Today I noticed something funny when reading the Sounding Off column of Sound On Sound magazine.

One of its most famous sounds was the flutely noise in the middle eight of ‘Sledgehammer’, also by Mr Gabriel

We all remember that track and that sound, right?

Well it’s one of the most obvious presets I can imagine. But there’s nothing wrong with it, because when a preset fits the song, why should you try to program your own?

Programming great sounds takes a lot of time. When I am working on my own music, most of the time I don’t have the patience to create sounds from scratch. So most of the time I just pick a preset which fits the song/arrangement and use it like it is or change it a little.

I am also a guitarplayer. I know a few who build their own instruments, but most don’t. It’s not about the sound or the tools, it’s what you’re doing with it. Sure, if the preset is an undynamic preset you will have a hard time to put your soul into it, but other than that, a preset is just fine.