"Reaper has an ugly GUI"

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gpunk wrote:
chk071 wrote:@ trimph1: Well, maybe they should set a newbie interface as standard then, and the pro's can customize it their way then with all the stuff they need. :)
They have, the v4 interface is very basic ;)

Uhh... I have to call foul on that one.
It's pretty, it is not basic. As I said, the problems in reapers gui lie in workflow and user interface construction, not look-and-feel. Having said that, it's a darn sight better than many DAW user interfaces.

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hibidy wrote:
liquidsound wrote:XT has an amazing straight to the point workflow and yes, you need a bug spray :lol:
Don't remind me. I have no idea why from a billion years ago it has not advanced more. Money? I dunno.........sad really because again, I have it and would have gladly supported it. But it just got to be goneware.
It's probably not a money problem. XT has partnerships with several companies that spread their software around. I do think they're trying to milk it for all its worth though.
liquidsound wrote:Hold your horses!
v2.6 was just released and they said that the next update will be 3.0. So expect something good because Jorgen is a really brilliant developer and that little gem of his is really one of those tools that let you focus on what YOU WANT TO DO rater than allow your bad habits and the Need For More to get lost in Features.... and pagges and pages and pages and pages while I finished a project, started another one and have my Cabernet while listening my own music. :drunk:
Yeah. But I think "Jorgen" is like Tom from MySpace. He sold his name to a bunch of random asshats and f**ked off to a beach somewhere. :hihi:

Really, my complaints about XT are just the scores of broken promises (such as features missing from v2 that were in v1, and motherfucking multicore support). Sure we get occasional little updates, but that's it, and I expect that's all we will ever get, and that's if we are lucky.

So anyway, I downloaded Reaper (again). And MuLab (again). And I have Podium downloaded (again). And I will probably demo Studio One (again).

What I really want is clearly just a better XT.

If I have to I will write my own. I am a software developer by day after all.
noise and beats: Negutyv Xeiro do people actually click these?
gearlust: Roland JP-8000, too much/not enough eurorack
machinecode by: u-he, Bitwig, Fabfilter, NI, et al

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Yeah, let's get our pitchforks out for XT :x :troll:

:hihi: Actually, I think it is depressing though. Tracktion, XT, my god.....reaper could be next :cry:

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I find it hard to understand how someone would drop a DAW because of its looks, but I guess we're all different. (I don't even get what's wrong with the looks either)

And I'm opposite. If a window or whatever feels slightly sluggish because of its fancy graphics whether it be transparency, rounded corners or whatever I know it's simply wrong priorities and says so much about the program as a whole.

It's the same with Reaper. If a skin has been made to look good but has gotten smaller buttons or whatever then it just doesn't make sense. Looks over function? That's crazy imo..

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V'ger wrote:Looks over function? That's crazy imo..
I COULD say that a TRUE artist is an aesthete that demands form and not just function from this tools.
But I know that people are different and have varying needs, so I would know it to be complete BS.

There are plenty of people I know who produce on setups I find completely unsuable for some reason or another, and I'm sure many of them would think the same of mine.

Anyway, I went through a few Reaper themes on the plane. I had to ignore the big list of themes because as I mentioned before, there's hundreds of shitty ones that I can't tolerate digging through. I ended up on the forums, looking at the active topics and found some that were pretty nice. I didn't realize What Tie had done their latest skins, I'm a big fan of his work.
noise and beats: Negutyv Xeiro do people actually click these?
gearlust: Roland JP-8000, too much/not enough eurorack
machinecode by: u-he, Bitwig, Fabfilter, NI, et al

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V'ger wrote:I find it hard to understand how someone would drop a DAW because of its looks, but I guess we're all different. (I don't even get what's wrong with the looks either)
It's like you said, we are all different. I have a tendency to be "visually" oriented so good looks is really exciting.

Then again, function is paramount in this situation.

I didn't like reapers looks in 1 or 2, really started to though in 3.

Again, not sure about that green neon crap but the rest is pretty nice in 4.

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xybre wrote: Anyway, I went through a few Reaper themes on the plane. I had to ignore the big list of themes because as I mentioned before, there's hundreds of shitty ones that I can't tolerate digging through. I ended up on the forums, looking at the active topics and found some that were pretty nice. I didn't realize What Tie had done their latest skins, I'm a big fan of his work.
I generally dont look at any of them that much, some are OK.
Personally I really like the "Reaction" theme by Silent, it's just simple, pleasing and not too busy.
I tried "White Ties" def theme and just couldn't stay with it, he's obviously a good artist and many love his themework, but for me it was too dark, too green grey and somehow made simple areas look to complex.
Actually I build 3d models, worlds, cities etc commercialy...so I am constantly creating and modifying both 3d models and textures (2D)so I guess I am a little fussier than most about interfaces and such and it influences me..at least initially.
For example I downloaded (the free) version of Mulab...but to be honest the junky looking, less than GarageBand Interface turned me off, so they have some impact (on me anyway)
Anyway I think "Reaction" is pretty awesome as a theme...my opinion only of course, but that along with custom docked Toolbars, Hotkeys, and a good tweaking..I barely ever have to look at a menu even for complex compositions.
Cheers

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xybre wrote:
V'ger wrote:Looks over function? That's crazy imo..
I COULD say that a TRUE artist is an aesthete that demands form and not just function from this tools.
Well I might not fit into that category, but one of the things that was an immediate appeal with Reaper apart from the routing and customization was the sheer speed and lightness of everything, a thing I attributed partly to the made-for-Windows, no-fuss graphics. I've seen this in countless other programs too (video, image editors etc) where the fancy graphics apps are sluggish but the standard-looks ones are not.

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Astromann wrote:For example I downloaded (the free) version of Mulab...but to be honest the junky looking, less than GarageBand Interface turned me off, so they have some impact (on me anyway)
Anyway I think "Reaction" is pretty awesome as a theme...my opinion only of course, but that along with custom docked Toolbars, Hotkeys, and a good tweaking..I barely ever have to look at a menu even for complex compositions.
Cheers
I agree on both points.

One thing I like about XT is that there's no images to load, all the graphics are just part of the display code.
noise and beats: Negutyv Xeiro do people actually click these?
gearlust: Roland JP-8000, too much/not enough eurorack
machinecode by: u-he, Bitwig, Fabfilter, NI, et al

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I think up until Reaper v4 the default theme has been a bit on the ugly side, thank god its theme-able & that there's always been a few very nice themes out there.

The only thing that's still letting it down is the over abundant menus although Reamenus is a step in the right direction, its still a bit too cluttered. They should have one or even a few custom versions of Reaper, that could be selected from preferences or the options menu. A custom version of Reaper that had a nice balance of a fixed tool bar with the most used & common function that would also help in taking some of the weight of the menus.

I know you could do all of this yourself but wouldn't it be good for newcomers to have a Reaper that already has most of the GUI sorted for them, then when they get a bit more used to it they can customise it further themselves.

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On a certain other Reaper thread I asked who the 'Master Subject' was who could come up with the perfect GUI that would satisfy our GUI criteria. :hihi:

The phrase.."Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" should be the catchphrase here as well. I like what I see in the default GUI as well as some other ones myself...

Having said that I can say that there is one thing that they did that is going in the right direction in improving it's workflow..and that is the Reamenu...I'm thinking that doing it this way will make it easier for beginning producers to utilize all kinds of features...

At least it was not like X1's Inspector Pane.... :shock:
Barry
If a billion people believe a stupid thing it is still a stupid thing

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xybre wrote:I try Reaper again every 6 months or so (I'm about due) but it just doesn't feel "right". (Which just drives me nuts because I'd love to replace XT)
Yep, I'm in the same boat. I bought Reaper, hoping to get to grips with it, but unfortunately I suspect that Reaper is "XT user-proof"; I don't think I ever heard of one of us, XT users, that could jump into Reaper not getting in trouble. So, so far I'm still stuck with XT1.4, but not holding my breath for XT3.

hibidy wrote:... I think it is depressing though. Tracktion, XT, my god.....reaper could be next :cry:
You are forgeting Muzys :scared: . I used to be a Muzys user, am a XT user... Do you guys believe in karma :shrug: ?
Eventually something intelligent will appear written here. Watch this space.

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Yo momma so ugly, when she sidechains, she uses inputs 3,4, and 5!

Ha ha ha that was low
The only site for experimental amp sim freeware & MIDI FX: http://runbeerrun.blogspot.com
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCprNcvVH6aPTehLv8J5xokA -Youtube jams

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Ja.x wrote:
You are forgeting Muzys :scared: . I used to be a Muzys user, am a XT user... Do you guys believe in karma :shrug: ?
Thanks for reminding me :x :cry:

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hibidy wrote:
Ja.x wrote:
You are forgeting Muzys :scared: . I used to be a Muzys user, am a XT user... Do you guys believe in karma :shrug: ?
Thanks for reminding me :x :cry:
Did you have to??? :x :cry: :help: :shock:
Barry
If a billion people believe a stupid thing it is still a stupid thing

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