Mr Nice Legz Writes: Whenever buying a new synth, I do a lot of research on the web. In fact - if my wife is to be believed - I spend more time looking at and reading about synths on the web (on Sonicstate.com, of course) than I do actually playing the ones I've already got.

While my wife is known to exaggerate a bit, there is some truth in her observations ...that being  - I do spend a lot of time looking at and reading about synths on the web.

To her, it's just about the sound it makes ..."Do you like that sound? ...yes? ...buy it then!" - it really is as simple as that.  But, as all sufferers of GAS know, there are many, many things that need to be taken into consideration before you can take on the responsibility of becoming the legal guardian of a new synth.

As you read through the info, you tick things off on your mental 'tick list' (and in some cases, a real one). "Is it worth the asking price?" (not a problem if you're rich). "Is it too big?" (not a problem if you've got a converted barn). "Will it take a long time to master?" (not a problem if you're a gifted musician/technician/producer ...or you don't need to work for a living because you have rich parents with a converted barn).

Low down on that tick-list, will probably be a box marked "How many programmable user memory patch locations does it have?". As a piece of information in a web site review, it's normally mentioned at the end - if at all - and especially if it's preceded by the words 'A big unfortunate oversight  is the lack of...'.

I'm guessing that for most synth lovers, this oversight is acceptable  if most of the other high up boxes have been ticked, while for some, it will be far more influential ...as is the case for me.  Whilst not my top box, it's up there with the big boys, and as I read through all the facts and opinions, finding any sentence that refers to the lack of patch memory fills me with an emotion ...that of JOY!

This was something I didn't know until I bought my first, real, vintage analogue synth with no patch memory and more importantly, no presets.  Being of an age that saw the premature death of analogue at the hands of the digital synth, I had always been privy to the instant gratification of the off-the-shelf preset, and I was happy to use them, along with everybody else.

However, from the moment I first turned on my Moog Prodigy, I experienced the unbridled excitement of playing a sound that nobody else had ever heard before.  OK ...that last sentence was a little over-dramatic, as a mono synth with only two oscillators it can only do so much, and so most sounds I created sounded similar to many other synth sounds I had heard, and dare I say it - some classic presets.

This is because some presets - classic or otherwise - just sound so good ...and if we all think they sound good, we all want to use them. But I now know presets are bad for you. Presets make you lazy. Presets give guitarist a good excuse to sneer at your flabby belly ...no, wait - that's biscuits! I always get those two confused, because I have the same problem with presets as I do with biscuits ...if they are on offer, I can't say no.

I soon realised that not using presets was good for me, and so now - just like biscuits - I won't have them in the house. I know that this may seem a little extreme for some, and that sometimes a good preset can work wonders in your music, as well as save time. But again, I found the opposite was true for me when it came to the amount of time I spent finding the right sound.

Hours can easily be spent going through bank after bank of sounds when looking for the right one for your needs, and you always say to yourself "I'll edit it a bit to make it more original", but 9 times out of 10 - you never do (this number is the opposite for me ...which may explain why I've ended up cutting out the middle man and just create my own from scratch).

As I've said before, this approach of buying equipment with limited or no sound saving functions, may seem a little bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face, and possibly, even elitist, but for me - a collector of synths who writes and records songs for a hobby - it's freed me from the burden of infinite choice and the sounds of the bleeding obvious.

Mr Nice Legz - Seriously... he's just a middle aged man that likes to write dark, analogue synth music and perfom it whilst wearing high heeled boots and a nice dress... can't a guy have a hobby?

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