Dear PG: Simpler

WaveLab
1

I see you’re already doing WL8 but this is just a rant anyway so take it FWIW.

I’ve been a user since WL3. I would still be using WL4 if I hadn’t wanted to go to 64 bits. I didn’t upgrade until then because, frankly, I didn’t need to WL4 was, to me, as a former software developer, one of the best pieces of software I’ve ever used. From the UI to the reliability, it was the best product Steinberg ever put out—hands down.

Other than the Spectrum Editor----which is -very- cool, BTW, I rarely use any of the new features in WL7.

Anyhoo, what I wanted to say is this:

WL7 is, to me, something of a failure. I only say that because WL4 was so bloody stellar. What I object to so strenuously about WL7 is the UI. After over a year, it still annoys me. It’s busy, convoluted, overly complicated and even more than Cubase or Microsoft Office 2010, it almost revels in breaking the basic Windows UI guidelines in favour of fancy non-standard widgets and behaviours (like the docking Windows.) I’ve spent most of my time with WL7 having to re-learn it… or ‘tame it’ by getting rid of all the clutter.

I keep thinking about how when cars got digital dashboards, everyone went -nuts- with overly complex consoles just because they -could-. And how much better it is to drive a car with a simple analog instrument display.

Sorry for sounding so negative. If I had one suggestion it would be: MAKE IT SIMPLER. Make the default interface -blank- as is common with lots of web apps and then allow the user to clutter things up… rather than the current default which is ‘everything on!’ when you start up.

The people who do UI right these days are Adobe. Their dockable/tabbed interface in CS4 and CS5 is the best thing I’ve seen on Windows or Mac. They make it easy to get things just the way you want and easily move things in and out of the way as needed. They really are the masters of UI for complex apps (like WL) right now and if I were the king of the forest I’d wave a wand and make WL and Cubase work like Photoshop tomorrow.

Under the hood, WL is still the business and I hope that WL8 gets back to the clean UI of past versions.

Thanks and highest regards,

—JC

2

For WaveLab 8, I am working on a fair number of improvements based on user feedback. Reducing complexity and improving workflow is something I definitly bear in mind, AFAP.

3

Thank you for your measured reply. Unfortunately, my over the top despair is simply because I was over the top in love with WL4. I know from experience how tough it is to organise a lot of features in a clear way. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Oh… and if there was one feature I would like? A really transparent last in the signal chain limiter.

All The Best,

—JC

4

Oh… and if there was one feature I would like? A really transparent last in the signal chain limiter.

Isn’t it the case of the Peak Master plug-in?..

5

I must admit that I totally underestimated the the Peak Master.

6

Frankly, I haven’t used PeakMaster since WL4----found it sort of put a ‘blanket’ on the sound when pushed. Perhaps it’s been redone for WL7? Always open to trying again!

—JC

7

I don’t remember if it has changed with time, but Peak Master is by design very transparent on sound. It’s best usage is as a brick wall limiter.

8

I wish I was able to use AppleScript to automate tasks in the next Wavelab on the Mac platform.

9

That’s what I call hijacking a thread.

10

Simpler, … nice!!
With an easy, better way to build individual working surfaces and maybe a preset for the former WL 6 GUI.
I have a WL 7 wizzard in my studio who’d probably die if he had to go back to WL6…which I, in turn, am quite fond of. WL7 is not my fav playground, but the features of it are really cool.

Big K ( getting old…?)

11

OK, I’ll try PeakMaster again. (And how’s this for going off the res) my fave UAD plugs often misbehave in WL7 64 so I’m always looking for alternatives.

I’m off now.

12

maybe a preset for the former WL 6 GUI.

that would be so cool!

13

Try this:

Close your current Audio File workspace.
Create a new one with Global / New Workspace / Audio File / Factory preset: empty layout.
Open a single audio file in the empty workspace and maximise this window.
Open the Master section from Workspace / Shared Tool Windows.
Dock the Master section to the left of the Edit window (for example)
In Workspace / Command bars, de-activate ‘Central Switcher bar’
Save the layout using Workspace / Layout/ Save As
In Options / Global preferences / Display, de-activate ‘show icons in menus’ and ‘use floating window switcher’
Quit Wavelab and re-launch.

14

And PG, please don’t forget to put back the video track in the montage!!! :wink:

15

Better VST3 implementation with Sidechain in Montage?

16

Hi, Folks!
Haven’t been on the forum for ages, but I have to agree with the first post. I upgraded to WL7 but have only opened it once or twice, to peer at the interface… and run! I continue to primarily use WL5 for 2 reasons:

  1. The bloody syncro key “stick” is fragile and easily misplaced (I’ve put a lanyard on it); along with being a bit of a pain to replace if damaged. I occasionally use WL6, but only for a select few upgrade tools within it.
  2. I don’t have the luxury of time to deal with an entirely new UI! Which is why I haven’t even bothered to try and use WL7!
    Having to deal with various apps in my “day job” that are constantly updated and “improved”; which mostly seem to alter the UI and confound everyone for months as they try to learn where the stuff they used to use all the time has been re-located in the new UI!
    And of late, I’ve had to deal with a major German software developer’s application that requires at least 25 separate steps for one simple transaction, along with a minimum of 4 select ways to enter information depending on the specific UI function open at the time… and if you goof and hit the wrong “enter” icon… it sends you to a totally different part of the application, sending the user struggling to figure out where they were!!! The user interface is so arcane, that tens of millions of USD’s are being spent by my “day job” company to train folks just how to use it! (Unfortunately, a simpler UI along with bar-coding would have accomplished the same ends without all the key and mouse strokes!).
    I used to LOVE Norton A/V when Peter Norton ran the organization. The UI was so intuitive that no instruction manual or training was ever required. Adobe has managed to create some very powerful software that works hard to apply the same KISS dictum.
    But then, I suppose if it got that easy, the folks who write the “dummies” books would be out of business!!! :wink: