Modernize the user interface

Support and feedback for Acoustica's Mixcraft audio mixing software.

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Acoustica Greg
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by Acoustica Greg »

TonyRapa wrote: -mute and solo buttons: just use M and S and voila, smaller buttons means more room.
-make the transport bar slicker and smaller.
Hi,

Did you know you can select a bunch of tracks right-click to the left of a track, select Height, then Properties, and choose Small?

Greg
Mixcraft - The Musician's DAW
Check out our tutorial videos on YouTube: Mixcraft 10 University 101
Drafter
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by Drafter »

Tony,

Here's a modification I made to the MC8 skin.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ozvcdpwb6vwm ... hDtia?dl=0

Andrew
Last edited by Drafter on Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
Drafter
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by Drafter »

Tony,

Might as well forget about asking Acoustica for a new skin or updated look because people have been asking for this forever. In addition to these requests going nowhere, there are also plenty of people here on the forums that will give you the "looks aren't important, I'd rather see more functionality improvements before GUI improvements blah, blah, blah"

I personally have brought the GUI thing to the attention of the developers (as have many others) and they don't seem to care. That's why I went into the guts of the program and changed the ugly ass thing, to make it a bit more visually appealing (at least to me) and with more contrast to be able to see different elements easier.
What the developer doesn't seem to understand is that there are a lot of potential buyers out there that WILL be turned off by a shitty-looking GUI, and they may just pass MC8 over for something else. Now, I think MC8 is a great piece of gear, not perfect by any stretch, but still an awesome DAW. First impressions matter, yes, first visual impressions. And they can be enough to make or break a sale, period.

AC
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jlouvar
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by jlouvar »

Drafter wrote:Tony,

Might as well forget about asking Acoustica for a new skin or updated look because people have been asking for this forever. In addition to these requests going nowhere, there are also plenty of people here on the forums that will give you the "looks aren't important, I'd rather see more functionality improvements before GUI improvements blah, blah, blah"

I personally have brought the GUI thing to the attention of the developers (as have many others) and they don't seem to care. That's why I went into the guts of the program and changed the ugly ass thing, to make it a bit more visually appealing (at least to me) and with more contrast to be able to see different elements easier.
What the developer doesn't seem to understand is that there are a lot of potential buyers out there that WILL be turned off by a shitty-looking GUI, and they may just pass MC8 over for something else. Now, I think MC8 is a great piece of gear, not perfect by any stretch, but still an awesome DAW. First impressions matter, yes, first visual impressions. And they can be enough to make or break a sale, period.

AC
Hmm, I think they (Acoustica) care and listen to all of us... Personally I like the MC8P skin, but I can still see fairly well (with my glasses on). :wink: :lol: BTW: The skin you made looks okay too.
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mick
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by mick »

That's why I went into the guts of the program and changed the ugly ass thing.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Too true and the reason I messed with the mixrez!
mixyguy2
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by mixyguy2 »

Drafter wrote:Might as well forget about asking Acoustica for a new skin or updated look because people have been asking for this forever. In addition to these requests going nowhere, there are also plenty of people here on the forums that will give you the "looks aren't important, I'd rather see more functionality improvements before GUI improvements blah, blah, blah"
...along with "we like the UI just fine blah blah." Both which might part at least a little part of why they haven't changed it too much, along with oh btw not everyone thinking "this is so ugly it's so yesterday it sucks blah blah." And frankly IMO this whole thing is ridiculously overblown, at best. DAWs in general IMO look much more similar than they do different. Outside of the scaling thing the OP mentioned, why anyone thinks it's more than the tiniest of details about (for ex) whether a particular section has a gradient color vs flat I can't imagine. It's hardly a night-and-day diff.
I personally have brought the GUI thing to the attention of the developers (as have many others) and they don't seem to care.
Yeah, they don't care about our opinions; that's why they created this thread :roll: Which only has about 300 million other suggestions. Why don't they make them all??
What the developer doesn't seem to understand is that there are a lot of potential buyers out there that WILL be turned off by a shitty-looking GUI, and they may just pass MC8 over for something else.
In your opinion, which doesn't automatically equate to fact FYI. My opinion is that saying MC has a "shitty-looking GUI" is absurd. Change it up and IMO it could lose just as many people as it doesn't. Although the diff in either case IMO is likely to be quite small.

This is much ado about nothing. I hope this idea is at or near the bottom of the pile.
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Acoustica Greg
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by Acoustica Greg »

Hi,

We got criticisms about the white track background of early versions of Mixcraft because some people said it hurt their eyes in the studio. So we made the background dark in Mixcraft 7, and other people complained because they liked the white background.

So we did this:

Image

And then some people complained that those two options weren't enough.

We get lots and lots of suggestions. We're a small company, and we have to pick and choose which suggestions go into each new version. All of the many features we've added over the years took a lot of time and testing to get right. While we were working on those features, other suggested features didn't get implemented. Everybody has their own priorities for what they want to see in Mixcraft, and we'll just keep trying to please as best we can.

Greg
Mixcraft - The Musician's DAW
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bigaquarium
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by bigaquarium »

Mixcraft looks like home to me, so I like it the way it is too. That said, when I want eye candy, the plugins come out. :)

-N
Drafter
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by Drafter »

Mixguy2,

I didn't say that Acoustica didn't care about our opinions. I believe that they actually do care about what people are thinking about their product. I simply said that they didn't seem to care too much about the GUI topic. And as I said "in my opinion", so no I didn't say that I was stating fact. Ok, maybe I went a bit far as to call it a shitty interface. I will concede that it's not shit. A poor choice of words. To be honest, I have personally gotten producers here and in Europe to switch to it from Ableton (or should I say Dis-Ableton) Reason, and others. But I know what I've heard from people, and it's always the same kind of thing. "That thing looks like a toy" or "What's with that goofy looking mixer"? And trying to get people to look past that sometimes is hard. I'm not on Acoustica's payroll, but I try to convert everyone over to Mixcraft because I think this thing is an awesome piece of software that should be more widespread. And guess what, the more recognition it gets, the more $$ come into Acoustica to make this thing even better for all of us that use it, right? Believe me, there are extremely few complaints I have with this thing or I wouldn't be using it.

AC
sjoens
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by sjoens »

Anyone not happy with the current GUI is totally free to change it how they like as most of the files are accessible - even the layout and text files. Most vendors aren't so gracious. Eventually I may post my new theme but it's still a WIP.
Mixcraft 9 Pro Studio, Legion laptop, Windows 11 64 bit, Mackie Onyx12 mixer/interface.
sjoens
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by sjoens »

Normally DAWs have a menu in Preferences for changing GUI colors.

FWIW - I have a 4K monitor and, aside from being very, very small when set all the way up, MC8 displays just fine. No blurry here.
Last edited by sjoens on Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Mixcraft 9 Pro Studio, Legion laptop, Windows 11 64 bit, Mackie Onyx12 mixer/interface.
TonyRapa
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by TonyRapa »

Thanks Acoustica Greg . I did see that. But what I'm refering to is general space saving. Anyway, like I keep saying, I'm loving MC 8 - I'm really glad that I went ahead with my purchase and I really can't wait to see how MC 9 will be. :D
jwarv
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by jwarv »

I could be wrong, but maybe the faux wood accents on the mixing panel are adding to the feeling of oldness. (Not a big fan of antique furniture, so doesn't do anything for me.)

Perhaps if the smarties at Acoustica can develop a handful of themes, (Beyond just "dark or light")
maybe that would satisfy a broader scope of aesthetics.

Having said that, if they go too far afield from their base design, it may end up ruining what makes it work for me. And that's simplicity. I'd hate to see it become an interface of just dots and lines like that unwieldy, "hieroglyphic" Ableton. (Sorry Ableton lovers, but I've tried it many times and still hate it.)
bigaquarium
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by bigaquarium »

jwarv wrote:Having said that, if they go too far afield from their base design, it may end up ruining what makes it work for me. And that's simplicity. I'd hate to see it become an interface of just dots and lines like that unwieldy, "hieroglyphic" Ableton. (Sorry Ableton lovers, but I've tried it many times and still hate it.)
+1!

I experimented with another DAW about a year ago and someone had recommended a different skin for it. I tried several skins and they completely threw me off to the point of being unusable. Sometimes the appearance of the buttons was different, other times they were in different relative positions. Never again!

Vast changes are inadvisable.

-N
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Mark Bliss
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Re: Modernize the user interface

Post by Mark Bliss »

jwarv wrote:I could be wrong, but maybe the faux wood accents on the mixing panel are adding to the feeling of oldness.
Those aren't faux. That's genuine mahogany. 8)
Stay in tune, Mark

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