What about a new GUI?

[Irvin]

Cocos should devote a single update to providing a better GUI. The default one is pretty ugly and 99% of the themes are deeply ugly or flawed.

Hell, I have reached the point where I'd gladly pay for commercial themes done by professionals. Reaper should have looks that matched the features.

[Lokasenna]

Justin told me personally that they've got a new one completely ready to go, but they're waiting until we can go more than two weeks without someone starting a new thread about it.

[grayter1]

Originally Posted by Lokasenna

Justin told me personally that they've got a new one completely ready to go, but they're waiting until we can go more than two weeks without someone starting a new thread about it.

lol. I see what you did there...

tg

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by Lokasenna

Justin told me personally that they've got a new one completely ready to go, but they're waiting until we can go more than two weeks without someone starting a new thread about it.

But it's ugly, mama!

[Paul99]

Originally Posted by Irvin

But it's ugly, mama!

When you want gorgeous pictures, look on certain websites.
I personally hope that Reaper will stay as "dull" as it is, because it doesn't distract me and helps me focusing on what is important: making music in stead of looking at fancy wallpaper.

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by Paul99

When you want gorgeous pictures, look on certain websites.
I personally hope that Reaper will stay as "dull" as it is, because it doesn't distract me and helps me focusing on what is important: making music in stead of looking at fancy wallpaper.

I'm the opposite: great interfaces inspire me and I get the feeling it's a better product than one equally capable but ugly.

Looks matter to most people. And Reaper is pretty ugly, to be honest. That said, I respect your right to like Reaper's "dull" look (as you call it) - there is nothing wrong with that.

[axel_ef]

Originally Posted by Irvin

And Reaper is pretty ugly, to be honest.

If you do not like it then use something else.

[X-Raym]

@Irvin

99% of the themes are deeply ugly or flawed.

If you do the math, it leaves you with something around 3-4 nice looking themes. It should be enough, considering that you can only one at a time :P

[somebodyelseuk]

Originally Posted by Irvin

Looks matter to most people.

...until they grow up.

That mindset is going to cost you fortunes in divorces.

[mschnell]

Originally Posted by Paul99

I personally hope that Reaper will stay as "dull" as it is, because it doesn't distract me and helps me focusing on what is important: making music in stead of looking at fancy wallpaper.

Yep. Lemma of the god of composers:

The beauty of the music is reverse reciprocal to the beauty of the DAW GUI.

But unfortunately they did not give an advice on how to define "beauty".

-Michael

[mschnell]

Originally Posted by Lokasenna

Justin told me personally that they've got a new one completely ready to go, but they're waiting until we can go more than two weeks without someone starting a new thread about it.

Happily this is not going to happen
-Michael

[EpicSounds]

You've told us what you don't like, how about showing us what your ideal theme or new GUI would look like.

show us your scrapbook or dream board or whatever.

[tls11823]

Originally Posted by EpicSounds

You've told us what you don't like, how about showing us what your ideal theme or new GUI would look like.

show us your scrapbook or dream board or whatever.

And then see if you can get everybody else to agree that it's wonderful. Not gonna happen. Everybody likes something different.

I, along with many others, don't see anything wrong with the way Reaper looks. Other people do. You're not going to find a look that everybody agrees is the best. Who gets to decide what's good and what isn't?

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by tls11823

And then see if you can get everybody else to agree that it's wonderful. Not gonna happen. Everybody likes something different.

I, along with many others, don't see anything wrong with the way Reaper looks. Other people do. You're not going to find a look that everybody agrees is the best. Who gets to decide what's good and what isn't?

100% agreement is not necessary and - I agree with you - practically impossible. What is very possible and easily doable is to give the task to professionals and let them make the decisions. No different than deciding what bugs to fix, what features to add next, etc: it's done without users agreeing 100% or even knowing about it.

[Lokasenna]

Incidentally, "ugly" is an entirely subject term. Try "utilitarian". Anyone who thinks Reaper's interface is ugly clearly didn't grow up with Windows 3.1 and four-color DOS games.

[AugerJ]

Don't know, altered default themes (for v4 and v5) seem usable...
And some themes for other sequencers (made by pros, allegedly) don't...
So, which pros are the best (isn't that choice/decision subjective)?

[DrKev]

Originally Posted by bikerider

I gratefully missed w3.1 entirely because I was going 16 million colours on my sadly lamented and greatly missed Amiga.

Just thinking the same thing! AmigaDOS was four colours (blue, orange, black, and white). 4Mb of ram and no hard drive and I loved it.

Of course I also remember monochrome macs, VT100 terminals, and windows 3.0.

Originally Posted by Lokasenna

Justin told me personally that they've got a new one completely ready to go, but they're waiting until we can go more than two weeks without someone starting a new thread about it.

(applause)

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by EpicSounds

You've told us what you don't like, how about showing us what your ideal theme or new GUI would look like.

show us your scrapbook or dream board or whatever.

Can't do it: that's a task for professional GUI designers, not Reaper users like me or you.

Your expectation that I could come up with a GUI exactly reflects the problem with Reaper: the GUI has been put in the hands of people who are not qualified for the task.

Reaper's GUI needs real professionals, not well-meaning amateurs.

[slipstick]

Originally Posted by Irvin

Reaper's GUI needs real professionals, not well-meaning amateurs.

So if I explain to you that the current UI was designed by a well respected professional designer that will make it o.k. for you will it ?

Steve

[ivansc]

Irving: Whilst I appreciate that you have at least enough common sense to shy away from offering your own "take" on a good theme, you obviously have a GUI in mind that you consider to be both professional AND more effective in terms of workflow thatn the existing Reaper one. Care to share THAT, at least?

I am currently a fully paid up member of the Studiuo One, Sonar, Tracktion, Logic Pro and Reaper clubs, plus a couple of others you probably havent heard of.

MY take on this is that ALL of them have flaws in terms of GUI look and workflow, but as to which comes closest I dont know.
What I have found is that generally speaking the prettier they are the more crap there is getting in the way of actually doing stuff.

And you might want to look at House of White Tie before you suggest that Cockos might hire a truly professional designer to create the Reaper GUI. Think you might get a surprise at his client list.

And in any case IF you had bothered to search the foeum before posting you would have seen that we get new arrivals posting stuff similar to this on a weekly basis.
So your post is kinda a waste of bandwidth and an unintentional troll of sorts..

But anyway, welcome to the forums.

We are for the most part a friendly bunch, but if you think of yourself as that guy that just moved into town and started criticising the decor of the local bar, which the locals KNOW is a little scruffy but put up with it because the beer is great and the wings heavenly, you`ll understand the reaction you got in this thread.



Forgot to mention the barmaid`s ass!

[Vagalume]

This is really amazing, every week some users ask for changes, for instance a nicer gui ... and suddenly other users say he doesn't need that, he should try another DAW, who the f€~# are you?

If you don't need it just don't write.

I don't need a nicer GUI so I won't say anything about the subject,

... but let the people who support this idea express themselves and ask whatever they want.

[Irvin]

Sorry, guys, but blind fanboyism is not an answer. Mr WhiteTie (or whatever the name is) may be a professional to you, but he has delivered a real turd when it comes to Reaper's GUI. That thing is out of the 90's: old, ugly and with a terrible greenish color scheme that only Shrek would like.

But then again, Reaper has become more like a cult...so, we will have to agree to disagree.

I made my point, you guys made yours. End of debate for me. You are free to continue the discussion among yourselves.

[drichard]

I don't like the default GUI either, but you really should take a better look at some of the available themes. I think several are outstanding.

Given that you don't like the default or add-on themes, the possibility of Cockos coming up with the perfect scheme for your very particular taste are probably way less than 1%. You have better odds with the add-on themes.

Originally Posted by Irvin

Cocos should devote a single update to providing a better GUI. The default one is pretty ugly and 99% of the themes are deeply ugly or flawed.

Hell, I have reached the point where I'd gladly pay for commercial themes done by professionals. Reaper should have looks that matched the features.

[esosotericmetal]

Try modding some themes yourself. It's actually not as hard as it may seem once you get the general idea. I've managed to fix a fair number things with the default theme that bothered me and I don't really have much of a programming background. Of course there is a lot of non theme-able elements, but hopefully that will change in the future.

[Slapclap]

moaners gotta moan.

[nicholas]

Hell, I have reached the point where I'd gladly pay for commercial themes done by professionals. …

there should be al (sic) least ONE good-looking, professionally developed them released by the developers themselves. …

developing a professional-looking skin/theme is a win-win proposition …

that's a task for professional GUI designers …

What is very possible and easily doable is to give the task to professionals* …

OK, I really didn't want to jump into this thread but it's got beyond a joke.

You might not like the default theme. I get that. That's your right, although you at no time say exactly what is wrong with it, instead preferring to just use vague terms like "ugly."

But you won't win any friends in playing the man instead of the ball. I can assure you that the theme developer, White Tie, is thoroughly professional. I am far from being alone in saying that Cockos is well served by his skills.

I'd better stop there before this post becomes undignified.

[White Tie]

"thoroughly professional" might be pushing it. Yesterday I burped in a meeting.

[Fubarable]

Originally Posted by nicholas

But you won't win any friends in playing the man instead of the ball. ..

I've never heard this phrase before, but it wins my "Phrase of the Week" award. I'm dead serious -- I'm going to definitely remember and use this one!

[Bri1]

Originally Posted by Irvin

Cocos should devote a single update to providing a better GUI. The default one is pretty ugly and 99% of the themes are deeply ugly or flawed.

Hell, I have reached the point where I'd gladly pay for commercial themes done by professionals. Reaper should have looks that matched the features.

Just explain what you see as 'wrong or right'.No good starting a thread if your gonna bail out really.Just discuss.>?
Is it the faders? colours? dials/knobs? too square? no shadows?
What exactly is this programme missing that others do have?

I think maybe it's stuff like default plug-ins and fx that don't come with nicer dials or be made to look like actual audio units?
If so,this is where I think programmes like reason for eg has a slight edge-sure they have stuck with same units and looks of them units for years,but they look ok to me-nothing special-but do they do the jobs well?
Reason made some changes overs years-the (faked sll mixer)was a big thing for a lot users-didn't mean much to me but it looks ok,and they included eq and filters...so that actually changed the outputs.
They added shadows to rack lately=big deal,looks ok to me,but does 0 jobs.
Personally,i like shiney things-artistic things,colours,shadows etc etc=beauty comes in many forms.

Tweaking reaper is where it's at-probably best learnt at own pace.
If your making music-looks are not going to decide on any outputs- your techniques and plugs will though.
B.O.L.

[BRBWaffles]

I realize the OP already jumped ship, but c'mon, tell me this theme isn't lovely AF.



At least with Reaper we have the option of altering the GUI. Nearly every other DAW has a fraction of this customization potential. In fact, I don't know of any DAW that lets you change as much of the GUI as Reaper does.

[karbomusic]

Originally Posted by BRBWaffles

I realize the OP already jumped ship, but c'mon, tell me this theme isn't lovely AF.

That's Purdy.

In Irvin's defense, he's more than a bedroom producer FWIW and AFAIK uses the product professionally. He and I have certainly (but not always) disagreed in the past, but I have to say I respect the conversations I have had with him even when we vehemently disagreed with each other.

[tack]

Originally Posted by BRBWaffles

I realize the OP already jumped ship, but c'mon, tell me this theme isn't lovely AF.

This theme suffers from what a lot of themes are inflicted with these days: low contrast. Many labels have very poor readability.

Pretty is not a sufficient condition. It also needs to be usable.

[BRBWaffles]

Originally Posted by tack

This theme suffers from what a lot of themes are inflicted with these days: low contrast. Many labels have very poor readability.

Pretty is not a sufficient condition. It also needs to be usable.

True, but the very fact that these things can be edited at all puts Reaper years ahead of nearly every other DAW in this aspect. My point is that even the ability to say "there's poor contrast" and being able to actually do something about it is virtually unheard of.

[Vagalume]

.....

[Bri1]

Originally Posted by mehmethan

I think it will be my deafult theme when released��

Yep-hopefully it works with all resolutions,not just 1080p.
Early screens look wikkid to me=)

Originally Posted by BRBWaffles

True, but the very fact that these things can be edited at all puts Reaper years ahead of nearly every other DAW in this aspect. My point is that even the ability to say "there's poor contrast" and being able to actually do something about it is virtually unheard of.

Agreed^.Exellent stuff ahead.Glad this ship sails well on the sonic seas!

Maybe some users just don't like seeing any coding consoles/editors??
Numbers and typings are pretty boring to keep looking at eh,but if your programming,essential..

[ilporcupine]

I don't post here much, but this topic compels me.
When did this become of so much importance to some?
I promise I am not asking to be combative, I really want to know.
As long as interface allows you to easily read, comprehend, and act on info, it is doing all it needs to.
People have compared dialogs, etc. to Windows interfaces of the past.
Those were all designed by "professionals" for readability, and presenting maximum info. Did this go out of date?
"Beauty"or "ugliness" is so subjective as to be totally worthless as a measure.
If the "look" of the software you are using really bothers you to that extent, I wonder what you will do when fashions change, again?
I know I sound like a curmudgeon, but try not to be so hypersensitive, and entitled, OK?

[Lawrence]

If you read this thread in context, Irvin's first post had nothing at all rude, offensive or anything else.

It escalated after the guy told him to go buy something else, and later, it escalated a bit more and his comments likewise became progressively ruder. The typical reaction is at least - partly - to blame for the ongoing escalation as the responses got harsher and defensive his comments also got harsher.

Read the first post. What's wrong with that rather mild subjective opinion exactly?

Doesn't matter much to me personally but you can show all of the pretty arrange / mixer screenshots you want but the GUI is more than just that. It's all the - un skinned stuff - that people leave out of those screenshots that make some people call it ugly, and of course, things like that are always subjective.

I said it before and I'll say it again, if they did it 80% of the people saying it's not necessary would probably be praising it. I've seen that before.

[Kenny Gioia]

Originally Posted by Lawrence

I said it before and I'll say it again, if they did it 80% of the people saying it's not necessary would probably be praising it. I've seen that before.

I don't see how this runs counter to the people who are happy with it the way it is.

I love my wife just as she is but if she gets her hair done and puts on a nice dress, I will praise the way she looks.

We can all improve without being called amateurs or ugly. I don't care what post the OP said it in.

[Goldreap]

I wonder if the appearance of a bottle of scotch affects the experience?

[Masonic]

Originally Posted by Goldreap

I wonder if the appearance of a bottle of scotch affects the experience?

Without a doubt. Though, 5 glasses later it absolutely doesn't. In the end, one can slurp it from a puddle... perhaps, even with more joy... but only at the end.

Pedigree, prestige, class, etc, is often guessed by the look alone. This is why the best companies are fighting over the very best designers. Packaging is not everything but it often determines if the content is worth trying.