A phenomenon encountered on some synths when editing patches and other parameters. It occurs when a synth has a minimal user interface, often a one-knob interface, and a small data display screen which does not permit very much information to be displayed at one time. A typical patch parameter editing sequence might consist of moving a cursor around on the screen to access an edit mode, then access a group of parameters, then page through the parameters in the group, select the one to be edited, change it, save the change, and write the patch back to memory. Menu diving is time-consuming and frustrating; it is often difficult to remember which menus have to be accessed to get to which parameters, and a large number of manual operations is needed to edit a single parameter. An interface which makes a lot of menu diving necessary discourages performers from editing patches, sometimes leading to the syndrome where a particular synth is purchased solely for its factory patches, with few users bothering to even access the patch editing screens. The Yamaha DX-7 is a notable example of this syndrome.
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