Cubase Aesthetic/GUI

Fair enough. I don’t hate Windows! :slight_smile:

As far as Studio One is concerned, yes, it is getting quite appealing. I’m not a fan of its GUI in general, but man is it fluid and super snappy on MacOs.

In a way you’re right but as someone “re-discovering” present day Cubase - after being in Ableton-land for almost a decade - and loving it there - I have to respond here.

Yes Ableton’s look and feel hasn’t changed for ages - but there’s a Zen-like minimalist simplicity to Ableton and its pared down menu set ( and DAW- feature set ) that really makes creativity keep going and not constantly killed by having to enter engineer or tekkie mode.

And if it comes to present day Cubase it seems very clear to me that the whole way menus are organised in Cubase needs rethought. Its a kitchen sink-mess. So Ableton engineers clearly and rightly know that to "touch"ie tweak or tamper with the Ableton “way” - is entering hallowed ground :slight_smile:

Plus it has to be said, compared to Cubase - Ableton is as solid as a rock.
Dependable and reliable. Not something I can say about so so many other … DAW-like software and associated tech…

Obviously old-timers will want Cubase menus exactly as they are, so to accommodate - some flexible mechanism needs to be designed in whereby people can revert to the “old-school” menu mess if they want - while making things a little more obvious, logical and un cluttered for the newcomers ( and returning lost sheep )

I am with you there, but that has nothing to do with looks, but is a pure functional/workflow thing. I am absolutely not a guy who do not want things to change, just because you are used to them. Changes are fine for me, as long as there are any workflow improvements too. In the end its all about time, if a new feature or a rearranged menu saves me time, even if I had to relearn certain things, then give it to me please!

I mean who wouldn’t want Ableton’s elastic/rubber band MIDI tool! Some things in Ableton are just truly unique. But Cubase is still top for me; as far as a professional studio/film/post workflow is concerned.

The great Hans Zimmer reveals in his new Steinberg talk that Cubase is now aesthetically pleasing. As much as I like him, Cubase has more users than just Hans. Please, Steinberg, listen to us, too!

IMHO, Flat Design rules:

1 Like

Logic truly is the best designed and smoothest in performance—-and cheapest. They’ve definitely got an edge and the resources, being owned by Apple.

Good progress with 10.5. Events are now flatter.

Lets now work on anti-aliasing of waveforms and smooth play head please! We need a professional metering system with accurate and fast fallback speeds. Again please get rid of the gradient mess and overall jankyness.

Thanks.

Flat design, like everything, is just styling. Flat design owes more to the fact that brand new device touch-screen interfaces at first were fairly rudimentary, and no one really knew what to do. Typographic interfaces were the latest rage - and so there we are - flat as it gets. There’s no real improvement over past desktop design guides. It’s just different. It’ll pass, like everything, until the next rage. Then, everybody shells out all over again just to get the latest window dressing.

It’s not flat for the sake of being flat. It’s easier on the eyes in a professional environment. Also, I don’t take “flat” design religiously. Make something beautiful, functional and elegant, and I wont have a problem with it. Look at UAD visual design. It’s great.

You can’t say the gradient mess of Cubase was not due to some technological limitation. Computers are insanely powerful now, and we need to catch up. Also waveforms–they look like this because of performance limitations of the past. Look at Pro Tools metering–and then look at Cubase’s gradient mush. Then look at any professional mixing console and outboard gear. In fact, look at Steinberg’s own flagship interface’s hardware and software design: AXR4. Then look at Cubase’s gradient metering.

So yeah. Things have room to and can be improved. Look at Wavelab 10! It has improved so much.

Gradient metering ? Then change it !
Anyhow, kind of late discussing GUI design, when the GUI is nearly completely redesigned, a progression that was started back in version 7 and now almost finished in version 10.5
After that long of a progress, I don’t think there is any chance it will be changed “much” in the coming years.
I would appreciate it, if Steinberg did concentrate on the inner workings from now on.
Of cause this is only my opinion, and it is not a dismissal of the oppositions in this thread, I just think it is wasted energy.

I disagree. Some may opine that “dark mode” interfaces are easier on the eyes, and may have some clinical data to back it. But “flat” design? That there’s just personal preference. You can bet your bottom dollar that companies the Apple know that if you polish a trd like the Mac Pro with “style” and “design” it’ll sell to the hoi polloi grasping to be cool.

+1
And please make it consistent.
Right now it looks like some parts were made 20 yrs ago and some last week.

Please. Fix meters (real time fallback speed; skeuomorphic visuals/better gradient), waveform anti-aliasing, uniform icons and buttons.

Universal Audio’s LUNA is on its way! Looks freaking amazing.

Here’s how I have customized my 10.5 to look better and functional (thanks for flat events).

That’s indeed really beautiful.

+1

Steinberg lives off that. They deliberately mess with the GUI in every update so as to sell you the fix in the next one, in turn introducing more braindead and annoying crap as they go along. There simply is no other explanation for this. They have the poison, they have the remedy.

Do not expect this behaviour to change anytime soon, it makes them money.

+1