In the fun madness of recording and playing I often look through my mass of patches on my Organelle and often wonder what in the world is this patch I downloaded and forgot to use.
Once I open it and play it’s not always as apparent how to use it. So I go back to either the organelle.io or patchstorage and relearn how to use it, but just like in Ableton where there is a help menu it would be nice on pages to have a section that provides a description of info about that patch where we could read and scroll down. Just a set of simple directions.
Obviously some are self explanatory but honestly some on patch storage have barely any explanation of what the patch is or is supposed to do. Honestly I have downloaded the clouds and rings patches very excited only to not know what or how to use them.
that said, the patch manager (wifi/web browser) is becoming more prominent these days, so this could be a contender to display information about a patch - assuming patch developers writes some notes
that said, i’ll be honest, with so many patches available these days, the way i work is to only keep installed the patches Im using… so i know what they do.
I then just go to patch storage on a ‘fishing expedition’, if i want i feel like something new
I hear ya—it can take time to learn/relearn the functions/parameters for each patch. Some patches do seem to have some simple instructions, while others there’s barely any information on how to use the patch, even on patchstorage.
I have a few recommendations from my own use, if you aren’t doing these things already:
A) Folder System: Take some time to organize your patches within a folder system. What works for you depends on the type of patches you use and your workflow, but you could use categories like “synth”, “arpeggiators,” “effects”, “vocoders”, “samplers”, “drum/percussion”, etc. That helped me mentally keep track of the patches, and makes it easy to dive into a specific category if you are trying to nail a particular sound, etc.
B) Periodic Cleanup: I go through fits where I will download a bunch of new patches. When I do this, I take some extra time to organize the new patches into their appropriate folders, reorganize any previously mis-categorized patches, and clear out any patches that didn’t work or that I’m otherwise not interested in using. This helps me keep only the patches that I find useful on the Organelle itself, which makes it easier for me to remember what each patch does.
C) A Notebook: I think one problem with a “notes” field in a menu on the organelle is that many patches can be used in different ways to different people (and the more complicated patches probably would need more note screen real estate than the Organelle can provide). I started a notebook with a page or two devoted to each patch where I write some initial thoughts, any relevant notes from researching the patch online, and notes about how I like to use the patch, different parameter combinations that seem to work well, etc.
I was just going to suggest the idea of starting a wiki, but it looks like Technobear beat me to it. If there’s enough interest, maybe we could start a proper wiki on a site like Wikia, though I think searching on the C+G boards+patchstorage probably does the trick.
This is kind of where I’ve arrived as well. Or just going back to favorites because it was just too time consuming to keep up, reference notes, etc.
If I am able to dive back into exploration mode I’ll try to update that thread. The new C&G website does a great job organizing their patches, so those are taken care of!
)
