What's up, everyone! I'll start by saying this isn't a thread to question the legality or terms-of-use for presets and plugins. This thread is to question your personal opinion on whether using presets is okay?

In my opinion, as long as you change something slightly so that it's not exactly the same as the preset, you're fine. I also find that it ISN'T too okay to use the same preset between different song if you don't change any setting

What do you guys think?

I think presets are ok to use as starting points in *some* plugs, but most of the time they don't ever work for me. The problem with them stems from two things.

1. Whoever created them didn't have your sounds and mix in mind. This alone makes them totally useless in some plugs.

2. Presets often times show off a plug and may use that plug to the extreme. I think they are great at showing you the capabilities, but I myself rarely ever use a preset "as is" without tweaking it so drastically, it's no longer the preset I auditioned.

-Danny

It is also pointless to use presets in a mastering situation eg EQ, compression and limiting settings etc because the presets have no knowledge of the material they are effecting. 

You are much better off using the techniques of setting all the parameters of the various mastering stages manually. You are also better off using reference tracks during a mastering situation where you have got something directly to compare to.

I think synthesiser presets are another thing though. They are often either very good as they are or they are close and often you only have to edit them slightly to get the patch to work the way you want them to. Learning to edit existing synth patches is a good starting point to the next thing which is: Learn the instrument thoroughly and practice making sounds yourself from scratch. 

I agree.... 

I use presets.... ones that I have come up with or edited from a "factory" preset.

There is nothing wrong with using them or any sort of legal aspect to using them.... it's all good. 

I do agree that for the most part, to really dial in the sound..... you will want to use them as a starting point. 

For example in Ozone, the acoustic guitar preset is nowhere close to the sound I want to hear from my acoustic. So I don't use the factory preset..... but I have customized it and saved it with the same name.  But still, on a new project, I have to tweeze it to get it sounding right. 

I have what's probably the most pragmatic view in regards to presets and that is:

If you try a preset and like it, and cannot hear and tell what's wrong w/ it, it means that you probably won't be able to dial in a better/proper setting from scratch at this time.

Or you've just hit the one in a Godzillion time where a preset actually work as is. 

So if you load a preset and think that it makes your sound better, you may want to see that as an opportunity to grab a little bit of knowledge. 

For example, if it's an EQ, try and listen to what it does exactly - scoop the mids? boost the low end or the hi frequencies? What does it do to your sound and how could you make it even better?  

I say if you hit a preset that sounds pleasing to you, by all mean, go ahead and mess w/ it, dissect it, study what it does, try to duplicate it and improve it. 

A few months from now, you will probably find that you didn't push it in the right direction, that you overdid this or that. But that's all good. Identifying mistakes is part of the process. Learning often works backwards.

And to add to Rain's post... a preset is a very good way to get to a staring point quickly without having to change a lot of parameters.

There is no crime committed if you strictly use presets. 

When I first started with Ozone, I used the factory presets and was very happy with the results. 

However...as I learned more, by reading and studying and experimenting, and I learned what each know or slider did, I began tweezing the presets to get the best (IMHO) sound I could get form the plug. 

But really, use the presets and don't worry about it. It's where everyone starts. The presets are a good "average" setting in most cases and they will do the job well.

For synths, I browse the presets for inspiration. More often than not I will tweak a preset to suit my requirements, but every now and then I think, "hey, that's just what I am looking for."

I use a similar approach with my effects, especially reverb effects. But when it comes to changing tone and dynamics I will generally start with a blank page and try to dial in what I want/need.

I find with reverbs the presets are rarely exactly right in the situation I need them in. Sure they may be in the ball park but with reverbs you really need to learn how all the parameters of a reverb actually work, what they all really do, there is no getting around it. 

I never use EQ presets either as they have no idea how the recording was made and how your track is sounding. They are a bit like reverbs, they might be only roughly in the ball park but I think you have to be much more precise with EQ presets like reverbs. The same could be said of dynamics settings too.

Many, many seemingly basic FX VSTs from reverbs to compressors and EQs have nowadays a huge set of features that extend their use far beyond what the user maybe expects.

The presets are, IMO, the fastest way to explore the limits of the VST (or a synth), as they usually do cover also the extreme possibilities of the FX in question.

Otherwise, synths or FX, if the preset works, it works, and I use it without hesitation. Do you question if you should change the strings or tuning of a guitar before you can record it :o) :o)?