Analogue systems

<< I have far more success remembering the technique involved, rather then
the actual settings>>

BINGO!

There lies the secret.  Ultimately, understanding the patch will allow you
to recall it later on.  There are many who say that patches can't be
recalled.  I've never agreed with this.  If you understand what's going on,
you won't have any problem.

I remember Subotnick telling us back in school that he does a lot of his
sound design on the plane trips back and forth from California (where Cal
Arts is) to New York (where is actual home was).  The caveat here was HIS
SYSTEM WAS IN THE BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT OF THE PLANE WHEN HE DID THS DESIGN.
His knowledge of synthesis however was such that he didn't need to be
tinkering to get what he wanted.  He knew what to expect, he knew what he
needed for a certain instance and could design it virtually.

At the time I thought this was impossible and in time, I realized it's quite
easy once you have a thorough understanding of your instrument.

Sometimes however patches get huge and some sort of notation is required and
for those instances what I usually do, which I've had success with,  is jot
down a flowchart indicative of the patch itself which notates all critical
pot settings as a reference. Admittedly, this is a little bit more
challenging on A. Sys modules because the tick marks around the pots are
few.   They are though, WORLDS better than Wiard that have no ticks marks
whatsoever around the pots.This is where a digital camera can REALLY come in
handy.

Over and above that, along with recording a short snippet of the finished
sound in digital audio, I also record critical settings, such as set limits
of VC inputs substituting static voltage levels in place the VC generator
that actually is connected into a given VC Input.

Let me explain:

Let's say you have a LFO controlling the frequency of a filter, and the
setting of which are so critical to that over sound that slight variations
of the filter's VC attenuator will send it into a completely different
situation.  At that point I would remove the LFO and replace it with a fixed
voltage source, such as a sequencer's stage pot.

 I would then intentionally send the filter into self ocillation and record
a sample of the filter's  frequency with the sequencer pot at full clockwise
and CCW to give an indication and record a tuning standard of the range of
the VC attenuation.  So, when the patch was recalled I would repeat this
self osc and tune the VC input against what was recorded before.

Another thing to think about - how much of the patch do you *really* have to
write down?  For me this usually involves the actual voice architecture
only.  The fact that it's being controlled by a sequencer is secondary and
can substituted later with something else anyway, so why take the time to
write the control path down unless that's part of its uniqueness?

Another secret:  If you have the ability to record midi information, using
an RS300 CV to midi converter is an excellent way to actually RECORD the
control path which can be replayed later back into your synth be means of a
MIDI to CV converter.  It works, splendidly.

hope this helps,

Peter