# Can't Imagine Why People Say Reaper isn't Beautiful



## robgb (Jun 1, 2020)

I really like the way it looks.


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## Mornats (Jun 1, 2020)

I think Reaper and Cubase have around the same level of aesthetics but more people say Reaper looks ugly but barely anyone says the same about Cubase. Reaper can look much better too if you're into skinning it.


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## robgb (Jun 1, 2020)

Mornats said:


> I think Reaper and Cubase have around the same level of aesthetics but more people say Reaper looks ugly but barely anyone says the same about Cubase.


I think the newer version of dark Cubase looks much better than past versions, but to my mind Reaper looks much better with Version 6. I really dislike the way ProTools looks, Studio One is not especially attractive, and Logic looks quite nice—probably the prettiest of them all. No surprise, since visual design is one of Apple's strengths.


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## Dewdman42 (Jun 1, 2020)

which skin or theme is that? Its not bad. Reaper's usability problems, however, go way beyond the color selection, IMHO.


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## Nate Johnson (Jun 1, 2020)

I gotta say, Reaper looks hideous. A close second is Cubase. Logic is ok, but I’ve been using it for so long now; must be some bias there. Ableton is the prettiest. Pro Tools....well, still looks like Pro Tools.


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## robgb (Jun 1, 2020)

Dewdman42 said:


> which skin or theme is that? Its not bad. Reaper's usability issues, however, go way beyond the color selection, IMHO.


Reaper's usability DOES go beyond the color selection. It's THE most usable and flexible DAW I've ever used and I've used them all fairly extensively. As for the theme, it's the default Version 6 theme with some tweaks.


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## robgb (Jun 1, 2020)

tomorrowstops said:


> I gotta say, Reaper looks hideous.


Not seeing it. Sorry. But then I think Ableton is hideous. Different strokes and all that.


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## Nate Johnson (Jun 1, 2020)

robgb said:


> Not seeing it. Sorry. But then I think Ableton is hideous. Different strokes and all that.



Oh I hear ya. I was mostly teasing! In the end of course, functionality rules over all!


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## Dewdman42 (Jun 1, 2020)

LogicPro is hands down the nicest looking, the employment of absolute expert GUI gurus is self evident. Of course I am sure we will now hear a dozen people disagree with me, because its completely a subjective decision, but mine is the correct one! hehe...


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## Brasart (Jun 1, 2020)

Coming from Ableton as what I spend the most time with, to me Reaper looks the most hideous of all the big DAW out there — but Reaper 6 does look way better than 5.
Pro Tools also looks way worse than Cubase to me, I hate it


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## Brasart (Jun 1, 2020)

robgb said:


> Not seeing it. Sorry. But then I think Ableton is hideous. Different strokes and all that.



How can you say no to that?


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## Mornats (Jun 1, 2020)

Yeah, Ableton looks pretty hideous to me, Protools and Cubase look ugly too. Logic does look the best. FruityLoops looks quite nice too. I guess it's subjective too but I'm always puzzled when the first rebuff of Reaper is about how ugly it is when for me, it's middle of the pack at worst and better than a lot out there. And it's $60 with no dongle but let's not go there


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## I like music (Jun 1, 2020)

Which one will make CSW sound the best?

I've only properly ever used Cubase. I tried Digital Performer. Something didn't work with the UI and also the aesthetic. 

Actually, once played with Logic at a friend's and hated it.

But a lot of these are probably to do with the fact that I'm categorising them as DAWs, and therefore coming in with expectations of them needing to be similar to Cubase (which I'm so used to). Perhaps if we all had the money and time to devote a few months of solid time to each DAW, we'd end up with something we were truly happy with.


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## robgb (Jun 1, 2020)

Brasart said:


> How can you say no to that?


Yeah. Not my cup of tea.


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## robgb (Jun 1, 2020)

I like music said:


> Perhaps if we all had the money and time to devote a few months of solid time to each DAW, we'd end up with something we were truly happy with.


Well over a period of years I've used all of them pretty extensively and decided Reaper was best for me.


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## I like music (Jun 1, 2020)

robgb said:


> Well over a period of years I've used all of them pretty extensively and decided Reaper was best for me.


Aye, exactly. Makes me wonder if there isn't a much better option for me too. But as a hobbyist I feel like I should just be happy with cubase because it does what I need. I suppose a few of them do trials. Does reaper?


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## mekosmowski (Jun 1, 2020)

I did my very first foray into EDMish stuff with LMMS. Then I briefly dabbled with Acid after a Humble Bundle. Right now I'm learning Reaper for DAW-based composition.

I can't deny some social psychology at work for brand loyalty, but I'm a computer geek more than a musician and I appreciate the customizibility and user-extensibility of Reaper. The people who develop Reaper extensions remind me of an open-source community. To me, this is a good thing.


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## Mornats (Jun 1, 2020)

I like music said:


> Aye, exactly. Makes me wonder if there isn't a much better option for me too. But as a hobbyist I feel like I should just be happy with cubase because it does what I need. I suppose a few of them do trials. Does reaper?



Yep, 60 day trial and if you need more time the trial doesn't limit you in any way.


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## barteredbride (Jun 1, 2020)

Bitwig 3.2 is looking pretty sassy these days...


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## quickbrownf0x (Jun 1, 2020)

robgb said:


> I really like the way it looks.



I like Reaper, it's cool - used it a ton in class back in the day, but dude - this colour scheme makes me want to retire to my study, put on some tweed loafers, smoke a pipe in front of the fireplace and ramble on about how - during the war - one time one of our dogs nearly ate a landscaper when we we're out hunting foxes. Or was it ducks? I can't remember, I'm afraid I was very, very drunk. 🤷‍♂️


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## I like music (Jun 1, 2020)

Mornats said:


> Yep, 60 day trial and if you need more time the trial doesn't limit you in any way.


Fuck. That is good. Nothing to lose.


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## Nate Johnson (Jun 1, 2020)

barteredbride said:


> Bitwig 3.2 is looking pretty sassy these days...



I do love that design!


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## robgb (Jun 2, 2020)

Just came across a flat version of the default theme that's very nice called Nova 2:


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## quickbrownf0x (Jun 2, 2020)

robgb said:


> Just came across a flat version of the default theme that's very nice called Nova 2:


Yeah, that does look better. Still looks like a moose just took a dump on your windshield to me, though, but there you go. That mixer takes up a lot of real estate, btw. I assume you can expand that out to a 2nd monitor, right? Otherwise it'd drive me nuts. Anyway- haven't used Reaper in ages. To me, it always came across as being sort of the Linux of DAWs. Too much faffing about for my taste.


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## Saxer (Jun 2, 2020)

I like the look of Logic too... except the limited selection of extreme ugly colors for the tracks.
Logic 9 was too foggy like the examples above of Reaper and Ableton. I like a clear look with contrasts.

A no-go in Reaper are the white pop up menus which still look like a whole in the operating system.


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## quickbrownf0x (Jun 2, 2020)

Saxer said:


> I like the look of Logic too... except the limited selection of extreme ugly colos for the tracks.
> Logic 9 was too foggy like the examples above of Reaper and Ableton. I like a clear look with contrasts.
> 
> A no-go in Reaper are the white pop up menus which still look like a whole in the operating system.


Those are still in there? Jesus. 🤦‍♂️


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## robgb (Jun 2, 2020)

quickbrownf0x said:


> Yeah, that does look better. Still looks like a moose just took a dump on your windshield to me, though, but there you go. That mixer takes up a lot of real estate, btw. I assume you can expand that out to a 2nd monitor, right? Otherwise it'd drive me nuts. Anyway- haven't used Reaper in ages. To me, it always came across as being sort of the Linux of DAWs. Too much faffing about for my taste.


The mixer is set up that way in only one screenset. At the press of a button the mixer can be smaller, larger, detached, or gone, if you prefer. You can set Reaper up however you want to—multi-monitors or one—and save all the settings for instant recall. 

You can faffle all you want or not at all. Reaper works great without any faffling as well.



Saxer said:


> A no-go in Reaper are the white pop up menus which still look like a whole in the operating system.



Maybe in Windows, I don't know. I use a Mac. But on a Mac they look like this:






I'm beginning to think maybe Cuckos should make me a Reaper ambassador....


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## MartinH. (Jun 2, 2020)

robgb said:


> I'm beginning to think maybe Cuckos should make me a Reaper ambassador....



Maybe point them here and ask if you can get a free review copy once your current license runs out. You're sure enough putting in the marketing work that would justify it. 




robgb said:


> Maybe in Windows, I don't know. I use a Mac. But on a Mac they look like this:



Reaper 6.0 (not most current version, I know) on windows 7: 







That looks jarring compared to the properly themed UI parts, but I'm happy to deal with that as long as I get Reapers stability and flexibilty. Don't think I'll ever use another DAW.


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## robgb (Jun 2, 2020)

MartinH. said:


> Maybe point them here and ask if you can get a free review copy once your current license runs out. You're sure enough putting in the marketing work that would justify it.


LOL. My license won't run out for years.


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## Uiroo (Jun 2, 2020)

Well, I really like Cubase and don't find the screenshot of Reaper that appealing. 
But I think it'd start to like it if I'd spend some time getting familiar with it. 
For me I'm fine with a design as soon as I know where everything is, the colors and all don't bother me that much. 

I think, Logic kinda looks nice, but somehow the design still botheres me, there's something about it that seems off.


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## quickbrownf0x (Jun 2, 2020)

MartinH. said:


> Maybe point them here and ask if you can get a free review copy once your current license runs out. You're sure enough putting in the marketing work that would justify it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yikes.


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## MA-Simon (Jun 2, 2020)

The digital music world is build on bad UIs.
At least Cubase is organised.


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## vicontrolu (Jun 2, 2020)

If you are talking about organization, i dont think anything comes close to Reaper´s countless customizable toolbars.

The pros outweight the cons for me. The best DAW is the one that gets me there faster and that usually involves not looking at the screen, so i dont really care much if it looks like windows vista.


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## PaulieDC (Jun 2, 2020)

robgb said:


> I think the newer version of dark Cubase looks much better than past versions, but to my mind Reaper looks much better with Version 6. I really dislike the way ProTools looks, Studio One is not especially attractive, and Logic looks quite nice—probably the prettiest of them all. No surprise, since visual design is one of Apple's strengths.


Cubase finally looks better because they keep going to Studio One for UI design ideas, lol. I used S1 for 4 years, then switch to Cubase in March 2019, and new updates were just coming out with features and looks that Steinberg was promoting, and I'm going "Really? S1 has had that for years!", lol.

Anyway, never saw reaper before, that's like a work of art, so you're right.


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## samphony (Jun 2, 2020)

Saxer said:


> I like the look of Logic too... except the limited selection of extreme ugly colos for the tracks.
> Logic 9 was too foggy like the examples above of Reaper and Ableton. I like a clear look with contrasts.
> 
> A no-go in Reaper are the white pop up menus which still look like a whole in the operating system.


Thanks to dark mode support they are a thing of the past.


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## Piotrek K. (Jun 3, 2020)

I switched to Reaper from FL Studio (I love FL looks). It was horrible experience at first. I re-themed whole Reaper so it at least resembled something that did not escape jail in 98'. It took me few days to do so. And it still looked like way too close relative to Windows 98 

The new theme in 6.0 is passable (flat version looks neat)... Until you go to piano roll. Or use any plugin. But it's good DAW. In the end I went back to FL though. I feel there more like home


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## mekosmowski (Jun 3, 2020)

I wonder how many people started with Reaper and found a different DAW not to their liking. It seems like many of the comments about Reaper being unliked are from people who learned on a different DAW first.

This is completely understandable - time spent learning a different software package is time not spent making music. At the same time, not having an equivalent level of mastery with two tools / workflows doesn't naturally lead to an unbiased comparison.

Along with that, on issues of appearance, familiarity plays a big role. I imagine that an Arabic oud player doesn't find quarter-toned scales at all exotic, while people only exposed to Western 12 EDO would find a piece using the Hijaz Maqam quite odd, if not out of tune - wrong.


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## Mornats (Jun 3, 2020)

I started on GarageBand on a MacBook Pro before switching to Reaper on a PC and I still think Reaper looks fine.


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## lychee (Jun 3, 2020)

I know it's stupid to judge a DAW by its appearance more than by its functionalities, but it's true that I'm not a fan of Reaper or Cubase for example, but this question is quite suggestive and depends on the everyone's tastes.

Being a Cakewalk user and when my DAW was close to disappearing, I eyed FL Studio at one point above all for its aesthetics and then for what it can do.
I finally stayed on Cakewalk, which has since been bought by Bandlab and which is enough for me both by its look and its workflow.

It's natural and much more motivating to want something beautiful to work on.


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## peladio (Jun 3, 2020)

robgb said:


> Just came across a flat version of the default theme that's very nice called Nova 2:



If Melda production had a DAW..


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## Alex Fraser (Jun 3, 2020)

Logic, despite the might of the Apple machine, is still a game of two halves. The parts of the program that have been "Apple-fied" look great. And then you open Ultrabeat or one of the older plugins and ARRGH!

It's gotten better in recent years, but DAW and plugin design has always been generally questionable.


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## J-M (Jun 3, 2020)

Nope, just doesn't do it for me. Different strokes and all that...


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## Mornats (Jun 3, 2020)

I've been tempted by Cubase for a while, mostly because of the midi capabilities. It was half price a while ago but then I saw that I had to buy their copy protection (to protect them, not me) and I laughed my ass off all the way back to Reaper. Back on topic, I do think that the midi editor in Reaper isn't as nice looking as Cubase's or Logic's.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Jun 3, 2020)

I think DAWs look terrible and I hate looking at them. One can tell it's historically all by happenstance and that a truly deliberate and effective design still doesn't exist.


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## darcvision (Jun 3, 2020)

i switch from FL studio to Reaper for a month and i think reaper is a amazing DAW and very efficients, also i can make reaper looks like logic pro x.


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## Gary Williamson (Jun 3, 2020)

I really like the look of Studio One BUT only with the grayed out mixer channels, the colorized ones look like a baby threw up on them IMO, lol


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## Diablo IV (Jun 4, 2020)

Brasart said:


> How can you say no to that?



This looks so beyond bad. I bet it was made by someone with no sense in aesthetics.


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## Diablo IV (Jun 4, 2020)

barteredbride said:


> Bitwig 3.2 is looking pretty sassy these days...




Looks pretty decent. Near good.


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## Diablo IV (Jun 4, 2020)

robgb said:


> I really like the way it looks.



In this screenshot looks pretty decent, but I raise you this (Nova 2 new Reaper theme found in the Color forum) I love it:


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## robgb (Jun 4, 2020)

Diablo3 said:


>


I posted the Nova theme further up in the thread.


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## Diablo IV (Jun 4, 2020)

robgb said:


> I posted the Nova theme further up in the thread.




True, post 22 or 23. I made it look prettier though (  ) 4k screenshot, Oled TV, looks marvelous


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## Rossy (Jun 4, 2020)

robgb said:


> I really like the way it looks.


I do like that and I may be in the minority but I think cakewalk is the nicest looking


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## robgb (Jun 4, 2020)

Rossy said:


> I do like that and I may be in the minority but I think cakewalk is the nicest looking


I like the retro look. I have fond memories of Cakewalk, since it was the first DAW I ever had.


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## EgM (Jun 4, 2020)

Rossy said:


> I do like that and I may be in the minority but I think cakewalk is the nicest looking



Same error as many other DAWs, window frames are wasting so much space.


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## MarcHedenberg (Jun 4, 2020)

holy shit this looks great!



Diablo3 said:


> In this screenshot looks pretty decent, but I raise you this (Nova 2 new Reaper theme found in the Color forum) I love it:


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## BlackDorito (Jun 4, 2020)

robgb said:


> I like the retro look. I have fond memories of Cakewalk, since it was the first DAW I ever had.


Yep .. and if you go way back, Cakewalk was MIDI only. Now that was retro.


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## DerGeist (Jun 4, 2020)

robgb said:


> The mixer is set up that way in only one screenset. At the press of a button the mixer can be smaller, larger, detached, or gone, if you prefer. You can set Reaper up however you want to—multi-monitors or one—and save all the settings for instant recall.
> 
> You can faffle all you want or not at all. Reaper works great without any faffling as well.
> 
> ...


Your official cloak and scythe will be presented at the swearing in ceremony.


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## DerGeist (Jun 4, 2020)

tomorrowstops said:


> I gotta say, Reaper looks hideous. A close second is Cubase. Logic is ok, but I’ve been using it for so long now; must be some bias there. Ableton is the prettiest. Pro Tools....well, still looks like Pro Tools.


I am team Ableton as well. I used to hate that everything looked the same. They add a fancy new wavetable synth at it looks exactly like a one panel limiter. Now I love it. The consistancy makes me happy. My only gripe is I think the Germans believe everyone has super human vision. Most of the software I have out of Germany has tiny fonts on backgrounds that are one shade away from the font color  I'm working on my erotic Ableton novel called Three Shades of Grey.


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## Diablo IV (Jun 4, 2020)

Rossy said:


> I do like that and I may be in the minority but I think cakewalk is the nicest looking



I do like it but it doesn't have a scaling GUI, so it looks blurry in a 4k resolution. I abandoned FULL HD a long time ago.


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## robgb (Jun 4, 2020)

MarcHedenberg said:


> holy shit this looks great!


Version 2.03 looks even better. Best theme I've seen.


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## Akarin (Jun 4, 2020)

Nah. It's ugly.


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## vitocorleone123 (Jun 4, 2020)

Im guessing many will find it garish (it has some customization available), but my favorite daw is, to me, also the best looking: Waveform.

Many daws seem to borrow from FL and Tracktion.

Waveform is elegantly designed to get out of your way, too. Click to set an input on the left. Drag a synth or set an output on a track on the right. Make music in the middle from the input to the output. Easy.

That said, I export tracks and mix in Mixbus32c. But mixing in Waveform has come a long way (from next to nothing).


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## Diablo IV (Jun 4, 2020)

robgb said:


> Version 2.03 looks even better. Best theme I've seen.


I was waiting on this, I "pestered" him about the knobs. Now I feel it's complete. Dark one looks better ( extra windows have dark bg)


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## Rossy (Jun 4, 2020)

Diablo3 said:


> I do like it but it doesn't have a scaling GUI, so it looks blurry in a 4k resolution. I abandoned FULL HD a long time ago.


😁😁


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## Ivan M. (Nov 30, 2020)

NeonMediaKJT said:


>




What theme is that? I really like it!


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## NeonMediaKJT (Nov 30, 2020)

Ivan M. said:


> What theme is that? I really like it!


HYDRA


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## el-bo (Nov 30, 2020)

There are some nice skins. But the beauty is superficial. It's all the ugly dialog boxes that kill it. It probably isn't so bad within the context of Windows, as it suits the general Windows U.I. However, on a Mac the difference is quite jarring.


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## NeonMediaKJT (Nov 30, 2020)

I honestly love the simplistic look of Reaper. It doesn't overwhelm me. There are many DAWs that have too much going on as soon as you load them up, imo.


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## Haziel (Nov 30, 2020)

I love the way my Reaper looks






But no amount of customization will get rid of those horrendous windows (FX browser, sample browser). They should really improve this to make the software easier on the eyes. Because let's be honest, at this point Reaper themes are just lipstick on a pig.


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## I like music (Nov 30, 2020)

Haziel said:


> I love the way my Reaper looks
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I got the trial approx one week ago and I'm really curious about skinning it. Is there a skin library somewhere? I like the look of what you have here ...


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## Haziel (Nov 30, 2020)

I like music said:


> I got the trial approx one week ago and I'm really curious about skinning it. Is there a skin library somewhere? I like the look of what you have here ...



There's the reaper stash. I'm using a modified version of the Hydra theme, I can upload it if you want to use it.


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## Kevinside (Nov 30, 2020)

Reaper is perfect for people, who have time to customize it to their needs...
As someone who works with other people; Reaper doesnt work...cause no one is using it...
So my daws Midi and Audio are limited to the ones, others are using...
In my case... Nuendo,Protools Ultimate,and sometimes Logic...


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## I like music (Nov 30, 2020)

Haziel said:


> There's the reaper stash. I'm using a modified version of the Hydra theme, I can upload it if you want to use it.


Would absolutely love it if you were able to upload. I only ask because I get about 3hrs a week to do music, and doing that + learning Reaper (there's a _bit_ of a learning curve) means I am struggling to hunt for these things by myself, so any help appreciated!


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## Haziel (Nov 30, 2020)

Here's the link for the theme 



EDIT: New improved version with a few fixes.

And here's the icon I'm using, it fits the theme very well



Just right click on the desktop shortcut and change the icon in the properties.


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## AlexRuger (Nov 30, 2020)

Genuine answer to the thread's title:

-Most people saying that are responding to a non-skinned Reaper, or go through the process of trying to make Reaper something they like and give up halfway when they see just how much work it is.

-The dialogue and plugin windows are ugly as sin and no other DAW comes remotely close to how bad they look. Unfortunately skinning doesn't do anything to remedy this, as far as I know.

That said, I've gone through the process outlined in my first point several times and, totally, Reaper can look great. Its functionality is incredible, and I even kinda like the ugly plugin windows in a sort of "it's endearingly rough around the edges" kinda way, due in part to the fact that its aesthetic (or lack of one) is consistent with the vibe of an app that you can heavily customize and script. It's a programmer's DAW for sure. Which I dig.

It is, if nothing else, absolutely not slick and polished, even when skinned. Lots of rough edges sort of like the Windows 7/XP stuff below the Windows 10 surface.


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## Gerbil (Nov 30, 2020)

It's fugly and I don't care. It just needs to work.


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## Rob (Dec 1, 2020)

I'm still in admiration for the routing flexibility everything can go anywhere... former Logic, now Cubase user.


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## TomislavEP (Dec 1, 2020)

Me neither. While REAPER always had a utilitarian look to it, in the last two major versions they've (IMO) accomplished a fine balance between form and function. Especially in REAPER 6; I find that it blends almost perfectly with the majority of plugins that I use on a daily basis (Komplete, IZotope, Valhalla, etc).

BTW, personally, I was never too keen about GUI's that graphically emulate the real hardware. This is most apparent in some plugins, but Pro Tools, which I've used for years before switching to REAPER, also somewhat follows this recipe. I prefer the streamlined and clean look of the abovementioned software instead.


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## I like music (Dec 1, 2020)

Haziel said:


> Here's the link for the theme
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Legend, thanks so much!


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## pondinthestream (Dec 1, 2020)

this is the nicest reworking of Reaper I think - very targeted. But designed by people with an interest in HCI/usability/UX - which is obviously and openly not an interest of the devs and I doubt it is part of their skillset Ultraschall - HighEnd Podcasting für alle


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## Trensharo (Dec 2, 2020)

Mornats said:


> I think Reaper and Cubase have around the same level of aesthetics but more people say Reaper looks ugly but barely anyone says the same about Cubase. Reaper can look much better too if you're into skinning it.


Thats the problem. Cubase looks good OOTB. You don't have to scour the internet and decide on a skin to use. It has a design aesthetic that is acceptable by most without tweaking.

REAPER looks terrible OOTB and themes only affect the top layer of the user interface. Everything beyond that still looks like a throwback to 1996. There is only so much theming can do in that DAW - as is the case for many DAWs with a theming engine (SONAR, Samplitude, etc.).

Compare the Plugin managers in Cubase and REAPER, for example. Can you theme that to make it look decent?

Beyond that, the UI in REAPER simply isn't designed with usability in mind. Many of the default toolbars are terrible. The Main and Context Menus are overloaded, with inconsistent capitalization and often too-deep nesting. The iconography leaves much to be desired. The dialogs often have too much text, and often with bad spacing (too much in too compact an area).

The issue people have is that they want to install a piece of software and get a decent UX without having to dump hours in doing the developer's job for him. Especially when they pay for the package. The professional REAPER license is not the cheapest deal on the market, so there is no excuse for such a rough default UX. 

You can make REAPER look good - superficially speaking- but the beauty is always going to be skin deep...

This is a development issue, if they want to change that narrative.


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## Mornats (Dec 2, 2020)

Trensharo said:


> Thats the problem. Cubase looks good OOTB. You don't have to scour the internet and decide on a skin to use. It has a design aesthetician that is acceptable by most without tweaking.



That wasn't my point. I was saying they both look a similar level of uglyness out of the box. They share a similar style in my opinion. 

I've not used Cubase but suspect that the usability aspect is better though.


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## Trensharo (Dec 2, 2020)

Mornats said:


> That wasn't my point. I was saying they both look a similar level of uglyness out of the box. They share a similar style in my opinion.
> 
> I've not used Cubase but suspect that the usability aspect is better though.


OOTB REAPER looks and is set up like @$$.

It's only usable when you put in the effort to set it up to be so, unless you just love that kind of chaos.

Themes make it look good in screenshots, but in they creates an even more inconsistent hodge podge of conflicting design languages.

Its the inconsistency that really sticks out to many people. It amplifies any other issue they may have - by making them even more noticeable, through a lack of UI normalization.

The point of a theming engine should be to allow this to happen even when the defaults do not accomplish it. Without that, it's useless. The most offending sections of REAPER's UI are, indeed, those which cannot be themed!


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## Mornats (Dec 2, 2020)

I agree but so does Cubase in my view!


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## Trensharo (Dec 2, 2020)

Mornats said:


> I agree but so does Cubase in my view!


You have to specify what you're replying to, because I can't take you serious if you pretend to think your opinion applies to the entire thing. 

Cubase's aesthetics are a subjective matter. But apart from some iconography the design is relatively consistent. 

The same cannot be said for REAPER, and your theme does not address that.


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## Mornats (Dec 2, 2020)

Ok, so Reaper is a bit ugly. But Cubase is too, that's my point really. Everyone bangs on about Reaper being ugly but it's not the only horse in the game. I wouldn't choose Cubase over Reaper for aesthetics because I don't think it improves on them. However what you say about usability and UI consistency is bang on. I'm tempted by Cubase for that, plus a fair few of it's features. The dongle is still a huge sticking point though but that's another topic!

I don't use a Reaper theme by the way. I did refer to the use of themes in general as a way to improve the look though.


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## NeonMediaKJT (Dec 2, 2020)

People getting up in arms over DAWs they will most likely never use, lol.


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## EgM (Dec 2, 2020)

Well... at least DP is even uglier (or looks older than 1996)


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## Mornats (Dec 2, 2020)

Cubase isn't gonna win a design contest out of these two:


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## Haziel (Dec 2, 2020)

Mornats said:


> Cubase isn't gonna win a design contest out of these two:



Can't agree with that. Cubase looks so slick and professional.


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## Mornats (Dec 2, 2020)

Haziel said:


> Can't agree with that. Cubase looks so slick and professional.


Overall, that view does look decent I have to admit. That font they use on the UI doesn't appeal to me.


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## dylanmixer (Dec 2, 2020)

I find Cubase to be very visually appealing. Especially after the HiDPI update for Windows. Doesn't quite have the sparkle that S1 has in some areas, but I personally think S1's mixer window and transparency effects in the edit window are awful looking.

I'd say no DAW is perfect looking. Maybe Logic is the closest.


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## Dewdman42 (Dec 2, 2020)

My main issue with Reaper is not how ugly or pretty the UI is. There are some nice looking skins for it no doubt. The GUI problems are more related to simple usability. NOTHING is intuitive to do...I don't care how nice the pretty skins are.


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## ReleaseCandidate (Dec 2, 2020)

Mornats said:


> Ok, so Reaper is a bit ugly. But Cubase is too, that's my point really. Everyone bangs on about Reaper being ugly but it's not the only horse in the game. I wouldn't choose Cubase over Reaper for aesthetics because I don't think it improves on them.



Actually neither Reaper, Cubase nor Sonar/Cakewalk is what I would call pleasing to the eye.

But just some days ago as I again tried Reaper to mix something I noticed that the VCA master does not move the Faders?! WTF?


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## Antkn33 (Dec 2, 2020)

robgb said:


> I really like the way it looks.


The main interface looks nice. However the menus look like the developers forgot about them when it comes to design.


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## ReleaseCandidate (Dec 3, 2020)

Talking about non-beauties: today I started using Samplitude again for mixing, really, really, really not pleasing to the eye - but immensely powerful. You know that you're using something ugly if there's companies selling skins for your DAW https://skins.birdline.gr/index.php?page=home


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## Rasmus Hartvig (Dec 3, 2020)

It's no shame to love Reaper and still admit that it looks super rough and haphazard many places. I use and love it DESPITE those flaws. And it all comes down to the immense power of the way its designed. Sure, I would like a nice, modern and consistent design language throughout, but that doesn't seem to be the focus of the developers and for me, that's a small price to pay for working in an environment that has saved me days of tedious grunt work over the years.


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## tack (Dec 3, 2020)

Rasmus Hartvig said:


> It's no shame to love Reaper and still admit that it looks super rough and haphazard many places. I use and love it DESPITE those flaws.


I'm right there with you in this category. I do my best to make Reaper look a bit less like ass, but there are enough ugly corners that I recognize it's ultimately lipstick on a pig.

In truth, all DAWs look ugly to me except Logic and perhaps S1. But Reaper certainly has far more rough edges that all the theming in the world isn't helping, not to mention the frustrating OOTB UX.

So I don't begrudge those who are put off by the amount of elbow grease required to make Reaper adapt to their needs. But the fact that Reaper _can_ adapt to just about any specific need is why I use it.


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