Melda 13 look

[toonertik]

I guess I am in the minority who never liked the knobs mode and used sliders. C'est la vie

You and me, Nik.
Is it progress?

[Nspace]

I guess I am in the minority who never liked the knobs mode and used sliders. C'est la vie

You and me, Nik.
Is it progress?

+1 on Sliders.
I am a huge fan and feel sad the actual option it seems is not going to be there in future versions.

Particularly now with MIDI learn everywhere at Melda, I'd always hoped for novel Slider involving workflows, iex, parameters being set on external controllers.
Heck my Novation Launch Control XL and Tascam FW1884 keep up quite nicely on mixing duties, but with MXXX and soon MFS disruptive change, I am always hoping to extend that superb hands-on control, while keeping some visual reference (yes, I could map a rotary to an external slider) with functions I am still far to find out how to integrate.

//Why replace several parallel sliders that I could control with a single hand, with rotary controls for which I need that hand to move a single one?

The above said, I could understand the crammed visual issue on small screens for some plugins. However the sizeable GUI, is a Melda forte, so why not keep the option for (the few?) users that would prefer sliders and have enough screen available?

This question was answered by Vojtech a few posts back with two arguments I could identify; 1, the difficulty in maintenance of said code thru version changes and 2, haters opposing such "non-cleaness".

First argument is nothing i could say a word about, but number two... My take is that adverse opinions regarding the GUI are put forward by users, potential users and the involved rest that is able to post a comment(yes including haters), possibly because they have not yet figured out the colors and + are user configurable by way of switching pre-made layouts or/and replacing certain colors. I spent less than an hour at my first try to obtain a very satisfying look for my Plugins.
There is a very recent thread in this forum with posts that indicate people posting did not explore the GUI configuration options.

Then... how to appropriately word the following? I sense haters or other rather distant people might very well be judging Melda GUI by the actual visuals the own Melda publishes everytime at all new posts, ads or continually at Melda site, the smaller they are the worse...
I am talking about that grey amalgamation of grey things, that might want to convey a summation of tools, of complexity, of features, but comes instead as a rumble of undesirable things reminiscent of old rigid GUIs as best (when onlookers have actual historic plugin experience).
Those repeated similar greyish images are _every version they appear_ far, very far from what is the actual experience of having Melda plugins open at our screens. Thus, giving a sense of fixed-rigid visuals, when Melda plugins are in fact the most visually-adaptable plugins available.
That is my take on this issue. I might be mistaken, yes, but probably haters are also mistaken to say the least.

[dmbaer]

After a while of not working on MSF instruments, I've had a little time in the last few days getting back to that. And there's a new "feature" that's DRIVING ME NUTS!!!! I even don't remember how things used to work other than to recall that this was never a problem before.

In MP Edit windows (and probably others, but MP Edit windows are what I've been working with), the only the leftmost small portion of the title bar can be grabbed with the mouse for click-and-drag window movement. The Preset edit box is now in the center and takes up most of the width. On the right are buttons that you don't want to click on unless you want to do what the button supports.

One solution would be to differentiate between short clicks to show the preset selector and click-and-hold clicks. In the latter case, the Preset field could be disabled and the underlying title bar response could be performed. In other words, click-and-hold could allow you to move the window ... the way I'm pretty sure it used to work.

[MeldaProduction]

dmbaer: I'm afraid that is to stay like that. This has been created because in many cases the preset buttons were too big and made the overall GUI bigger than needed. So now it can be collapsed into just an icon, but also enlarged. But for enlarging it just needs to take all the remaining size (technical reasons). So there's no other way really. I noticed this as an obstacle a few times too, but I got used to it very quickly. Just remember to click on the letters on the left, the MultiParameter text is huge after all

[dmbaer]

dmbaer: I'm afraid that is to stay like that. This has been created because in many cases the preset buttons were too big and made the overall GUI bigger than needed. So now it can be collapsed into just an icon, but also enlarged. But for enlarging it just needs to take all the remaining size (technical reasons). So there's no other way really. I noticed this as an obstacle a few times too, but I got used to it very quickly. Just remember to click on the letters on the left, the MultiParameter text is huge after all

I understand the motivation for rearranging things to conserve space. But you really could make the preset control in the title bar a click and drag agent that would move the whole window just as if you clicked on the text to the right. At least, I know you could on Windows. Anyway, just let the challenge sit there in the back of your mind and one of these days while taking a shower, you'll be inspired to shout "Eureka!".

[jmg8]

Dmbaer
Are you on about Vojtech in the shower again!? Haha. I remember this talk from a few years ago

[DarkStar]

^^^^
Yes, that wide [Presets] button trips me up too when trying to move the windows. Just thinking out loud.

The width of the [Presets] button is (I think) calculated as:
presets_width = window_width - width of the other buttons in the title bar - width of the window title text.

Could these calculation be used?
window_title_width = window_width - width of the other buttons in the title bar - (preset_text_width _ presets_9dots_width)
presets_width = window_width - width of the other buttons in the title bar - window_title_width.

As in this mock-up:


The actual numbers will depend on the Style and % Size used. And, when a preset name is displayed, the presets button could be wider to display the full name.

[dmbaer]

Dmbaer
Are you on about Vojtech in the shower again!? Haha. I remember this talk from a few years ago

It's in the shower where I have most of my really inspired ideas (but I'm not asking anyone to picture the process!).

So, I just assume that's the way it works for all creative people.

[dmbaer]

^^^^
Yes, that wide [Presets] button trips me up too when trying to move the windows. Just thinking out loud.

The width of the [Presets] button is (I think) calculated as:
presets_width = window_width - width of the other buttons in the title bar - width of the window title text.

. . .

I was thinking of a solution much along these lines. Specifically, if the Preset field could just be less wide, and if a patch of title bar could be exposed near the right side (just to the left of the leftmost button), this would give us a place to click on to move the window.

I really started to feel some frustration when I was editing in an MP edit window that I have made quite wide (it was a bank parameter with lots of horizontal real estate needed). Every time I wanted to get it out of the way of the main MSF window, I had to mouse *way* over to the other side of the screen to find a place in the title bar to latch onto.

So, start by making the field a little narrower. But also give us a bit of space between the right side of the Presets field and the leftmost button in the title bar. That, I think, would certainly do the trick.

[jmg8]

Dmbaer
Are you on about Vojtech in the shower again!? Haha. I remember this talk from a few years ago

It's in the shower where I have most of my really inspired ideas (but I'm not asking anyone to picture the process!).

So, I just assume that's the way it works for all creative people.

Hehe. For me it is falling asleep or waking up.
I often dream of music or plugin ideas in my sleep and sometimes I remember them, other times they get lost forever.

Also I am a bath man.

[Starship Krupa]

i had a nice result with Neon style just changing colors, but i didn't find any way to change the color in the multiband splitter\analyzer ?

Same here, and since I don't like the default white color, I have switched over to Carbonium.

One possible bug: the first time I open the color dialog, it opens, then immediately closes itself.

(Using Cakewalk)

[DarkStar]

^^^^
The background in both areas is a "Display" and the colour is fixed in the Style. Edit: but the Background colour can affect it. But ....

[Starship Krupa]

My man.

I was hoping we'd soon see some DarkStar magic with v13.

I like the new design, esp. the ability to collapse the right hand panel after I get everything dialed in, but I like to subdue my colors and I like the styles that have gradients for backgrounds, so Neon is not my thing.

[_al_]

Are we gonna be stuck with that knob shape on all plugins?

Looks horrible to me. Cheap....pixelated

[dmbaer]

Has anybody observed the following behavior in MSF post new-look changes?

Say you have a modular module that contains another modular unit (like in the template). You can collapse any of the levels and reduce the object at that level to a vertical bar, which when clicked upon restores the full width of whatever is at that level.

What I've been seeing, but can't find a pattern to, is that when the device first gets loaded, the outermost modular is hidden but not represented by a vertical bar on the left. Click the Hide bar on the leftmost visible module and then (maybe, don't recall) click the vertical bar to unhide, and all the vertical bars you expect are now visible.