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Patch Memory or No Patch Memory


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I prefer patch memory. I also like DX7, D-50, M1, and SY77 patches from the default. I prefer patch memory since I"m not used to only having one sound. I also like polyphony. Monophonic synths feel like they"re missing something.
Yamaha MX49, Casio SK1/WK-7600, Korg Minilogue, Alesis SR-16, Casio CT-X3000, FL Studio, many VSTs, percussion, woodwinds, strings, and sound effects.
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My first rig was a Wurly 200a and a Model-D back in 1981 so my teeth were cut on no-patch memory.

 

Not until 2 years later when I got a Memorymoog did I realize what a pain in the butt no-patch-memory was.

 

I still spend a ton of time building patches on the Kronos and virtual instruments, but that's all before the performance.

 

I try not to touch anything but keys and PB/Mod during performance.

 

~ vonnor

Gear:

Hardware: Nord Stage3, Korg Kronos 2, Novation Summit

Software: Cantabile 3, Halion Sonic 3 and assorted VST plug-ins.

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Just reminded me that I had a CS-60 at one point as well...Loved the ribbon controller.

Yes, it's a shame that Yamaha has abandoned that. I wonder if maybe as a strictly analog design, it was not really so adaptable to a digital/MIDI environment.

 

As for patch memory, in general, it's a godsend for a cover band, and of course is one of the reasons we can easily do gigs with fewer boards than we could have in the 70s for anywhere near comparable sound variety. But I do miss front panel synth controls that are always in sync with the sound you're playing. Rather than derail this thread, I'll start another thread on that one.

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Can't imagine people opting out of patch memory if it's available. That is until the Voyager Old School came along. I get that people were motivated by the desire for immediacy with no menu diving for some of the more advanced features/parameters. But choosing not to have patch memory, midi etc.... :idk.

 

Then again I'll often store my patches but after a few days I rarely return to them. Mostly because I can't remember where I stored them :facepalm:.

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Can't imagine people opting out of patch memory if it's available. That is until the Voyager Old School came along. I get that people were motivated by the desire for immediacy with no menu diving for some of the more advanced features/parameters. But choosing not to have patch memory, midi etc.... :idk.

 

Then again I'll often store my patches but after a few days I rarely return to them. Mostly because I can't remember where I stored them :facepalm:.

 

For those synths with no memories, we have digital cameras today for patch storage. Didn't have those in the 1970s.

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Hey, remember before they had electricity and if you wanted to play loud you just beat the sh** out of the keys really hard? no patch living ... can"t even imagine. I never had a board without patch memory, though my first one only had about 14 memory slots and about every 3 months the board would have an internal spasm glitch and wipe all the programs out. Its ironic to read this thread on an internet based computer forum (iPad for me) - imagine if we had to type in code, compile it, and execute every time we wanted to communicate a random thought here. Or write in assembly language. Or just write 0s and 1s. We wouldn"t bother - we"d just go outside and meet up at the arcade or liquor store.

 

Life is too short for me and i"ve too many other things to do - i"ve learned bits and pieces of synthesizing (not nearly enough) during the act of programming patches - but i am not the explorer many here are. I learn for as long as it takes me to get what i want, then i press save and stop. When i cant find a sufficient patch for the next thing I want, i find the closest I can and tweak till i"m there. Again - save and stop.

 

But you guys knob on ... have fun. No objections here.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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Proper research and development could make it cheaper to have analog patch memory of good specs, but as it is I dare you to find a simple VCA that matches the high fidelity of a good mixer input strip. That's serious, there are undoubtedly new synths with reasonably transparent sounding voltage controlled amplifiers in them, but I think even the most highly respected new analogs will have compromised on the quality of their VCAs in order to get the sound they want from affordable parts.

 

To add patch memory, you need VCAs to be added in the synt, and quite a few of them, usually, so there's a problem...

 

Theo V.

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