Are presets holding you back?

Music producers,

I want to share with you a scenario that I found myself in all too often when I was a beginner. You've probably experienced it yourself. It goes like this:

You're producing a track. You're completely in the zone - so much so that you can hear in your mind exactly where it needs to go. You feel your excitement growing.

Then, you think to yourself, "This sound would be so cool right here!"

So, you open up a synth. Scroll through a hundred presets. Maybe two hundred. You’re looking for that one sound... the one that’ll get your song to that place you hear in your head.

And then—you settle.
Something close enough.

At this point, you close the DAW. You're feeling deflated at best and completely defeated at worst.

Does this sound familiar to you at all?

It's about momentum

Presets aren’t bad. They’re useful, especially when you’re in a pinch. But when you rely on them too much, they start to limit you. You’re at the mercy of someone else’s taste, needs, and collection. You’re reacting to their decisions instead of making your own.

A lot of producers rely on presets when starting out because it's faster but there comes a point in which the opposite becomes true: presets slow you down.

Why?

You've developed your taste and skills as a producer and you know what you like and what you want. Once you've reached that point, presets have a tendency to become bottlenecks instead of accelerators. The will slow you down.

At that point, there's only one path forward. You have to learn sound design. You have to learn synthesis.

Sound design doesn’t have to be confusing

I’m building a brand-new course: Beginner Synthesis in Ableton Live. It’s a step-by-step guide to help you understand how synths work and start designing sounds from scratch—even if you’ve never touched an oscillator in your life.

This course is designed to get you confidently using the powerful synthesizers already available to you in Ableton Live:

✅ 4 In-Depth Learning Modules – A clear roadmap to understanding synthesis.
✅ Step-by-Step Video Lessons – Learn at your own pace with structured lessons.
✅ Hands-On Exercises – Apply what you learn immediately.
✅ No Third-Party Plugins Required – 100% taught using Ableton’s Drift, Simpler, and Drum Sampler.
✅ Works with All Versions of Ableton Live 12 – Compatible with Intro, Standard, and Suite.

Not only will you learn how to design all your own parts - from leads to drums - you'll also learn the why behind each so you can take what you've learned and create the sounds you need for your music.

Beginner Synthesis in Ableton Live will launch on April 28th at 10 am PDT. It will cost $124.99 and includes lifetime access, with all future updates for free.

If you want in, join the waitlist:

Everyone on the waitlist will get:

⭐️ A launch discount

⭐️ Early access

⭐️ Volume 1 of my upcoming Ableton Live synth recipe cookbook completely free of charge

Synthesis does not have to be confusing. It does not have to drag your creative process down. Instead, synthesis can become second nature. You can make your productions standout and create a sonic identity all your own. Beginner Synthesis in Ableton Live will show you how. I can't wait to tell you more about it in the weeks ahead.

Til next time,
ZW