Go Back   Cockos Incorporated Forums > REAPER Forums > REAPER Q&A, Tips, Tricks and Howto

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-07-2017, 08:52 PM   #1
Rangler
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 569
Default Your Favorite Theme and Why

I always use the default theme. Has a theme enhanced your workflow?
Rangler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 02:26 PM   #2
acintya
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 281
Default

default!!!tried a lot of custom themes but they are either to dark or bright,pain for the eyes. im missing some neutral themes.i just cant believe people are confortable with the themes that are so popular. i really like reaper 3.0 default and the newest one..all others are too frustrating for me
acintya is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 02:33 PM   #3
uncleswede
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,096
Default

Janne2016 v104. Very clean, not too bright, good MCP layout options for projects with high track numbers
uncleswede is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 03:09 PM   #4
Outboarder
Human being with feelings
 
Outboarder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 834
Default

Hi

I like Fusion because:
It keeps fader vertical alignment in parent tracks and child tracks.
little 3d touch in TCP edges
simple and smart TCP MCP layouts

I modified the original a little bit (Fusion Swiss - Dark Mod)
https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/1967/F...ReaperThemeZip
__________________
Outboarder Scripts
Outboarder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 04:24 PM   #5
acintya
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 281
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by uncleswede View Post
Janne2016 v104. Very clean, not too bright, good MCP layout options for projects with high track numbers
nice one! thanks
acintya is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 05:43 PM   #6
acintya
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 281
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Outboarder View Post
Hi

I like Fusion because:
It keeps fader vertical alignment in parent tracks and child tracks.
little 3d touch in TCP edges
simple and smart TCP MCP layouts

I modified the original a little bit (Fusion Swiss - Dark Mod)
https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/1967/F...ReaperThemeZip

GOD. how can you work in this mess of a theme?
acintya is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 09:07 PM   #7
lexaproductions
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,126
Default

I still navigate between V4 and V5 Original themes.

For my Live Setup, I like Blankfiles' "ILogic Next" Because It'S very DARK, and I prefer that on a stage. So that it doesn't attract too much attention.
lexaproductions is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 09:18 PM   #8
foxAsteria
Human being with feelings
 
foxAsteria's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Oblivion
Posts: 10,255
Default

I've been slowly tweaking Default Analog for a long time, stealing elements from other themes and making some of my own, to the point where now every other theme just feels too foreign to use. No other suit fits quite right.

I think only some elaborate steampunk theme from White Tie could get me to switch at this point. I often find myself staring at the mixer. Something very hypnotic about it...

But yea, DAWs trying to tell me how to work (largely by way of the GUI layout and readability) is why I ended up using Reaper in the first place. Plenty of good themes around to get familiar with, but tailoring a theme to one's individual workflow is by far the preferable route, though definitely not for those lacking patience.

__________________
foxyyymusic

Last edited by foxAsteria; 08-10-2017 at 10:01 PM.
foxAsteria is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2017, 09:39 PM   #9
Outboarder
Human being with feelings
 
Outboarder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 834
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by acintya View Post
GOD. how can you work in this mess of a theme?
Sorry, I don't see that.
Point the mess out, maybe I could fix it.
__________________
Outboarder Scripts
Outboarder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2017, 05:31 AM   #10
tgraph
Human being with feelings
 
tgraph's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Silver City, NM
Posts: 526
Default

CC-NV5088 MkII SE v2.03

http://tritonreaperthemes.webs.com/premium

I like these console style themes.
tgraph is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2017, 09:48 AM   #11
earforce
Human being with feelings
 
earforce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 135
Default

i have tried almost every from the stash starting from Reaper V4. Before ones are horrible.
i like most the janne themes (2016 V104). at the long run they are to elegant for working daily, sunday themes, if you want.
Best theme ever is rado darko. Not to dark or light. Every thing good readable. M and S buttons are big enough and bright colored. One of two, which has special layouts for folders. A big number of layouts, fine metering.
At the moment I use the default V5 which i modified a lot for my needs. I do that because of the new features since the Rado Darko release.
earforce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2017, 12:10 PM   #12
vanhaze
Human being with feelings
 
vanhaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 5,247
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by earforce View Post
i have tried almost every from the stash starting from Reaper V4. Before ones are horrible.
i like most the janne themes (2016 V104). at the long run they are to elegant for working daily, sunday themes, if you want.
Best theme ever is rado darko. Not to dark or light. Every thing good readable. M and S buttons are big enough and bright colored. One of two, which has special layouts for folders. A big number of layouts, fine metering.
At the moment I use the default V5 which i modified a lot for my needs. I do that because of the new features since the Rado Darko release.
I have to totally agree about the Rado Darko Theme.
It's looking really good for me also.

Dell 24 inch monitor as main screen, attached to macbook retina 2015, via minidisplay port.
__________________
Macbook Pro INTEL | Reaper, always latest version | OSX Ventura | Presonus Studio 24c
My Reaper Tips&Tricks YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/vanhaze2000/playlists
vanhaze is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2017, 02:06 PM   #13
Dannii
Human being with feelings
 
Dannii's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Adelaide, South Australia (originally from Geelong)
Posts: 5,598
Default

Shameless plug here and probably stating the obvious but the theme that is always on my screen is my own theme. I designed it specifically for my workflow and spent a long time tweaking it to my liking. Why then wouldn't I use it?
__________________
Dannii is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2017, 06:27 AM   #14
zeekat
Human being with feelings
 
zeekat's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Polandia
Posts: 3,578
Default

Still on GrayMatter_Dark_beta3, very relaxing and easy on the eyes - GUIs with deep contrasts and dark bits never worked for me. A bit old but I think I'm not missing any crucial buttons.
__________________
AM bient, rund funk and heavy meteo
my bandcamp+youtubings
zeekat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-2017, 04:56 PM   #15
pryere
Human being with feelings
 
pryere's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 139
Default

Surprised there is no love for Imperial by White Tie.
It was love at 1st site for me, a thing of beauty.
https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/1719/I...LCS-mod_v2.zip
pryere is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2017, 05:12 AM   #16
earforce
Human being with feelings
 
earforce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 135
Default

Imperial is just for looking, nobody can work with that.
In general, i hate all analog approach in a Digital AW, so i go with fabfilter rather than Slate VMR.
earforce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2017, 08:34 AM   #17
xpander
Human being with feelings
 
xpander's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Terra incognita
Posts: 7,670
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pryere View Post
Surprised there is no love for Imperial by White Tie.
There is probably no other custom theme which has ever gotten as much attention here than WT Imperial has. The first announcement topic alone had 18 pages of discussion before the theme was even released, 31 pages total. The anticipation got so heated, somebody named it all pretty aptly "Imperial drama". Love, hate, Imperial for sure has seen it all.

Like any theme, it is certainly not for everybody. I like the beauty of it, but it is simply way too big to be of any use with my small monitor. Also, by now it's about 5 years old and tastes can change along the way. As it happens, Imperial V5 version seems to be under the development right now. In the real use I have always gone back to the current Default theme, usually my modified version of it. Incidentally, the V5 snapshot gave a perfect start for my v5 default dark version which is pretty much all I use nowadays.

As for any theme possibly enhancing the workflow, I don't think the issue is always clear cut. Say, if I'm working in my most inspired state, anything that goes in between that and the capture of the idea is an obstruction, not an enhancement. So the tools, while necessary for the process, work best when they are as transparent as possible. The GUI cannot be invisible but the less it takes my attention away from what I'm doing, the better. This is not as much a matter of how the GUI actually looks per se, but more about me being used to where everything is and finding them with the least possible effort.

When the original creation/capture of the idea has been done, more mental processes can kick in. The longer that processing will be, the more important it is to stay "inspired" to keep going and there even just the looks of things may or may not support it. For me familiarity is the most important thing, so I just keep using the same (default) theme.
xpander is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2017, 10:59 AM   #18
earforce
Human being with feelings
 
earforce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 135
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by xpander View Post
There is probably... much more
+1
You find the better words, for what i stated earlier.
earforce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2017, 12:29 PM   #19
reaperDJ_MPLS
Human being with feelings
 
reaperDJ_MPLS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 34
Default

I like this one
__________________

Windows 10, Intel i9, REAPER v6.80
reaperDJ_MPLS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2018, 09:24 AM   #20
daveh10
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 6
Default

Imperial for me so far -- got to have a 24" or larger monitor and 1920x1080 min though. Looks great on 27" monitor with slightly larger pixel setting than above. Now, if I could only figure out folders in it :-)
daveh10 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2018, 11:12 AM   #21
Jason Lyon
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 720
Default

I use an old thing called Easy on the Eyes 2.09 (darker version), although I've tweaked it quite a bit over the years. Screengrab attached.

Reasons:
It lives up to its name - you spend a lot of time looking at your DAW, so it shouldn't be fatiguing.
It's more compact than many, but still clear enough. Good for getting a lot on a single screen.
It doesn't try too hard to emulate a real-life desk - the balance between functionality and looks is right for me.
It minimises use of rotary controls, favouring sliders instead. Pots are often useful in real life, but I don't much like them in a DAW. The way it handles panning is particularly easy to work with.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0vmbs3wt5o...aperTheme?dl=0
Jason Lyon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2018, 01:14 PM   #22
emarsk
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 218
Default

WT Imperial is gorgeous, but after using it for a while, and trying several others, I found that for me the default 5.0 theme is the most readable and easiest to work with. At first I was annoyed that the mixer faders can have different lengths, but then I realised that I can hold Ctrl and move the handles for all the tracks together (or just the selected track with Ctrl-Alt).

Also, I must confess that I find the hardcoded builtin "Classic_1.x" ugly as hell, but wonderfully readable. Very appropriate that "Easy On The Eyes" is basically a darker "Classic_1.x" (nice one, btw, thanks Jason).
emarsk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2019, 12:40 PM   #23
Swi
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 358
Default

I keep going back to Hydra. I made it fairly dark. The 2D themes are much easier on my eyes and this is perhaps the only theme that I have found that has all the controls on the track, plenty of room for longer track names, width control when expanded.
Swi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 01:58 AM   #24
Colox
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,206
Default

I'm into 100% ergonomy. I've come to shun 'cool looks' and 'pro looks'. With the right ergonomy, the user's proficiency and efficiency can literally increase a thousand percent or more, quite easily. Provable every time. Like walking in shoes custom made specifically for your own feet. Won't even feel like you're wearing shoes.

I tried every theme I found, stash and elsewhere. I feel the default theme is one of the betters, outside of making your own to need, because it doesn't hide much, and it retains most important visual cues even when object sizes change back and forth. So initially I used a few variations of the default, like Nitpicky, Exo 2, X-Raym analog, Analog Default v1.8 and v2.

Now I've made up my own theme from scratch, 100% according to needs. Not publicly available, nor did I use too many advanced techniques to do it. It's constantly improving based on my experience. 4 years and running now.
It's based off of the first classic theme Reaper used, and uses strict visibility and eye guidance principles, somewhat like what fighterpilot cockpits use (except I got no HUD). 'Coolness' and 'Pro looks' forbidden. The theme is somewhat reminiscent of Protools v7 and DP7. Opposite today's fashion, it uses bright background and dark letters. You know why
__________________
There are only two kinds of people in the world: those who entertain, and those who are absurd.
- Britney Spears

Last edited by Colox; 05-26-2019 at 02:44 AM.
Colox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 09:46 PM   #25
hopi
Human being with feelings
 
hopi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Right Hear
Posts: 15,618
Default

CIRCUS cuz I like it...hahaha
__________________
...should be fixed for the next build... http://tinyurl.com/cr7o7yl
https://soundcloud.com/hopikiva
hopi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2019, 06:04 PM   #26
Rick Settle
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 230
Default

I like Fusion simply because it does everything I need it to, it looks good, and I can use blanks for separators in the TCP and the MCP.
Rick Settle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2019, 04:51 AM   #27
LCipher
Human being with feelings
 
LCipher's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,036
Default

CubicPak2 is my current theme (has been for years). Yeah it looks like cubase - I really love the way it looks and its very functional for how I work.

Im keeping an eye on Superior Th3me too.
LCipher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2019, 05:14 AM   #28
jeranx
Human being with feelings
 
jeranx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Région de Caen, Normandie
Posts: 3,175
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by foxAsteria View Post
I've been slowly tweaking Default Analog for a long time, stealing elements from other themes and making some of my own, to the point where now every other theme just feels too foreign to use. No other suit fits quite right.

I think only some elaborate steampunk theme from White Tie could get me to switch at this point. I often find myself staring at the mixer. Something very hypnotic about it...

But yea, DAWs trying to tell me how to work (largely by way of the GUI layout and readability) is why I ended up using Reaper in the first place. Plenty of good themes around to get familiar with, but tailoring a theme to one's individual workflow is by far the preferable route, though definitely not for those lacking patience.

Hi Fox.

I'm very happy with my Solaris LCS Blue v2.5 :

https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/1865/S..._Blue_v2.5.zip

I'm just missing those long faders you have.

Maybe someday I'll ask to Lucas.

Bye
jeranx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2019, 08:59 AM   #29
ejanejarr
Human being with feelings
 
ejanejarr's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 142
Default

Fusion is fantastic, thou in its RJ Mod incarnation by Crisonmerry, that's my go-to. It's clean and yet stylish and it's the one that finally made me forget about theme searching.
ejanejarr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2019, 10:37 AM   #30
zfulhr
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 1
Default

i like premium theme neither free one.
__________________
Zameenforyou.Com
zfulhr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2019, 11:14 AM   #31
Colox
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,206
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LCipher View Post
CubicPak2 is my current theme (has been for years). Yeah it looks like cubase
Oh, those were good. Cubase SX3 was- and still is today, one of the better and crystal clear UIs ever, for DAWs. A bit cluttered, but you can clearly make out every little detail even from a far distance from the screen. You immediately understand what every little detail is, it just makes sense. Protools 7 from a few years after SX3 beat it, but not by much.
__________________
There are only two kinds of people in the world: those who entertain, and those who are absurd.
- Britney Spears

Last edited by Colox; 05-28-2019 at 11:27 AM.
Colox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2019, 03:21 PM   #32
poetnprophet
Human being with feelings
 
poetnprophet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,651
Default

I went back to the default theme after using Commala 2018 for about a year. Now I'm back to Commala again only because my projects are larger and I really like the narrow track layout in Commala. If the default had a thin layout with all the same function visuals, I'd be using it.

I may have to give Rado another try, though....it's probably still installed.
__________________
https://www.kdubbproductions.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpC...2dGA3qUWBKrXQQ
i7 8700k,4.9Ghz,Win10,Reaper 6,Motu 828es, Cranborne ADAT500
poetnprophet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2019, 05:30 AM   #33
ChristopherT
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: South
Posts: 587
Default

I'm using Hydra.
I try others, but this seems to be best for me - in every respect.
ChristopherT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 07:26 AM   #34
Chris2872
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 11
Default

Lappy has become my go to theme. Nice clean look, everything spaced out nicely. The mixer has a nice old school desk feel to it too. 👍
Chris2872 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 01:42 PM   #35
Swi
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 358
Default

I am still trying to find something as good as HYDRA. I need a 2D flat theme with muted colors. I need all the controls on the minimized track. I do not use a fader on the left of my track list. Track inspector is laggy imho.
I found rereah was close. And I was able to edit a few others down but a default 5 that did not have the 3d gradient effect on tracks and media items would be best. It would be great if we could edit track colors from the theme tweak but sometimes the text color is in the rtconfg file and track background are png files that are mostly 3d looking.

It would be nice to have a 2D option in the theme tweak that would ignor gradients and just look at the middle or edge of those images.
Swi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2019, 02:46 PM   #36
PitchSlap
Human being with feelings
 
PitchSlap's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 3,793
Default

Alter Ego (Cubendo theme)
Every time I try to switch, I always go back.
__________________
FRs: v5 Media Explorer Requests, Global Quantization, Session View
Win10 Pro 64-bit, Reaper 6(x64), AMD 3950x, Aorus X570 Master, 64GB DDR4 3600, PowerColor Red Devil 5700XT, EVO 970 2TB, 10TB HD, Define R6
PitchSlap is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2019, 09:03 AM   #37
euga
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 44
Default

Paulie FTW!
euga is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2019, 02:59 PM   #38
puddi
Human being with feelings
 
puddi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 375
Default

Janne Light Tinted is just too good.
puddi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2019, 08:39 AM   #39
dna598
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 710
Default

Fusion Swiss edition with track selection frame


https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/2320/F...ection%20frame
dna598 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2019, 12:18 AM   #40
ANDYZ
Human being with feelings
 
ANDYZ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 113
Default

Symbiosis

https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/1337/Symbiosis.ReaperThemeZip


ONE LOVE
ANDYZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:34 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.