Check Out The ToonTrack Superior 3 UX

Cubase
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#1

I just got Superior 3 and my suggestion to Steinberg is: LOOK HARD AT THIS.

https://www.toontrack.com/superior-line/how-to-videos/

The workflow is amazingly smooth and intuitive. Lots of little details.

Eg.

—To create a ‘group’ channel, you can simply select all the channels you want to assign to the group and click. Et Viola. No ‘routing’ to think about.

—To add or remove plugs from each channel is also a one click affair. (None of this nonsense of select ‘No Effect’ to clear an effect.)

The thing is: there are -dozens- of refinements that show a tremendous amount of care. They -could- have done a LOT less work and users would’ve been quite satisfied, but this GUI could totally work for a DAW.

Please obtain a copy and give it a test drive. There is a LOT to steal from here.

#2

Ya - there’s a lot of amazing stuff going on in UI design and workflow with other DAWs / software these days. Hopefully Steinberg (and the people behind Logic!) are paying attention and are open to new ways of thinking.

However - as to your point about Group channels - there is a key command to create a group channel from selected tracks, and route them to that newly created group channel. It’s in the “Mixer” section of key commands - called: “Add Track to Selected: Group Channel”. Option for VCAs as well.

You can also set up macros to add to this…like soloing the group after routing, or moving the tracks and the group to new folder, etc. Lots of very cool stuff in Macros, Project Logical Editor and key commands that will hugely speed up workflow.

#3

You can remove plugins by clicking and dragging outside of the inserts tabs, I find it very useful

#4

Your point is well-taken. However, since those a -Macros- they suffer from one side-effect which is a total deal-breaker for me: They are not cleanly UNDOABLE. If you run them, then decide you made a mistake, it leaves some nasty side-effects. The one that comes to mind is that the source tracks are no longer assigned to any buss. That’s why I prefer features to be baked-in. Because frankly, the PLE and LE and Macros are often–HALF-baked. :smiley:

Anyhoo… your larger point about Macros and the LE and so forth is also well-taken. I just wish SB would finally take the time to FINISH them!

#5

I never use that feature. Not to be picky, but when I’ve tried to do that, I always end up ‘dragging’ some place where there is a button or switch and I end up making something unexpected happen. I would (and I think most people would) MUCH prefer to have a single-click function to clear plugs. It seems petty, but those details -matter-.

#6

fair enough, I second your request then, everything that saves clicking around is useful. I think cubase developers should have a mouse tax (for every click used, a penny goes into a jar or something like that)

#7

Hmm. That’s an odd philosophy. Macros are built into virtually every major software from graphics, video, audio, accounting, etc. And for a reason - it allows you to string together functions…simply and easily. EG: You consistently use 3 commands in sequence…create a macro of those 3 commands in seqence and assign it a key (or button on a touch screen, etc.). There’s no point in a software manufacture providing every possible key command combination every user would want - lest they have 10,000 key commands. And every user will have a different workflow, and macros allow infinite customization.

PLE just takes Macros one step further by allowing you to heavily customize those commands. For instance - on my touch screen, all my groups and folders are accessed by name via the PLE. So, in a large 100 track project, if I wanted to select, solo and edit channel settings on the VOX bus, I just hit a button and all those commands are executed. No searching through the mixer, or project. Just one button and group is solo’d, selected, and channel settings window pops up in front of me. Another button will hide everything in the project except, say, the guitar folder. Or will hide everything in the mixer except channels linked to the one that’s selected (groups, fx, sources, etc.) Helps on massive projects. Or another button that will render a clip in place, disable the original - rename it as “rendered”, and then move the original track into a folder of my choice, so it’s hidden, but available if I need to go back to it. All with one click.

Again - Macros / PLE are essential in my opinion. They save hundreds of hours of time a year. Takes time to learn it of course.

Still - the trash inserts key command needs to be implemented. And I’m hoping if they do, they’ll also give the option in PLE for further customization - like say "delete all instances of [named plugin]’ from entire project.

#8

I have no objection to using Macros or the PLE. But as I wrote, they were never -finished-… so many macros (like the one you suggested) do not properly ‘undo’… and that’s a deal-breaker for me.

The LE and PLE and Macro facility haven’t really been worked on in almost a decade so I’ve little hope of it at this point.

So at this point, when I ask for a new feature, I like it BAKED IN, rather than cobbled together from a Macro. Because again, if there are problems with the Macro, there is no chance it will ever get addressed.

—JC