[sdiy] presets on a modular

[Glen]

At 06:08 AM 11/12/04 , Paul Maddox wrote:

>organs have 'ranges' that you can add/remove, again, no presets.
>You can't have a 'Big juicy organ' button that turns on all the stops, you
>do it manually, one (or two) at a time.

As someone experienced with church organ repair, I have to disagree. Even
organs with no microprocessors can have presets. This applies to both pipe
and electronic organs.

It can also be honestly argued that the crescendo pedal of an organ is a
form of preset control. The farther you press the crescendo pedal, the more
voices the organ turns on for you.

By the way, the "Big juicy organ" button actually exists, and it is usually
labeled "Tutti" on a lot of organs.  :)


As for the piano, I suppose you could argue that the pedals on a piano are
its only form of "presets." You have to admit, you *do* get a different,
and repeatable, sound when using the pedals. There are also some pianos
which have a "rinky-tink" mechanism installed, which alters the tone of the
piano fairly drastically when the proper pedal is depressed.

Some banjos, guitars, and probably some electric basses have "presets" in
the form of alternate tuning mechanisms. With the flip of a lever, or the
turn of a cam, you can predictably alter the tuning on one or more strings.
Most people would probably consider this a transposer feature rather than
presets, but it's about as close as you can get with these instruments. You
have to admit, it does alter the sound of the instrument in a predictable
manner, and is instantly changeable.

Instruments such as the violin, cello, and bass have at least two
"presets." You switch between two presets by deciding whether to bow or
pluck the instrument.  :)


take care,
Glen