Presets are useful to run through and find out what happens to the sound when they're applied.

Studying the settings and hearing the changes gets you on the path to tweaking those presets to suit your needs.

As a couple of people have said, I'm not against using one 'as it is' - if it works.

I use them all the time. There are so many presets with most plugs that all it takes is a slight tweak to get one to your liking.

Is it OKAY to use presets??????... Absolutley!!!  Why the hell not?
Do presets always work out??  Absolutely not!!!!    LOL

I have no problem whatsoever using a preset...... IF it works.

just sayin'..

Problem is that presets kinda guide YOU instead of YOU guiding it!  Let's say you have an idea for a song, sometimes using a patch will lock you into a space where it is not really fitting into your song.    Build it from the oscillator up (if you know sound design). 

I'm more comfortable using synth presets than Fx.

An Fx preset will only ever serve as a starting point, and in the vast majority of cases, I'll set up EQ's, Compressors, Delays etc from scratch

Presets are perfectly legal. It is not legal to take a preset and redistribute it (as in say sell a pack of patches for a synth that includes those presets). Lots of people use presets. There are certain presets for synths that have been used so much that they are embedded in music genres. In Drum and Bass the "hoover" was originally a preset on a Juno and used so much that many synths include a "hoover" preset. Some of the best synth players in the world are clueless when it comes to programming. Many programmers can't play worth squat. As far as effects, it is acceptable to use presets but often not advisable. Especially for plugins that are going to sound very different on different source material like eq and compression. Special effects that are more time or panning based like a rotating speaker effect can often be used right out the box. As already mentioned, presets are good starting points and can often get you in the ballpark or aid in learning the plugin, but cannot be relied on for accuracy.

No. Absolutely not.








Well that doesn't sound right so it must be alright to use them.
So I guess it's down to how many options does one have to use them.
As is, modify and use, modify and save as....well, that's it for me.

I think most of the time in regards to effects?, I like to start with null (or zero). So I guess if my studio was called; Null Recordings and someone called to make a booking I would say; Null, sorry. 

Besides; my studio is totally private; not for profit; not for commercial use. (hey Mr Taxman, are you reading this?)!! 
 
OK, got my serious hat on; 

Since my studio is totally private for my own needs I have no need to build-up a mega-list of presets but then again; almost all preset would probably need tweaking because each song is a totally new bag full of fun and surprises. I guess the term; always learning something new applies to 'everybody' no matter how much experience one has. 
 
I will save effects presets that I tweaked but usually for things such as; Reverb because I might be wanting consistency across a particular style for an album I'm working on.  Whereas for track EQ? those setting will definitely change. But often a track requires NO effects at all. 


There are certain elements for an album that requires some consistency such as; reverb, I guess the same might apply for instruments such as; Kick and Snare, so that I can get a sense of consistency ((that sound)) that style for the album. 

Keep in mind though; often not all tracks require treatment at all if the source material is perfect for the song for example; a particular synth pad and such usually has a character and ambiance about it that stands on it's own and requires no further processing (effects)! Another good thing about; getting it right at the source.  
 
In regards to virtual instruments; I start with presets and tweak them from there (more or less) for whatever works best for the song. But I have template projects on standby; readily available so that when nature (creativity) calls I'm ready to open the flood gates. 

A newbie question: If I use a preset and make some minor changes (in a soft synth or FX) and saves the project, is the changes saved as well?

yes, the changes you make on any parameter of a synth or FX are saved with the project.

the NEXT project, however, will not have those changes.  if you want those changes to be saved as a preset to be called up for the next project, then use the name field window and the little disk icon in the top of the window of the plugin (when running in sonar) to save as a new file preset name.