, I want to do this at some point for my self. But I need a very expressively deep synth. Going to have a look at Madrona Labs Alto when the windows version is released.

Years ago I started drawing on a synth like this. Im not a programmer, I only know basic modular synthesis. Though it could probably be created with MAX. Name of the project was: Sensitive. The interface was supposed to be very minimal. However under the hood its architecture was inspired by game-style artificial intelligence, fractals and chaos. Technically speaking, its basically about a lot of advanced lfos.

I completely forgot about those drawings! Thanks for reminding me. Should be around somewhere.. hmmm.

Im pretty shore it can be done in MAX the way I want it. This article amongst others seems to prove it: http://cycling74.com/2009/06/19/lfo-tut ... omplexity/

The first problem is one that was at the heart of my original set of tutorials – how can you use simple non-random processes in Max to add subtle control in ways that seem more “human” than dipping into the deep wells of noise or randomness?

edit: in response to Tones edit, it appears now that im O.T.

[Poster]

never used them.. I'm not a 'I don't use presets' purist but to me Live clips are a step to far..

[agent314]

Oh, THOSE things.

Yeah - I didn't even realize those were included with the intention of using them in your own work - I thought they were basically there as extended demo files.

[Anubis]

There was a good Theremin patch, but I forgot where it was. I used it in this track.