[sdiy] Pot panel scales

[Tim Ressel]

Hey,

My $0.02 worth:

Scales, as in numbers, are probably not needed. But there is info you have to 
convey to the user, hopefully in an intuitive fashion. Some kind of graphic 
showing the sweep range is helpful as a visual aid. Glancing at a control and 
seeing its about 30% of full range is handy. Showing some kind of numeric range 
info might be nice, as in 0 and max. I have controls that are zero-center; you 
have to show that on the scale. We all know in our bones that CCW=minimum and 
CW=maximum, but showing it somehow may help someone.


--TimR



----- Original Message ----
From: Neil Johnson <neil.johnson97 at ntlworld.com>
To: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
Sent: Thu, September 23, 2010 8:10:02 AM
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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