Synths without presets...

[Yoozer]

Yes. For the rest, there's patch sheets and your digital camera. Snap a few pictures, save 'm in your project folder.

[StringBean]

Damn dude my massive presets are always in tune, and they sound pretty fat tbh.

[BMD]

Originally Posted by nrvana8775

I have a mono synth. I multi-track it.

Instability of vco + weather + electricity + whatever = different tones on different days.

I like to move between projects over a few days. Try it out in my head, then try it with the synth. Not having the ability to save presets sucks. I can re-create the general tone/env, but never exactly the same way. If a mix relies on particular sounds, it's noticeable when there is a change in tone.

Is that the nature of the beast?

That's what I love about them. Makes me experiment more and commit my sounds to audio, capturing something unique instead of something perfect.

[Reptil]

get a digital camera and snap a picture of your settings.
make a note as well, documenting what it is, and what is interesting about it.
(oldschool way )

[nrvana8775]

I already do patch sheets. Each ableton clip has text info for the osc/vcf/adsr info. I take pretty detailed notes, and can generally get close.

Some songs are built around a tone, and not being able to replicate it exactly is a hassle. I understand the appreciation for impermanence/spontaneity, but...

Should I just re-record the synths each time I do a session?

[Reptil]

do whatever gives the best result IMO

[nebelfrau]

It should probably be asked, but maybe it's time to find a way to keep a somewhat ambient temp in your synth room. While not uncommon, I do find that having instability issues every day due to what seems a temperature problem a bit odd.

[BMD]

You could record multisamples when you get a tone you like then load up your sampler. If your synth has an audio in you could even run your samples back through it for filter tweeks etc.

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by nrvana8775

I take pretty detailed notes, and can generally get close.

OK, so try this: set it up for a project, start working with it, then after you're done, leave it alone for a few days and don't touch the knobs.

If it then still sounds "pretty close but not exactly like what I had" you know that your note-taking is not at fault.

[ozy]

Originally Posted by nrvana8775

different tones on different days. I can re-create the general tone/env, but never exactly the same way. If a mix relies on particular sounds, it's noticeable when there is a change in tone.

well, I have been using analogues for a while now (as in "40 years"),

and SUCH instability as to generate completely different sounds on different days means only two things:

a) you are using a moog 55 in the Sahara desert, running on a diesel power generator, and you shoot him in the belly every day before playing it,

b) you write down patchcords using a tootbrush soaked in enamel

In all other casese, even the most rustic VCO analogue DOESN'T change TIMBRE from one day to the another.

Plastically visualizing a known technical character of analogues (microinstability) is one thing,

but overdramatizing it in a cartoonish way makes no sense at all.

What is your "mono synth"?

A Serbo-Croat "Yugo 8" from the early '70s? The one with steel keys?

Not even a heavily battered Model D wouldn't be able to replicate a timbre in different sessions...

[nrvana8775]

I think I might be having some issues with my mono lancet. It's the only thing that can explain what's going on.

[kpatz]

I don't have any preset-less synths, but I think where the OP is coming from is, even with a patch sheet or a digital photo, it's difficult to set the knobs exactly the way they were last time.

For example, the cutoff knob was between 6 and 7, but how far? 1/5 closer to 6 than 7? Maybe 11/17ths of the way? You're somewhat limited in the "resolution" of your "saved patch" settings. For some parameters it isn't critical but for others it may result in your patch sounding different. You could have set the cutoff a smidge higher and the filter key tracking a smidge lower and now the patch doesn't track across the keys the same, for example.

Also, unless you recorded the audio, you're relying on your memory of what the patch sounded like last time. You might not remember exactly how it sounded, and when you dial it up again, it sounds a bit different. This probably isn't a problem unless you're multi-tracking and need the sound to be the same as the tracks you recorded last week. Then you either need to tweak until it sounds right or use a synth that has patch memory.

[laikenf]

Originally Posted by BMD

That's what I love about them. Makes me experiment more and commit my sounds to audio, capturing something unique instead of something perfect.

Experimenting is one thing, trying to actually write and record like that is a bit different (waaaay to tedious and time consuming, for me at least)... the picture thing sounds fine in paper, but in reality things get convoluted once those pics start piling up; you gotta label them, store them, look 'em up, etc., adding another layer of "things I gotta do before or while recording". I think the OP should record all the multi-tracked synth parts in one session so that he won't have to worry about recreating "that" sound he dialed in the 1st place.

[seen-da-sizer]

Originally Posted by Reptil

get a digital camera and snap a picture of your settings.
make a note as well, documenting what it is, and what is interesting about it.
(oldschool way )

+1 When I started off, I had to switch patches on my two (non patch memory) mono synths during live sets. There usually had been only a few seconds between the songs to get it done. On rare occasions you had to do it in the middle of the song, with one hand while the other one was playing the organ. In order to make it happen, you had to memorize the settings. Usually you didn't get the patch a 100% all the time. Then you had to "fix" it during playing, and additional tuning was always essential.

Why is this so challenging for some musicians nowadays? This is still a small thing compared to the set of songs you had to memorize. It is not rocket science. Use an iPad for it.