SuperCollider

Presets & Programs

How to store presets and use them in programs to structure projects.

The Preset Manager

Presets are a way for instruments, effects or MIDI modules to store their current state, settings & sequencer contents. Inside every instrument you will find the Preset Manager below. This is where you can save, recall and manage these presets. They can then be organised in the Programs Tab to form the various parts of a composition.

  1. Menu
    • you can recall the presets from this menu.
    • you can randomise the presets.
    • you can also clear all presets.
    • in effects you can access the MIDI In settings here.

  2. Name - you can edit the name of your preset here. Up arrow and down arrow will scroll you through the presets.
  3. [+] button - adds the current synth settings including the sequencer as a preset.
  4. [-] button - deletes the currently selected preset.
  5. [W] button - write over the selected preset with the current settings.

All instruments & effects respond to MIDI program messages which causes them to switch preset.

The Program Tab

Programs are a way of organising your presets to form the various parts of a composition. A program is a collection of presets for every instrument, effect and MIDI module open. You can find the Program Tab at the bottom right hand side of the instrument view as below...

The Program Tab contains all instruments, effects and MIDI modules in the centre and the Program controls on the left hand side. Below we can see 16 programs going down the page as columns and all the instruments going across in rows. Each cell tells the instrument what to do in that program. You can do any of the following... turn On, Mute, do nothing or select a Preset.

  1. Program - the current program. You can select which program you are listening to, which in turns highlights the corresponding row (Above, program 5 is selected). If the song is playing, the program number flashes until it reaches the beginning of the next bar. If the song has stopped playing then it immediately switches between programs. This item can be controlled using a Novation Launch Pad (See the preferences for selecting this equipment) or by simply clicking on the program number.
  2. Reset bar - When this is selected the program will force all sequencers to reset to the beginning beat. This is used to keep programs synchronised during changes in time signature and bar length.
  3. Cell Menu - Each cell contains a similar menu to the one below and contains the following items.

    • Mute - will turn the instrument or effect off. It will not change the instrument preset or any other settings.
    • On - will turn the instrument or effect on. It will not change the instrument preset or any other settings.
    • [-] - will do nothing. No preset is changed and the instrument will remain either on or off.
    • A list of all Presets found in that instrument. When a preset is selected the program switches to this new preset and if the instrument is off it will also turn it on.
  4. Steps - The bar length in steps, which quantises when program changes happen. The program number flashes until it reaches the beginning of the next bar.
  5. Edit Menu - is a menu for common editing tasks. In it are...
    • Copy - will copy the selected program.
    • Paste - will paste over the top of the currently selected program.
    • Insert - will insert a blank preset and move the others down 1 row.
    • Clear - will clear the contents of the selected program.
    • Remove - will remove the selected program and move the others up 1 row.
  6. Instrument name & number - you can edit names here or drag the instrument around the mixer to change their order.
  7. Off/On/Solo - turns the instruments on/off or solos it.
  8. [-] [+] buttons - will remove or add more preset slots to the standard 16 programs you start a project with. This can be increased to a maximum 128 programs.

Using Automation to control Programs

Once you have the different parts of your song set up as programs you can then sequence these programs using Automation. Changing the program works just like any other parameter that can be recorded and automated. See the Automation help file.