[sdiy] Pot panel scales

[Dave Kendall]

IMO, arbitrary numbers are not that useful, compared to tick marks that 
follow the hour divisions of a clock. "Set this knob at, say, half past 
nine... etc..." Everyone can visualise that, and as long as the knob 
has some sort of position marking, can have some success in 
reproducing/memorising the settings on a device that has few or no 
scale markings around the pot.

There are some functions that benefit from specific markings (VCO 
octaves/semitones, and EQ freq or gain on a mastering EQ etc..) but for 
those many jobs that don't, I reckon the clock face is a good solution 
for a simple universal position indicator.

cheers,
Dave


On Sep 23, 2010, at 16:10, Neil Johnson wrote:

> 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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