[sdiy] Pot panel scales

[Harry Bissell]

Good. this will draw the lurkers out in the open ... :^)

I don't have any use for scale numbers. The endpoint locations and
center location (if needed) are plenty for me. ymmv.

The more 'busy' scales ~do~ add a certain "sci-fi" vibe to the whole
instrument.

Like when I'd use my quantized theremin in live performace... its no better
than a keyboard, probably worse since an interval leap is impossible. However
the crowd loves it (the "oohs and ahhhs" factor)

H^) harry


----- Original Message -----
From: Neil Johnson <neil.johnson97 at ntlworld.com>
To: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
Sent: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:10:02 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [sdiy] Pot panel scales

Hi all,

Yes, quiet indeed.  Ok, so here's a point to discuss:

On a modular synth, many pots have an arbitrary 0 to 10 or -10 to +10
scale.  I'm not counting specific scales, such as on a pitch pot that
might indicate semitones, for example.

The question being: how important are the numbers?  How often do
really need to know, for example, that CV1 is set to 5.4?  Is it
really that useful for recording patch data, or do you take a photo or
simply use your memory and ears to recreate a patch?

Looking at the plethora of modules on the market, practically every
pot has a numbered scale.  But how many people actually use the
numbers on the these pot scales?  Is it simply tradition that dictates
that pots MUST have numbered scales?  Do you cling to the numbers for
comfort or security?  Or is it all simply a waste of ink?

Me: I don't care much for arbitrary scales.  I think by now I can work
out how a knob's position relates to its scale position.  I just need
to know where the physical endpoints are, and whether its unipolar (0
to 10) or bipolar (-ve to 0 to +ve).  But I'd be interested to hear
from the wider community :)

Cheers,
Neil
-- 
http://www.njohnson.co.uk
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-- 
Harry Bissell & Nora Abdullah 4eva