Melda GUI look

[imagine2015]

After reading the last review in Music Tech Magazine which gives MMorph 4.5 stars but the last paragraph starts with the following : "Our only criticisms are the same as we always have of Melda plugins: the GUI is ugly..." I have decided to bring up the look of the GUI of Melda plugins.

I do own MAutoDynamicEQ and I consider it really great tool for sculpting my tracks but the GUI... at least one theme is not offending my aesthetic demands from a plugin look (workflow included, I just don't like popup windows here and there all the time) released in 2016! It's quite unbelievable that Melda didn't yet hire someone who would update their GUI. I would bet they would sell much more plugins in such case. Look at FabFilter, Eiosis, Slate, etc. They produce awesome tools which simply look splendid. To be honest I need a great (or at least moderately good) looking tools if I have to daily spend hours looking at them!

Melda, this is no offense to the quality of your products, which is absolutely great and top notch. But... you definitely should shed that design which looks that it has been drafted 15 years ago.

All the best! And keep up with bringing us new exciting tools!

[pone]

But the minimalistic theme looks quite pleasant...

[aMUSEd]

But the minimalistic theme looks quite pleasant...

Yeah, and I like my Tracktion 7 theme. But I do agree about all the popup windows, some windows management would be useful.

[pone]

I can't think of any way to fix it for people who don't like the windows while retaining them though. Windows could be docked freely, but I can't imagine that's what the people would like.

I'd personally just want 'pin' functions for all windows, so they would never close until unpinned, that's a big gripe for me.

[aMUSEd]

Docking could be useful.

[vectorwarrior]

I messaged Vojtech about this recently, I'm not a fan of the new windows requiring 'X' to close and being treated more like actual separate windows rather than quick popups like they used to a few versions back. It's messy and v10 will make this even worse.

Aside from that, I dont have a problem with the UI and frankly, I'd rather Vojtech work on more meaningful improvements rather than just the presentation. It's not going to make the slightest difference to your audio, so it's just a waste of time unless it serves to improve actual usability.

Also, you can get used to anything, after a while you adapt and it's not an issue; I've had initial 'blurgh!' reactions to many tools I've used over the years (Reaper being one) but give it a couple of weeks and you'll not care.

However, if it's genuinely putting people off buying Melda products then I guess that's an issue. I just think it's a bit shallow to care about shiny stuff over things that really matter, you know? (not trying to be an asshole, sorry)

[Sampleconstruct]

This discussion has been going in circles for years, the interfaces are advertised as " the most advanced in the market" so I would assume that this is Vojtechs answer to this discussion.

[imagine2015]

Also, you can get used to anything, after a while you adapt and it's not an issue; I've had initial 'blurgh!' reactions to many tools I've used over the years (Reaper being one) but give it a couple of weeks and you'll not care.

However, if it's genuinely putting people off buying Melda products then I guess that's an issue. I just think it's a bit shallow to care about shiny stuff over things that really matter, you know? (not trying to be an asshole, sorry)

I have been an avid user of Reaper (for mixing / recording live stuff, for composing tracks I use Live) and I just absolutely prefer it above DAWs I used before. However, Reaper basic theme looks really nice and you can still choose from many themes if that one doesn't suit you.

I expressed it in my post that "Melda stuff" is top-notch quality sound-wise but when compared to other companies who are on the top of the game, the look of the plugins and the workflow is still quite clumsy.

[imagine2015]

This discussion has been going in circles for years, the interfaces are advertised as " the most advanced in the market" so I would assume that this is Vojtechs answer to this discussion.

I guess then that Vojtech simply ignores the elegance of competition's products and focuses on complexity and features.

[DarkStar]

The GUIs are all based on a hierarchic set of windows, panels, control areas, edit areas and controls (knobs / sliders / radio buttons, buttons etc). Revamping that architecture for the plug-ins would be a huge task.

Now, as for the pop-ups. They seem OK to me - almost all of the frequently used controls are on the main "Edit" page (with collapsible areas to keep the footprint down). Or, even simpler, on the "Easy" page (and, of course, you can build your own). But I would like more than 4 knobs on the Easy page. The pop-ups are used for those parameters that you probably will not be changing too often. Pop one up, edit what you need and close it. Given the configurability of the plug-ins I cannot picture an alternative. And they pop up wherever they were last. That aspect I'm not too keen on - sometimes I think that they should pop up relative to the mouse-click (for the smaller pop-ups) or to the main window.

So the work flow seems OK to me; the controls I use frequently are easily accessible and the less-frequently used ones (often for configuration, rather than control) are tucked away on pop-up windows.

As for the GUI Styles - I would pick one of the flatter ones, jiggle the colours. Of course you can also use the Style Editor to customise the style elements. I tend to use modified Futuristic and Minimalistic styles during the day and modified Ozone and Aluminion ones at other times. With a bit of work with the Style Editor I have produced some styles and colour combinations that I am happy with. You may not like these but they work for me:

>>> http://i.imgur.com/h26s8yG.png

PS I also run my monitors with Contrast and Brightness turned down (to avoid being dazzled by other programs.

[AudioTraveler]

Not to be rude, but we use our ears to make sound not eyes... If your computer screen is rough on your eyes just lower the brightness.

[imagine2015]

Not to be rude, but we use our ears to make sound not eyes... If your computer screen is rough on your eyes just lower the brightness.

Indeed, but we have to use our eyes (and fingers) to mix them. My posts are not only about the looks of the plugins, they are also about the workflow and simplicity of getting where you want to get easily.

[imagine2015]

As for the GUI Styles - I would pick one of the flatter ones, jiggle the colours. Of course you can also use the Style Editor to customise the style elements. I tend to use modified Futuristic and Minimalistic styles during the day and modified Ozone and Aluminion ones at other times. With a bit of work with the Style Editor I have produced some styles and colour combinations that I am happy with. You may not like these but they work for me:

Thanks for the tips! Currently I use 'Levitation' style.

[steve2KVR]

I had to bash about for a bit, but settled on "mildnight"...created by one of the board members, if I recall correctly...been quite awhile now.../s~

[Chandlerhimself]

Of course things can always be improved, but I think people are focused too much on how plugins look. I'd rather have advanced plugins that work well, use little CPU, sound great, and are sold at reasonable prices than have something pretty without those benefits.

Of course new theme options and styles would be appreciated, but I think the reason most people like Melda is because of the advanced features, the prices and the unique take on fx. More time spent on GUIs mean less time spent on those things, or higher prices. Besides if he did change it other people would complain about the new style. It's impossible to please everyone.