6 is here !

[twistedtom]

I got my notice that it is shipping via UPS, if I had not transposed a number on my card I would have it now.

[Michael Canavan]

Haven't seen it IRL, as I'm going to (try to) wait for the first update before upgrading, but I like the new GUI. It's a huge jump away from the old look for sure, but it's not butt ugly like Sonar, or Cubase..... more like Live, which isn't that bad IMO.
I did prefer the lime green meters though!

[airtime]

It was no more than 25 minutes between the time I heard UPS ring my doorbell for the delivery until DP6 was installed, open and running. Very smooth installation.

Now I'm exploring it! How refreshing.

Wayne

[wheever]

I just got my ship notice! WOOT!

Too bad MOTU didn't get it out yesterday, things usually get here overnight from Beantown.

I iz waiting with bated breath!

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

+1

Tracktion 2 is very flat looking and there is nothing on it resembling a mixing board. I enjoy farting around in that program for its simplicity and intuitive design. But when I'm getting serious about my work flow, I reach for an app like DP because, beyond the additional professional features, there is a more "serious" look to the higher order/higher priced DAWs, IMO.

I think it matters very much to the psychology of the creative process what our environment looks like. And that includes the mixer we're working on. If it bugs me, that means that my creativity could be down a notch from subconciously battling with my consumer impulse to complain to the manager about the product.

I think MOTU can do WAY better than this. I sure as hell could in a day or two of concentrated effort. And I'm sure anyone here with a little graphics know how is probably scratching their head as to why "beauty" and "art" didn't figure into the new DP6 equation.

After all, isn't that what we're all about?

To be fair. I haven't received my copy of DP6 yet. But it will look the same on my screen installed as it does in the screenshot. And from what I can tell, it's nowhere near what it was, or where it could and should be going. I liked it better when it was just a concept.

But as you all say, redemption is one update away.

[blue]

I think MOTU can do WAY better than this. I sure as hell could in a day or two of concentrated effort.

That's a pretty bold statement. If you've ever done graphic design, you know it aint easy to design a UI as loaded as DP's. The best designs look deceivingly simple, but achieving that simplicity is anything but. I think MOTU could have done better too, but I think the flaws here are minor and easy to fix.

As for the beauty and art thing, well that's a slippery slope. I've always appreciated DP's less is more approach to DAW design. Most of the other sequencers out there are too busy with eye candy that might look good on a plugin but looks ridiculous elsewhere. I don't want my DAW to be a painting, I want it to be the wall where I hang my paintings. Know what I mean?

[willheim]

i am totally bauhaus - form should follow function - i don't give a rat's ass what it looks like - I have work to do - i want it to be simple, easy to use, solid, well thought out..

but that's me.

beauty is in the execution of the program.

[chrispick]

I don't want my DAW to be a painting, I want it to be the wall where I hang my paintings.

Nicely put.

I am a graphic designer for a living. I don't find anything particularly objectionable about DP new UI. I think it's a move in the right direction. I have a few personal preferences that differ slightly with what's offered, but they're negligible.

Mostly, I'm not sure what was so exciting or compelling about their prior design.

[blue]

form should follow function - i don't give a rat's ass what it looks like

But doesn't it follow that if form follows function, you do give a rat's ass what it looks like? It's amazing how little design decisions like can make a huge difference in how information is processed. Color choices, among other things, are huge. You make the "wrong" decision and the functionality suffers. In other words, bad form follows bad function.

[blue]

I am a graphic designer for a living. I don't find anything particularly objectionable about DP new UI. I think it's a move in the right direction. I have a few personal preferences that differ slightly with what's offered, but they're negligible.

Care to share? I'd like to hear what an actual designer has to say.

Mostly, I'm not sure what was so exciting or compelling about their prior design.

I would guess that familiarity is the biggest variable in play with the negative reaction. I wonder how people reacted to V3, which also debuted a new look. Personally, I thought there were pretty good things about the prior interface, but I also thought it needed updating.

[BobK]

I wonder how people reacted to V3, which also debuted a new look. Personally, I thought there were pretty good things about the prior interface, but I also thought it needed updating.

I started with DP 2-point-something in 1997. I've liked all the gui changes MOTU has made over the years till now. I thought they were tasteful, subtle, functional, but with a bit of flair. I don't mind cosmetic changes if they don't interfere with basic functionality.

To my eyes, the DP 6 gui makes fundamental changes in areas that negatively affect how I interact with a DAW - metering, status-indicator lights, knob and slider positions. When basic areas like these are harder for me to see - and I don't think it's just a matter of familiarity - then I start to think the company is moving in a direction tailored to a different customer base, one that may no longer include me.

(One of my more recent discoveries is that it's now harder than before to see when the Mute and Pre-post buttons in aux channels are activated; the dull yellow illuminated state has less contrast with the background than the previous white-on-gray, which was only so-so to begin with. These buttons, and the send level and pan knobs, seem smaller than before - and they were already too small in DP 5. When I have a musician trying to do an overdub and complaining that they can't hear a particular instrument playing back in their headphone mix, I need to be able to see quickly and easily which aux sends I've muted.)

[blue]

I hear you, Bob. The only things that bug me so far about V6 are the solo/mute indicators, the meters and the send button sizes and colors. I don't see those changes as fundamental, though. I think they can be pretty easily fixed and I suspect MOTU will have to if enough people plead their case. I don't think the new GUI is radically different from the old one, and it still looks nothing like Logic or Cubase or Sonar or Live. It still looks like DP to me.

[BobK]

By 'fundamental', I meant important basic functions I use all the time. I wasn't commenting on how difficult it might be for them to make these changes. I hope you're right - that they're easy to make, and that MOTU makes some changes - but I'm not holding my breath. Apparently their beta testers liked the new gui, or they wouldn't have released it.

[blue]

Apparently their beta testers liked the new gui, or they wouldn't have released it.

I don't know. I thought beta testers just made sure the software worked. I don't think they give design feedback, unless the design in question is related to a bug.

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

I wonder how people reacted to V3, which also debuted a new look. Personally, I thought there were pretty good things about the prior interface, but I also thought it needed updating.

I started with DP 2-point-something in 1997. I've liked all the gui changes MOTU has made over the years till now. I thought they were tasteful, subtle, functional, but with a bit of flair. I don't mind cosmetic changes if they don't interfere with basic functionality.

To my eyes, the DP 6 gui makes fundamental changes in areas that negatively affect how I interact with a DAW - metering, status-indicator lights, knob and slider positions. When basic areas like these are harder for me to see - and I don't think it's just a matter of familiarity - then I start to think the company is moving in a direction tailored to a different customer base, one that may no longer include me.

(One of my more recent discoveries is that it's now harder than before to see when the Mute and Pre-post buttons in aux channels are activated; the dull yellow illuminated state has less contrast with the background than the previous white-on-gray, which was only so-so to begin with. These buttons, and the send level and pan knobs, seem smaller than before - and they were already too small in DP 5. When I have a musician trying to do an overdub and complaining that they can't hear a particular instrument playing back in their headphone mix, I need to be able to see quickly and easily which aux sends I've muted.)

I started with Performer probably on a MacPlus or SE, and had one of the first copies of DP (which was interesting... I was a dealer at the time)

To me this interface is like you sent your car in to be tuned up, detailed, and to get a new stereo installed, (maybe get the windows tinted)...but it came back with a multicolored spray paint job and you can no longer find the gas cap.