So I have this concept for a GUI of an equalizer, one that doesn't embrace knobs. The idea here is to get away from a readout below a knob and 'turn' the readout itself. Would this be preferred or is the standard way, with the line on the knob to indicate position better? Graphics subject to change.



Feel free to ridicule

I don't get it

I'm not dead set on GUIs having to have knobs - there are some other ways that work well, but for me, just having a readout that you directly tweak isn't that intuitive. It works well enough and it's easy to adjust, but well set-out knobs in many formats (whether synths or FX) give an instant idea of where the settings are at. i.e I can take a quick glance and know roughly what is what by the knobs and their markings - whereas with only readouts you have to closely read the numbers on each one to see what's going on.

I think most people share something of this view, as look ay how poorly other VSTi have fared in the past when they don't have the graphic GUI. I've had old FX that work in Cubase, that without some specific GUI just default to boxes with numbers in, and even though those VSTi or FX may have sounded good...they just put me off using them. It's not just marketing that many VSTi and FX have old style GUIs - somehow people just relate to a set of knobs or sliders and understand intuitively that a knob with a dial over to the left means low, and the dial to the right means high.

It doesn't have to be knobs - the other standard GUI for Eq is the graphicl representation. Most people can see a frequency spectrum and know how to pull up peaks and troughs. It's the graphical representation that hits the brain. A set of boxes with numbers just doesn't sit well...(at least for my brain and eyes, anyway)

That's what I am thinking. The knob position is certainly easier to glance at than the number value, but I also think it depends on the application. A visual representation versus numeric, numbers feel precise while knobs feel familiar. I feel including both near one another detracts from the visual, and can seem cluttered sometimes. Some software has a value readout somewhere else, that appears when a value is changed. While I like this idea, it makes a glance at all the precise values at once impossible. Does anyone think this important?

But as far as a transfer curve goes, so many EQs don't bother with it. In fact it was the de facto standard before digital.