Presets, The Signal Chain, Clark Kent, and Batman.

Let me illustrate an important point about sound creation like this.

One of the neat things about most DAW's is that they use signal chains. It's not a new concept- rock guitar uses the same idea, which is how guys like hendrix, clapton, frampton etc got some really cool tones, right? The basic concept is that when you have effects wired up on a sound, they do not all act on the same noise.

Thus instead of the effects working like this: Sound->ABCDE->Out (in this case, the final sound (out) would be the sum of the 1'st sound modified by A, plus the 1'st sound modified by B, plus the 1'st sound modified by C, plus the 1'st sound modified by D, plus the 1'st sound modified by E. All effects on the same channel would be applied instantaneously and simultaneously)

it actually works like this Sound->A->B->C->D->E->Out (This is the real case. Sound is modified by A, then the resulting sound is modified by B, then the resulting sound is modified by C and so on.)

What this means is that an effect's position in the signal chain is extremely important. Through careful EQing, you can really bring out elements of the previously crafted sound, and EQ's can be used at multiple points in the signal chain. Thus you make certain things stand out- the frequencies your distortion is operating on, for example. Or emphasize the frequencies that would work a sub unit, then pass them on to other effects, and eq again so that you don't have too many frequency overlaps and that dreaded cluttered sound.

To break it down a bit further, anything you are doing to a sound after it has been produced by a synthesizer is an individual level of control. But the further back you go in the chain you have a sound closer and closer to it's original true self. Basically, you should think of this as the transformation from Clark Kent into Superman.

I say this for a number of reasons. The first is that you really can change a sound that drastically. The second is that with careful use of the FX chain in a knowledgeable way, you really can create sounds that powerful. The third is this, and know that this is most important.

The transformation from Clark Kent to Superman only takes him so far. Clark Kent is a farm and boyscout type, all about truth and justice. Superman is basically just an overly powered-up version of this. Yes, he's got super strength, x ray vision, can fly, and do all of that stuff. But in the end, his methods are still about justice, equality, and all that boyscout stuff. He doesn't hurt people if there is any way he can avoid it, he yells out at people to stop what they are doing to him, etc?

But Superman is not the only superhero! Imagine that you had a series of knobs, sliders, and the like that could change anything about Clark Kent. You could take away the things that make him into Superman. Like his birth location, for instance, or the way he was brought up. Whether or not his parents died while he was young. Whether or not his parents had a butler named Alfred? Whether or not they were absurdly rich? Even whether or not he was afraid of bats. Why am I having you imagine this? It's because you're stuck with Clark Kents as your starting point if you use presets. But if you had one further level of control, you'd be able to change Clark Kent into Bruce Wayne, and thus Superman into Batman, right? This last level of control for electronic musicians is the sound's synthesis, the very method in which it is created. You have the same amount of control over your creations as the creators of superman and batman had over theirs. If you don't use presets, you can control everything. Comic speak, this means that you don't just control whether a mugger will kill Bruce Wayne's Parents at a show, you can control whether or not his parents even like opera.