Win-win! 
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This is such a great way in, thank you! And thanks for all the wisdom youāve brought to this thread, Iām going to have to re-read it all again when Iāve got my bearings haha 
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Randomizing the arp will still blow my mind.
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Given this is a used HS, make sure you are running the latest firmware.
Press System Setup button 12 times ( the last page ) and it will display the firmware version. You want it to say OS VER 2.0.0 ( on the HSK )
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I did update the firmware and Iāve been going through the 2.0 presets. I really donāt think the previous owner really even messed with it - it smells new and the stickers are still on the screens. I feel very lucky.
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Iāll add to Jukkaās advice and say that if when youāre dissecting a patch, whether random or factory, pay close attention to the mod matrix. Itās expensive and is responsible for a lot of the more complex sound. This puppy is so deep and expansive that it took me about an hour to wrap my head around itās architecture. Certainly one of the best, and full package synths to come out in a bit.
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Thanks! As I was reading through this thread I opened a bunch of stuff in new tabs, including both of these patch libraries - I already put the analogesque ones on 
Gonna wait til Iāve got $14 in the budget for the BoC pack. They sound amazing in the demo video. Thanks for the tips!
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Well Iāve decided to sell my Hydrasynth Desktopā¦
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BECAUSE I ORDERED A DELUXE!!!
I freakin love this synth.
I know that ASM have hinted they have something in the works but that wonāt take anything away from the hydra. Itās really remarkable.
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Congrats! Sometimes I think of having two 
did they?
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Wait until you start using the macros! My favourite part of the Hydrasynth.
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Good design that the Macros and the Mod-Matrix share so much in common.
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I wish I had more time with it! Iāve never bought a preset pack before but I bought the fake Boards of Canada one and itās so good, Iāve been having a blast just playing them. I also organized all the factory presets I wanted to keep into one bank and all the analogesque ones into another.
(Aside: Not to turn this thread into therapy but I feel self-conscious for being so into presets rn because presets arenāt 1337 but I also feel like that mindset - āi need to be a genius who can and does do everything alone, brilliantlyā - has gotten in the way of making music my whole life and realistically i just donāt have time to get as deep as I want with the hydra atm. So Iām trying to give myself permission just to have fun when I DO have time with it.
Even further aside: unexpectedly, I think going hard with Koala sampler on my phone has helped a lot with giving myself permission to not stress and just make music. It feels fun and easy, almost like Caustic did twenty years ago: āwhat happens if I do this and then this? Oh shiiiit lol, awesome,ā and then I finish a track?? Sick)
Anyway @Jukkaās suggestion of randomizing aspects of presets (like macros) has also been super illuminating and fun. Iām so stoked on this thing.
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Started with a Desktop, swapped out a Minilogue XD module for an Explorer.
I sorta cheat at differentiating their sounds by routing the lfo CV out of my Moog ring mod into the Desktop, but I know I did one tune which started off from the same preset on both and by the end you couldnāt tell, so differently had they turned out.
And for live performance the basic identicality of interface is quite a major one less thing to have to worry about.
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I wonder if that was the Orange Explorer (which I love btw.)
Personally, I think ASM could make an incredible sampler synth. I see it as kind of a hole int he market. Something that could sample from external ins and be played polyphonically with good looping and granular options.
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I was starting from scratch, usually with a sine wave to understand better mutants behavior. Wave scaning with 8 randomized waveforms, use it as fm mutant sourceā¦
Sold my HS Explorer for a Desktop in mind, but I will have to wait : DN2 received, a lot of things to exploreā¦
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The bold orange version of the Hydrasynth Explorer is now available at Perfect Circuit (and presumably other retailers):
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AMS Production Supervisor: So bob loaded up the wrong paint, we now have a load of orange Explorers. What should we do with them?
ASM Marketing: How many do you have?
AMS Production Supervisor: 886
ASM Marketing: Make 2 more and leave it with us.
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It looks a little prophetic, not in a good way.
Le sigh 
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Other color options would be a massive hit. Canāt say Iād choose black/orange.
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