Using presets is somewhat of a controversial topic in the audio world. Some people never use presets, others use them all the time. So what's the right way to go?
Today I want to clear some things out about presets, and also talk about my personal point of view on them.
Let's start with the basics.
What Are Presets?
When you buy a new plugin, it usually comes with a lot of factory presets, maybe even too many. Factory presets are templates, or settings, suggested by the maker of the plugin.
For example, a compressor plugin might have a preset called "Modern Male Vocals" (or something similar), loading this preset will set the parameters of the compressor to specific settings that are suggested for compressing modern male vocal tracks.
Are Presets Only For Beginners?
No, definitely not. However, loading up presets without knowing what they do, hoping to get a good sound, is a typical beginner move, and should be avoided. If you're a beginner, or just someone who's looking to learn about his plugins, using presets correctly might be helpful.
You Can Learn From Presets
You can use presets to learn about suggested settings for different purposes. A compressor is a good example for that. If you're not sure what attack and release times work for a specific track/instrument, a preset can give you a general idea. For instance, if you're going to compress an acoustic guitar track, a suitable preset can give you some "ballpark" settings to start from.
Presets Are Good Starting Points
When you insert a plugin, you don't always have to start from scratch. Instead of wasting time setting up parameters and settings, you can load up a preset that already sounds good, and start tweaking from there.
For example, if you're looking for a specific reverb sound, there's no shame in scrolling through presets to find one that sounds close to what you hear in your head, then fine tuning it. It can save you a lot of time.
Presets Are Meant To Be Tweaked
You don't have to stick with a preset as it is, you can (and should) always tweak it to fit your tracks better.
What About User Made Presets?
In addition to factory presets, most plugins will let you create and save your own presets. It's a great way to quickly load up settings you use frequently. Personally, I use it all the time. It's easy, useful, and it speeds up my mixing process quite a bit.
If you find yourself tuning your plugins to the same (or similar) settings over and over again, I highly recommend making your own presets. Eventually you'll have all of your favorite settings available for you in one click.
Presets Won't Magically Mix Your Tracks
Presets can be a good starting point, or a quick way to load up your favorite settings. But it's not going to EQ or compress your tracks for you. It's not "automatic" or "one button" mixing. You still have to put in the work.
Listen closely and tune every plugin the best you can, don't just throw on some plugins and presets without any reason.
EQ Presets Are Useless
Unlike other plugins, EQ presets are pretty much useless, and for a simple reason. Whoever made the preset doesn't know how your raw tracks sound.
How can a preset add bass if it doesn't know how much bass does your track already have? How can a preset can cut 3db at 1Khz if it has no idea how your tracks sounds? It simply can't.
Do you get the idea? EQ plugins rely only on your tracks and your mix, and shouldn't be used with presets.
On that same note, it's important to mention that the threshold knob on a compressor should never be set by a preset
While presets for compressor-type plugins can be useful for most of the parameters (attack, release, ratio, etc...), they are no help when it comes to the threshold.
Simply because the threshold should be set according to the volume of your track, and whoever made the preset has no idea how loud your track is.
So when it comes to threshold and EQ, you're on your own.
Is Using Presets Cheating?
Although some people think this way, the answer is absolutely not. Why? Because as long as you make a great mix, it doesn't matter how you did it.
No one is going to hear the song you mixed and say to you "Wow! I really like the way you mixed without using presets!". That's just not going to happen.
People say "Wow! What a great mix!" or "What a great song!". They won't ever know or care how you mixed it. I'll say it again:
As long as you make a great mix, it doesn't matter how you did it
To sum up, presets can save you some mixing time, and can even teach you a thing or two.
Did you ever use factory presets?
Did you create your own?
Share your experience in the comments!