Mixcraft 10 display themes (was: Q & A).

[hpharley90]

The Mixcraft designs are nice and follow the flat design trend. Personally I like a little 3d and color differentiation between controls.

I've been messing around with the light design a little. I've darkened the tracks background, changed the tick colors, added 3d title bars to the windows and track major header and timeline header. I've also changed the vu meter colors a little on the tracks. I've added a "green glass" cover on the transport. It's fun. There are elements I like about the light theme out of the box but I needed some color contrasts and handle separations. I also removed the light blue borders around the windows and replaced it with a dark grey.

Over time I'll tweak it here and there a little. The documentation in the ini file and section layout is fairly clear that adjustments are pretty easy to make; so one should be able to add some simple tweaks without too much trouble if they're are up for it. Top screenshot - light theme with a few tweaks. Bottom screenshot - original light theme.



MC 10 light3d.JPG





MC 10 light-original.JPG

That is a very nice job. I wish I could do something like that.

[creativeforge]

The Mixcraft designs are nice and follow the flat design trend. Personally I like a little 3d and color differentiation between controls.
Over time I'll tweak it here and there a little. The documentation in the ini file and section layout is fairly clear that adjustments are pretty easy to make; so one should be able to add some simple tweaks without too much trouble if they're are up for it. Top screenshot - light theme with a few tweaks. Bottom screenshot - original light theme.
MC 10 light3d.JPG

Well done... I've been critical of the UI from MX9. Somehow it's not about hurting people's feelings or being petty - one has to understand the WORKFLOW VALUE of a pleasant interface that is not bland or lifeless. Notice something?
▼

mixcraft-remote.jpg (70.61 KiB) Viewed 108710 times

▼
Exactly. Making it look like a 3D device could be so simple when you are already in there for mobile devices.

It always amazes me when companies think we WANT them to always renew everything - that's not a good marketing strategy or slogan, nor what we all want. Not if you use Mixcraft constantly and are used to VISUALLY NAVIGATE, thanks to a clear and pleasant interface.

I'm saying this because I love Mixcraft. And it is a shame that I was never able to use the MX9 PRO due to the UI (which I purchased at the time, only to discover the transition to a generic "Ableton-ish" UI). A lot of developers are coders, not graphic designers, and don't "see" the value in beauty, the need for it. Most of the investment goes into the engine, and the body too often looks like a Lada. Sorry.

I'm disappointed. I'll keep using v8 until I figure out how to free myself from what I consider a severe limitation. YMMV. I hope Acoustica will listen and consider what is being said by many of us. Sadly, it will take a few years again.

Meanwhile, I will explore what cactus-head mentions with the *.ini file. There's a glimmer of hope there... I myself am partial to MX8 dark theme. So that will be my starting point.

This being said, good luck on the launch, wishing you all the best success with it, and for positive reviews!

Andre

[Jpwnz]

Thank you Cactus for the tile command!

Yeah 100% agree. Take a look at my skin for Mixcraft 9. Just change it to the 8 skin and then apply the files and it will bring it back to mostly where it was. Not everything is fixed but the main UI is. That is if you even feel the need to use 9 over 8, there's a few quality of life improvements but it doesn't run much better.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/2mjws4cl ... e.rar/file

Here's the original post if you are interested in how it looks and most of the changes.

https://forums.acoustica.com/viewtopic. ... 70#p141770

[cactus-head]

Good job on filling in the blanks for MC9 using the 8 theme! The packaged 8 theme was missing a couple of things here and there, looks like you got most of them.

In terms of using the actual program 9 over 8, maybe it's my imagination but 8's project load times were sssllloowww. And there's just a few nuances in 9 that made me never go back to 8 (though I liked it's theme!).

I really like 10... and I'm growing fond of my customized interface based on the light theme, though it's still going through development.

So far since I've been using 10, I've only needed to go back to 9 to double check functionality or available plug-ins. Otherwise 10 feels superior to me. Once 10 is vetted more deeply by the community and the minor bugs are fixed and some added functionality makes it way into future updates, I don't see a need to go back to 9. And maybe, a few users may be adventurous enough to create and release new themes.

That's another thing, from what I can tell, this forum has a lot of great people. This is not a "vicious" place as I'm sure many have contended with on other forums. It's supportive and helpful around here.

[mixyguy2]

Yeah, sorry, installed the MC 10 trial and don't care for the dark or light mode at all tbh. Would love a future enhancement to install the MC9 UI.

[creativeforge]

To Acoustica staff: I moved to Mixcraft a few years ago (MX7) because it offered a simple and solid performance with virtual instruments especially. I never looked back. I have been recommending it to others since.

One deeply damaging consequence of pursuing this interface transition without consulting your current users - or offering a solid alternative, which is MX8) is that we're not going to be interested in upgrading to MX10 at the moment or foreseeable future, and will not feel comfortable recommending it, since I was not even able to appreciate MX9. IMHO you are hurting the future of your product.

There are UIs all looking the same, lifeless, sterile, for certain types of DAWs. A majority of virtual instruments and effects plugins developers invest in UIs to make them easy on the eyes and inspiring to use.

Would it really be a huge investment to create an MX8 theme for v9 and 10? Look at how a few users have already been tweaking MX 9 and 10 to go back to MX8 theme. That should tell you something...

Sometimes I just don't understand corporate decisions from companies that feel the need to start from scratch with a product they spent years perfecting, and already had developed an excellent product in every way. Improve on things, for sure, but don't disorient us with novelties that don't appeal to your users. That will be all I have to say on this topic. Looking forward to see a faithful MX8 theme for new versions of MX, or I'll keep using MX8 forever...

Good luck,

Andre

[RStudio]

The lack of theme customization in MX is not the main problem it has.
I never liked the light theme in early versions of MX and so I always used the dark one. But someone doesn't even like the dark version. Maybe the developers at Acoustica should look into making it possible for users to customize themes like in Reaper, but it seems to me that this is not a high priority theme for them.
Especially when they have a small staff that can't spend a huge amount of time adding lots of new features and testing/fixing/updating them.

[Ian Craig]

Any further tinkering updates guys ?

[cactus-head]

Hi,

for me not too much. I did correct an error that seems to occur in the included Light theme - in the MIDI details the CCs that were used in the clip do not highlight so I fixed it. So I mostly use my modified light theme. Also I started a little work on a MC 8ish theme. Didn't do too much so far, but changed the track and timeline main headers to be a little 3d like and also added the blue ruler time tick thingy.

MC 10 mix8ish theme start.JPG (46.12 KiB) Viewed 108532 times

[Ian Craig]

Hi,

for me not too much. I did correct an error that seems to occur in the included Light theme - in the MIDI details the CCs that were used in the clip do not highlight so I fixed it. So I mostly use my modified light theme. Also I started a little work on a MC 8ish theme. Didn't do too much so far, but changed the track and timeline main headers to be a little 3d like and also added the blue ruler time tick thingy.


MC 10 mix8ish theme start.JPG

It looks like a vast improvement anyway, the more 3d it looks the better, although I'm sure the developers would disagree (when getting into their flat 2d cars to drive to work in their flat paper world).
Some of the other things that appear to have happened with the program mentioned in other threads, like the inability to hide automation lines, are what would stop me re-buying the upgrade, after getting a refund, as I did. If I could get it to look like the screenshot above, it would help me re-consider getting it, though the stupid shape of the FX box is still really off-putting (why is it so big and rounded, yuk) . Anway, well done Cactus-Head, I appreciate your efforts in the name of sanity. Good man

[starwarswii]

could @cactus-head and or @Jpwnz post some downloads to the mixcraft 10 skins you have so far? even if they're really WIP, what you both have shown so far is WAY better than the MX10 defaults. i'd love to use them

[RollingStone]

well, its again a solid statement to all the "old" MX users, that the audience of the software should change.

I tried MX 10 like MX 9 for 5 minutes before it went straight into the garbage.

Though I really loved the announcement of the new hot key functions (very good!) and the scalable UI in MX 10, but the themes still make it unusable for me.

in the end, I'm not important as a single user and when acoustica gets some new rap and edm hipsters as customers with their new direction and style, they did everything right. although i don't think that they will win this race, since cubase/reaper and all the others are much more powerful, popular and highly customizable to the users needs.

in the meantime I will again stick to MX 8 with all its pros and cons and looking forward to the results of those who try to build a similar MX 8 theme. I really appreciate your effort.

[Ian Craig]

well, its again a solid statement to all the "old" MX users, that the audience of the software should change.

I tried MX 10 like MX 9 for 5 minutes before it went straight into the garbage.

Though I really loved the announcement of the new hot key functions (very good!) and the scalable UI in MX 10, but the themes still make it unusable for me.

in the end, I'm not important as a single user and when acoustica gets some new rap and edm hipsters as customers with their new direction and style, they did everything right. although i don't think that they will win this race, since cubase/reaper and all the others are much more powerful, popular and highly customizable to the users needs.

in the meantime I will again stick to MX 8 with all its pros and cons and looking forward to the results of those who try to build a similar MX 8 theme. I really appreciate your effort.

+1

[ppayne]

well, its again a solid statement to all the "old" MX users, that the audience of the software should change.

I tried MX 10 like MX 9 for 5 minutes before it went straight into the garbage.

Though I really loved the announcement of the new hot key functions (very good!) and the scalable UI in MX 10, but the themes still make it unusable for me.

in the end, I'm not important as a single user and when acoustica gets some new rap and edm hipsters as customers with their new direction and style, they did everything right. although i don't think that they will win this race, since cubase/reaper and all the others are much more powerful, popular and highly customizable to the users needs.

in the meantime I will again stick to MX 8 with all its pros and cons and looking forward to the results of those who try to build a similar MX 8 theme. I really appreciate your effort.

It's interesting how differently some users of different ages see it. In my opinion, Mixcraft delivers exactly the right thing for its target group. Ease of use. It doesn't really compete with Reaper. Reaper is an absolute hell when it comes to usability. Completely different target group. I would say the typical Mixcraft user age is 40+. The typical Reaper user age is 16+ I think.

Aside from a few missing midi routing features, I honestly can't find anything bad about Mixcraft 10. I like the default theme so much, including the new rounded fx box. I'm age 50+.

What exactly do you expect from a new version of Mixcraft? Should everything stay the same as it was since version 8, including the colors? I think that would be the wrong way. Acoustica needs to modernize the user interface and also the features to stay in the market.

I would say that the modernized UI also target to users aged 30+, who have a requirement for good and simple ux. But these are still not the 16 year old Reaper hipsters. I think they are doing very well with Mixcraft 10.

There are so many good features added in mixcraft 9 and 10. Is the theme really worth giving up and staying with MC 8?

[Thomas]

Better to have choice so they don't alienate too many old timers. IE-, bring back MC8 UI. Also the MC10 dark UI is black imo, too dark; and I typically like dark UIs. Just two more cents.