I was thinking the same about the SDK aka JUCE its easier to not mess up on a GUI now days back in the day it was way harder

 

Looks more like a Toy for Kids but not like a pro Audio Plugin

 

But this isn't a one-or-the-other deal, especially not in 2023 where you can't turn a corner without some graphic design major trying to peddle his services for wicked cheap. I mean, Fiver. Hell, me.
That said, if a plugin does an outstanding job, I still don't want to be stumbling around a UI with no flow to it, randomly sized buttons and knobs and sliders and what-not laying about for me to trip over. Frohmager actually has a logical workflow amidst its madness.

Despite the fact that I see where the design lies in the need for all that white, I agree.
Any plugin with a white GUI needs to have a dark mode as well, out of common courtesy for those of us who work at night or in dimly lit places. This plugin gets a pass in that department (from me, I know others won't be so forgiving,) because of the fact that it's a free plugin... though still, it'd be appreciated.

 

Your profile pic leads me to the inescapable conclusion that yours is a biased, non-workflow-related stance.

 

I agree and I wrote a generic "GUI" but I meant theme.

Plasmonic is well laid out indeed but the theme puts me slightly off.

I care for sound quality and CPU efficiency the most when evaluating a new vst but theme and GUI ergonomics can have an influence on my mood and inspiration if they're ugly: I know it can sound superficial but it's just the way it is for me.

In most cases I can choose an alternative (if sound quality is not inferior and if CPU efficiency is only just slightly worse) and work with it but when I can't (as is the case with original instruments like Plasmonic) I adapt to the ugliness and deal with it.

I only tried Plasmonic a few minutes so I don't even know if there are alternative skins but I'll explore it more in the next days: as I said in my first post it's quite an interesting instrument!

 

Obvious you haven't been following the developers from day one. They have the clout & record to do whatever they want and lose no users. They provided me with extremely unique fx during a time where there were few. Anyway, to me, this GUI harkens back to Ren and Stimpy. I love it. "POWDERED TOAST MAN!"; ICE-CREAM BAR (up-close oil painting). ....I'm stickin' up for the Ohmboyz ;)

 

Last edited: Oct 20, 2023

I really dislike that style of GUI. Look at some of the effects from BomShanka, Devious Machines, etc, or even the few weirder Efx from Arturia (motions,fragments). They may make some silly glitch sounds, but they at least look like an interface from sometime after 1995. It's not the appearance; it's that they are overpopulated. Most amateur user free ensembles in Reaktor look nicer, and the modular style ones kind of have to be that way. Having to drag cables from one patch point to another, with one concealed in a menu; would not be very fun to use. A bad GUI can kill the plugin's workflow.

 

Talking about ugly plugins, I’m surprised nobody mentioned this monstrosity of 2000s



As a UI designer I honestly can’t understand why would Spetrasonics plaster their UI with their huge ugly logo, the “Power Synth” thing and that ugly PlayStation 3 Spider Man font “Omnisphere”. Why are the preset names blue? Why are the button radii all different? I just don’t get it. Maybe it’s because I’m Gen Z…

It sounds so good though.

 

Last edited: Oct 20, 2023

Have "voted" funny for monstrosity term!

Strangely I like its design, all are readable, even it's not the nicest. But operational. They're worse layouts, IMHO, Melda, Ableton, etc.

 

Last edited: Oct 20, 2023

I don't remember ever opening a Spectrasonics synth and thinking dang, that's ugly...

 

Yes, it's minimal, it works (I don't have doubt), but IMHO - it's ugly. Nicest is Logic Pro.

 

Like everyone I hated Melda at first, and like everyone who stuck with Melda, now I find their interface perfectly fine for what they do.

 

C'est une marque Française ?

 

there was even a older interface of omnisphere the blue was a little brighter hazy looking and even that one was still great looking

 

they grew on me because of the Melda Rhythmizer so i got used to looking at it to the point its not ugly too me no more...it took me a while tho lol

 

im a spectrasonics fan boy so try to get away with it if you want lol

 

i got respect for them they are a great company i know about them and how they are