[coldtea]

>We lost the Art of interface building and turned it into a complete science.

In the realm of VST/AU plugins (virtual music instruments and effects), the art of interface building is alive and kicking, and the different interfaces add (a) to the excitement, (b) to be able to differentiate quickly among dozens (or 100s) of different plugins you use, (c) helps test/create novel interaction ideas...

Here are example VST UIs:

https://www.pinterest.com/satyatunes/gui-for-vst-plugins/

[tel]

I was thinking VSTs as well. It's kind of funny, I truly dislike the UI of most VSTs I use. Cluttered, hard to understand, many hidden features and menus, and often rampant unhelpful skeuomorphism.

But also there are a few which are remarkable: the 3 synths from Madrona labs, the prosaic and convenient UI from Valhalla's plugins, up to the complex patchbay interface of something like VCV Rack, for instance.

VSTs balance a number of interesting perspectives in their UI. They are facing a very challenging domain (audio synthesis, analysis, manipulation in creative and often real-time interaction), have a complex user base (ranging from pros who really would prefer to be using their actual rack effects, to audiophiles who are pretending they've got a garage of classic synths, to modern electronic musicians who are digital natives), and have essentially zero strong UI non-skeumorphic conventions (knobs, sliders, presets, A/B switches, modules).

It's totally the wild west of UI.

[coldtea]

>and often rampant unhelpful skeuomorphism.

That's the best part of it. They work like hardware, which if you get serious, you often end up buying and using as well, which means studio musicians immediately know what they do, computer musicians get to learn how hardware units works, and the designs are nice and life-like.

The bad about skeuomorphism is not looking like a hardware unit, but being restricted to interacting like it's a hardware unit.

Which is not the case in most skeuomorphic VSTs - you have all kinds of computer-only interactions to make your life easier (double-click to reset knobs, preset search, A/B comparison, draw curves, etc).

Skeuomorphism there is just the cherry on top, not a rotten core, like the skeuomorphic DVD player programs of yore.

[zapzupnz]

It would be kinda cool if the basic slideable/toggleable options of a plugin could be defined somehow so that the program/OS of your choice can render them as a nice boring inspector palette or something. Then you can choose between that and the vendor-defined skeuomorphic design. Perhaps it already exists?

[coldtea]

>Perhaps it already exists?

Yeah, it does. Not sure if it's available on all DAWs, but the capability to enumerate and control the various options corresponding to various widgets exists in the protocols.

Logic and Ableton Live do offer this view as alternative.

[zapzupnz]

That's great. I'm never a fan of the skeuomorphic controls. Making a dial right and down by dragging my cursor up makes no sense to me, much prefer a slider.

[Slow_Hand]

I'm a music producer and the FabFilter Pro-Q3 equalizer plugin has THE most refined, intuitive, and quick user interface I've ever experienced. They've taken the most frequently-used audio tool and found a way to really let you fly with it.

https://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-q-3-equalizer-plug-in

Upon opening, it displays an empty field with a live frequency readout of the sound on the channel. You can click anywhere in the frequency range and it generates an EQ/filter node underneath your mouse. It's as easy as thinking about the aspect of the sound that you want to alter, and immediately having your tone-shaping underneath your fingers. You reach out and grab it.

It's most-used features (gain, frequency, Q) are all changed by dragging the node or a modifier key (Cmd). These can all be done simultaneously in what feels like a unified gesture. The default filter type is context-dependent, based on where I grab on the spectrum. So if I grab a new node in the sub-bass frequencies it will automatically provide me a high-pass filter to start filtering all unwanted low-end. Ditto for the top-end, shelving filters, etc.

The fine-controls all appear in a secondary window just beneath your mouse that follows the filter node with you as you drag it, so you won't find yourself moving back and forth across the entire screen to tweak controls. When you click on another node the fine-controls appear nearby and the controls for the first node disappear, keeping the GUI empty and very easy to read.

These features may seem simple and obvious now that I've explained them, but an EQ is easily the most-used tool in my toolbox, and FabFilter's design choices have made the process quicker, easier, and far more intuitive than any other interface out there. It really puts a lot of pleasure back into the process that would be reduced fighting with inferior interfaces.

For comparison, most software EQs are either skeumorphic to resemble classic hardware EQs like this:

https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/equalizers/pultec-passive...

or a hopelessly cramped and slow panel with every available parameter on display:

https://www.waves.com/plugins/h-eq-hybrid-equalizer#h-eq-hyb...

I cannot praise FabFilter enough for the elegance, flexibility, and musicality of their products.