Recabinet 5 (originally 4.1) released

Wow I'm super interested in this but would like to demo it first at least.

Also Kaz, is there anyway for me to get a small discount if i own Recab 3? I was just about to upgrade to 4, but didn't get it in time.
 
[Prime] said:
You should work on improving your gui.
Click to expand...

I did, and the result is the current release. I couldn't possibly be happier with the UI the way it is now. I direct you to my thoughts on this subject on the Kazrog forum.

The short version: I have zero interest in revisiting the era of 3D rendered studio hardware in plugins. I've been there, I've done it, and I'm over it. If that's what you're looking for, there are a lot of plugin manufacturers still making that sort of thing.
 
Pursuance said:
Wow I'm super interested in this but would like to demo it first at least.

Also Kaz, is there anyway for me to get a small discount if i own Recab 3? I was just about to upgrade to 4, but didn't get it in time.
Click to expand...

The demo will be released very soon. If you have Recabinet 3, you can get 25% off the new model packs using coupon code F424E40D.
 
Kazrog said:
I did, and the result is the current release. I couldn't possibly be happier with the UI the way it is now. I direct you to my thoughts on this subject on the Kazrog forum.

The short version: I have zero interest in revisiting the era of 3D rendered studio hardware in plugins. I've been there, I've done it, and I'm over it. If that's what you're looking for, there are a lot of plugin manufacturers still making that sort of thing.
Click to expand...

Interesting marketing technique.
 
Shane, I totally get your point on keeping the UI as simple as you can.
I can totally work with the actual UI, and please don't get what I'm saying as bashing of some sort but... the UI is actually really stern and ugly, especially for an amp sim.
You're not obliged to do the whole "3d rendered amp" UI thing, and still have an enjoyable UI... like this or this or, sepaking about amp sims, even this.

Again, I'm only saying this to help, cause I now it will unfortunately keep a lot of potential users away from your great sounding sims.
 
I may offer some different themes and sizes down the road. I tend to like dark, low contrast themes - but I understand that some may want a bit more contrast etc.

No worries there - I'm just not doing the 3D rendered look again. Thanks! :)
 
Keregioz said:
Interesting marketing technique.
Click to expand...

Haha, well, I really don't care about marketing in that sense. I make products I believe in and use myself. I'm not trying to make them be all things to all people. There are a lot of options out there - I am not trying to force anything on anyone.

PS - I'm checking out your songs on BandCamp right now, really great stuff! I'm a huge fan of your influences, so I couldn't help but click. Great songs and mix!
 
I was just trying to offer some constructive advice. I think you will find others feel the same way. It's all good.... good luck with your software.
 
[Prime] said:
I was just trying to offer some constructive advice. I think you will find others feel the same way. It's all good.... good luck with your software.
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I understood that - I just wanted to be clear that I have already undertaken the exact stylistic shift you suggested, only in reverse, completely intentionally, for all of the reasons I expanded upon in the linked thread on my forum.

No hard feelings at all - your input has always been welcome and appreciated! :kickass:
 
Kazrog said:
Haha, well, I really don't care about marketing in that sense. I make products I believe in and use myself. I'm not trying to make them be all things to all people. There are a lot of options out there - I am not trying to force anything on anyone.
Click to expand...

I get it. I appreciate that having put much effort and time on a product makes you emotional and protective of it, but it's also easy lose perspective and alienate your customers that way. Maybe it wasn't your intention but you kinda come off a bit standoffish by basically saying "if you don't like it go look somewhere else". You'll never get that kind of response from a big company. I'm not saying you should sell your soul and change everything to please everyone, I'm saying there's a middle ground. And speaking of middle ground, there's definitely a lot of that between an ugly cheap looking GUI (if you want me to be brutally honest) and a photo-realistic 3D rendered replica of an amp. Minimal can certainly be aesthetically pleasing if done right.

Kazrog said:
PS - I'm checking out your songs on BandCamp right now, really great stuff! I'm a huge fan of your influences, so I couldn't help but click. Great songs and mix!
Click to expand...

See, that was great marketing! :p Haha, just kidding, waving those influences around here certainly hasn't done me any favors, I've noticed. Either way, thank you for your kind words, much appreciated!
 
Keregioz said:
I get it. I appreciate that having put much effort and time on a product makes you emotional and protective of it, but it's also easy lose perspective and alienate your customers that way. Maybe it wasn't your intention but you kinda come off a bit standoffish by basically saying "if you don't like it go look somewhere else". You'll never get that kind of response from a big company.
Click to expand...

The comment wasn't intended as defensive or standoffish - it was more to be clear that the direction of the design is intentional, and one that has to be used to be fully appreciated. Interactive designs are not static, and I can see how looking at a static screenshot, the UI may look dull or unengaging compared to flashier UIs. In usage, though, the advantages of the specific interaction design choices become readily apparent.

Also, FWIW, I've seen companies of all sizes use similar arguments.

Keregioz said:
I'm not saying you should sell your soul and change everything to please everyone, I'm saying there's a middle ground. And speaking of middle ground, there's definitely a lot of that between an ugly cheap looking GUI (if you want me to be brutally honest) and a photo-realistic 3D rendered replica of an amp. Minimal can certainly be aesthetically pleasing if done right.
Click to expand...

Well, you're entitled to your opinion. I think the design is aesthetically pleasing - and it went through countless iterations to get to this point. As I mentioned earlier, though, I will be offering some different themes down the road.

Keregioz said:
See, that was great marketing! :p Haha, just kidding, waving those influences around here certainly hasn't done me any favors, I've noticed. Either way, thank you for your kind words, much appreciated!
Click to expand...

Weird, when I joined this forum in 2004, everyone was a fan of the bands you cite as influences. A lot of the old guard have moved on, though. In any case, you guys are great, and you don't sound like any one particular band.
 
Kazrog said:
The comment wasn't intended as defensive or standoffish -
Click to expand...

I assumed as much, I'm just saying it can easily be interpreted that way.

Kazrog said:
Weird, when I joined this forum in 2004, everyone was a fan of the bands you cite as influences. A lot of the old guard have moved on, though.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. Funny thing is I even found out and got into a couple of those bands from stuff people posted here. I guess I was about 10 years too late putting out that album :p
 
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I can completely see Shane's arguments for why he's designed the UI's the way he has. The effectiveness is of course going to be down to the opinion of each individual - my biggest problem with UI's like Shane's is that at a glance its impossible to tell each of the 25 amps apart. You have to focus on specific areas of the plugin before you're entirely familiar with what you're using. Skeumorphic designs generally won't suffer from this and that familiarity with the product they are modelling can definitely assist the user in feeling comfortable with what they're using.

Softube's recent models for the UAD platform IMO get things massively wrong with the UI - it takes up TONS of space on the screen and certain sections of the plugin are hidden which requires several more clicks to use properly. Fabfilter's designs are on the other end of the spectrum and consistently nail it - they're identifiable, easy and intuitive to use and often improve on original designs and concepts in ways that would be impossible with hardware.

I think where your UI's fall down for me personally, is that while they're easy on the eye in terms of colouring (perhaps more useful on software where you are staring at it for hours on end rather than a maximum of several minutes), you have to focus on smaller and harder to read text to understand what you're doing. PRESENCE seems crammed in, while MID and SATUR have been abbreviated, and its with a font that mushes together pretty quick with a smaller screen/distance/bad eyesight. Should every single knob have the same size/image, regardless of function/importance? Should every plugin be the same size regardless of controls? Should a Bassman appear 95% indistinguishable from an ENGL? I feel like you've embraced certain forward thinking elements of design, there's still many sections that are hidden away or dealt with in a more dated fashion - for example the options tab and channel/preset menu's. I feel like some of the design choices don't solve any issues rather than being less tiring on the eye and quicker to design and update. Some of the aspects I don't like are similar to things I feel Slate Digital has got wrong on a few plugins (completely different design approach to yours) - disproportionate controls, hard to read text, omission of metering.

I personally prefer plainer, more functional GUI's on plugins that are performing a functional (corrective) task and a more creative/inspiring GUI on plugins that I'm looking to be inspired from. Again, Fabfilter really get a lot of deserved praise for being innovative and functional with their UI's, be it on delays/synths, or EQ's and compressors.

Take my views with a pinch of salt, or disregard them entirely - they're your plugins.
 
Machinated - I agree with most of what you've said here, and appreciate the detailed criticism. You obviously have a great understanding of interaction design.

I am baby stepping more in the direction of something like FabFilter. As far as font sizes go, specifically, I will be introducing a resize feature to enhance readability regardless of display resolution/size.
 
Just letting you guys know that a bug fix update, Thermionik 5.0.1 has just been posted online for all registered users. Free demo to follow next week. :cool:

Thermionik 5.0.1 Update Posted

Version 5.0.1 of Thermionik has been posted in the members’ area for registered users. This is a recommended critical bug fix update, and contains many improvements over the initial release from last week. A free demo version will be released soon, with a separate announcement when it goes live.

Thermionik 5.0.1 release notes:

  • Crashes that have plagued many hosts in a variety of conditions have been eliminated completely.
  • Gain ranging/calibration of the entire set of 25 current amp models has been improved massively, with increased versatility (can go clean even on a lead channel, the entire range of gain knob is more meaningful/usable), control (10x the number of control points), and full backward compatibility with existing presets.
  • Mid gain sounds on various vintage amp models are smoother due to recalibrated vintage tube algorithms.
  • Factory presets have been re-leveled to prevent clipping.
  • Impedance curves in the power sections of Psycho A, Psycho B, Damage 120, and Duality 3ch have been revised.
  • Fixed a bug where a loaded preset may not be recalled when re-opening a session in some DAWs.
 
Sounds great! By the way, if any of you had trouble getting the update downloaded, I've migrated everything to a new cloud storage host that will be much faster and more reliable.
 
I really prefer a simple and straight forward UI. But, as machinated said, it is difficult to identify easily and quickly the amp. It is even more complicated that you use special names for the amp.
My 2 cents : i think that a great addition should be just a picture at the top of the UI window that shows the amp name with a background that reflects the real amp grid and maybe the font of the amp name
 
I wish there would be at least a color tint for background and knobs. So for example a certain background color is for certain amp brand and the knob color is different for every model.
 
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