Will Avid ever update the GUI?

[jaminjamesp]

I know there is a long list of things that need fixing. That's part of the reason I downloaded the demo for Studio One. I've grown increasingly frustrated with Avids complete lack of thought put in to streamlining work flow. And honestly, as a writer and composer, I was getting so uninspired staring at a GUI that looks like it was designed with a dentists office in mind.

Studio One really nailed a lot of things. There are some amazing work flow features, a macro editor, overall all a lot of things that seem like they should be a given these days. And the GUI, in my opinion is gorgeous. It's so easy on the eyes. It makes me feel more creative looking at it. But. It's seriously lacking in deeper features. The audio editing feels so clunky coming from Pro Tools, the wave forms are atrocious. I can't imagine trying to remove mouth noises from a vocal take with the lack of detail. Just basic things are missing, like L-R pan control on stereo tracks, a marker System that does anything besides mark locations (and shows up in the midi window as well), the ability to define nudge values, groups with parameter control, any time line besides bars and beats (it has a min/sec timeline but you have to choose one or the other). The grid and quantize functions are linked, so if you have input quantize on, and your grid is in 8th notes, everything is quantized to 8th notes. Lots and lots of little things like that which add up to a lot of frustration. Most of all, there's no import session data, which is just a total no go for me.

But I felt so good just looking at it, it was so hard to decide against it. After 12 years of staring at basically the same sterile GUI, I almost dread opening it back up. But I have to. I need what it offers. Why does professional have to mean boring?

Will Avid ever do a major GUI redesign? I don't mean all frilly and fancy, or changing overall layout. Just something with tasteful design elements. Some personality, and a little bit of style. It looks dated, boring and uninspiring.

Tomorrow I'm opening Pro Tools up for the first time in a week. Not looking forward to it. But there's just no way I can sacrifice usability and features for good looks.

[Southsidemusic]

I hope not. Used to PT GUI and would hate for it to look like a explosion of colors. Using PT for earning a living it feels like home. Why mess with it and who cares if it isn't a colorful GUI. Use it for what it is supposed to do for music and after you are done for the day go watch an art show

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

I hope not. Used to PT GUI and would hate for it to look like a explosion of colors. Using PT for earning a living it feels like home. Why mess with it and who cares if it isn't a colorful GUI. Use it for what it is supposed to do for music and after you are done for the day go watch an art show

Definitely with you on this.

But........

Would like to see something like what MOTU has done with Digital Performer where the gui is skinnable. One can completely change the look if one wants to. Colors, knob shapes, just about everything. The ability is not built into the program as such but MOTU supplies a number of different 'themes' as they call it that accomplish this. In addition those themes ARE customizable but you need to know some xml and be able to make sense of certain graphics files in DP. There is one theme that comes darn close to what PT looks like. What doesn't change in each of the profiles is the actual layout of the different screens/windows - that always stays the same. Understand I still would want that PT maintains the same layout it has now - clear & concise without the clutter of what DP calls the 'consolidated window'. But if one wants to make the PT gui look like a Peter Max painting - let the mayhem begin.

[jaminjamesp]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

I hope not. Used to PT GUI and would hate for it to look like a explosion of colors. Using PT for earning a living it feels like home. Why mess with it and who cares if it isn't a colorful GUI. Use it for what it is supposed to do for music and after you are done for the day go watch an art show

I know everyone has a different idea of what tasteful design means, but in this context I do mean subtle, not color explosion. (Honestly if you take a look at the Studio One GUI, it's less of a color explosion than PT. It's much darker, muted, and subtle in its use of color. No neon green counters and menu fonts). I really love the "flat" design asthetic of Studio One. The 3D effect on buttons, faders, menus, etc, in PT looks dated at best. The color selection could be updated to include both a classic and modern color palate. Update the icons so they are still immediately recognizable, but with some modern design cues. It would be nice to have a few customizable features (I don't think skins is a good idea at all). It would be nice to be able to adjust the brightness of the edit window backgrounds, from a dark grey up to pretty light. I like how in studio One I can adjust contrast as well, which makes seeing the grid a little easier. I would love a total overhaul of the midi window. In my opinion it's the worst part of the interface and also has the lease usable work flow. And I happen to spend a lot of time there.

I think by simplifying the layout with a more modern "less is more" approach, a lot of the GUI issue in PT might be solved. Maybe? I dunno. But every other daw is somehow able to avoid the GUI lag I've had issues with for so long.

Obviously issues like a working video engine, better work flow optimazion, GUI lag, midi quantization problems, and a few other well known items should get first priority. But still, I would love an updated GUI.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by jaminjamesp

I know everyone has a different idea of what tasteful design means, but in this context I do mean subtle, not color explosion. (Honestly if you take a look at the Studio One GUI, it's less of a color explosion than PT. It's much darker, muted, and subtle in its use of color. No neon green counters and menu fonts). I really love the "flat" design asthetic of Studio One. The 3D effect on buttons, faders, menus, etc, in PT looks dated at best. The color selection could be updated to include both a classic and modern color palate. Update the icons so they are still immediately recognizable, but with some modern design cues. It would be nice to have a few customizable features (I don't think skins is a good idea at all). It would be nice to be able to adjust the brightness of the edit window backgrounds, from a dark grey up to pretty light. I like how in studio One I can adjust contrast as well, which makes seeing the grid a little easier. I would love a total overhaul of the midi window. In my opinion it's the worst part of the interface and also has the lease usable work flow. And I happen to spend a lot of time there.

I think by simplifying the layout with a more modern "less is more" approach, a lot of the GUI issue in PT might be solved. Maybe? I dunno. But every other daw is somehow able to avoid the GUI lag I've had issues with for so long.

Obviously issues like a working video engine, better work flow optimazion, GUI lag, midi quantization problems, and a few other well known items should get first priority. But still, I would love an updated GUI.

A pleasing color pallette is in the eye of the beholder. What may be pleasing to one is another's eyesore. Personally I prefer functional and non-distracting like PT currently is. And of course a lot of this depends on the video card in one's computer along with the monitor. Got an old monitor and the colors are probably faded or gone out of calibration. Not to mention a lot of older monitors aren't very clear. BTW I've never had gui lag (then again I don't surf the net or have other applications running at the same time as PT either).

Why don't you like skins? What specific issue do you have with them?

[jaminjamesp]

Originally Posted by musicman691

A pleasing color pallette is in the eye of the beholder. What may be pleasing to one is another's eyesore. Personally I prefer functional and non-distracting like PT currently is. And of course a lot of this depends on the video card in one's computer along with the monitor. Got an old monitor and the colors are probably faded or gone out of calibration. Not to mention a lot of older monitors aren't very clear. BTW I've never had gui lag (then again I don't surf the net or have other applications running at the same time as PT either).

Why don't you like skins? What specific issue do you have with them?

Skins is a little too WinAmp vibe. It's still an industry standard tool, and uniformity is important. If you start doing things like skins, it makes your product seem kinda amature.

Check out the colors on Studio One. They have a really nice color palate. Much less distracting than Pro Tools. It's muted, extremely easy on the eyes, and all the colors fit nicely together. Googling it doesn't work, because every promo shot uses the brightest colors to be super eye catching. In use, there are only a few colors that bright. You can also check a box to make the regions slightly transparent, which mutes the colors even further, and you can see the grid through the region.

[Benoni]

I think a simple modification to add a dark mode in varying degrees would go a long way to making the interface look a bit more modern. Make it an option, let the user decide. Throw in a few more custom options for other colors.

Avid Media Composer has this option and it's great.

mc interface.jpg

[audioluche]

Originally Posted by jaminjamesp

I know there is a long list of things that need fixing. That's part of the reason I downloaded the demo for Studio One. I've grown increasingly frustrated with Avids complete lack of thought put in to streamlining work flow. And honestly, as a writer and composer, I was getting so uninspired staring at a GUI that looks like it was designed with a dentists office in mind.

Studio One really nailed a lot of things. There are some amazing work flow features, a macro editor, overall all a lot of things that seem like they should be a given these days. And the GUI, in my opinion is gorgeous. It's so easy on the eyes. It makes me feel more creative looking at it. But. It's seriously lacking in deeper features. The audio editing feels so clunky coming from Pro Tools, the wave forms are atrocious. I can't imagine trying to remove mouth noises from a vocal take with the lack of detail. Just basic things are missing, like L-R pan control on stereo tracks, a marker System that does anything besides mark locations (and shows up in the midi window as well), the ability to define nudge values, groups with parameter control, any time line besides bars and beats (it has a min/sec timeline but you have to choose one or the other). The grid and quantize functions are linked, so if you have input quantize on, and your grid is in 8th notes, everything is quantized to 8th notes. Lots and lots of little things like that which add up to a lot of frustration. Most of all, there's no import session data, which is just a total no go for me.

But I felt so good just looking at it, it was so hard to decide against it. After 12 years of staring at basically the same sterile GUI, I almost dread opening it back up. But I have to. I need what it offers. Why does professional have to mean boring?

Will Avid ever do a major GUI redesign? I don't mean all frilly and fancy, or changing overall layout. Just something with tasteful design elements. Some personality, and a little bit of style. It looks dated, boring and uninspiring.

Tomorrow I'm opening Pro Tools up for the first time in a week. Not looking forward to it. But there's just no way I can sacrifice usability and features for good looks.

Everybody have different taste...
I find Studio One pretty ugly and toyish and i like the look of Pro Tools!

[Muddy-T]

Originally Posted by jaminjamesp

It looks dated, boring and uninspiring.

Funny how you never seem to hear anyone say that about an SSL, a Neve or an API desk...




T

[jjnssn]

Originally Posted by audioluche

Everybody have different taste...

I find Studio One pretty ugly and toyish and i like the look of Pro Tools!

Agree.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro