Silly question but... How do you make cubase more aesthetically pleasant?

Get Studio One, that's what I did...
(Though the aesthetics were not the main reason, just for the records)
I think for the rest of the Cubase UI you just have to live with it. All those inconsistent borders and 90s looking hodge-podge elements you will just have to live with. Make some good music, then it's an easy thing to dismiss...

You don't.

Edit:

I also think Cubase is kinda fugly but I don't care honestly. You get used to it. And it looks so much better than the first version of Cubase I used back in 99-00

You make peace with what it is, instead of lamenting what it is not.

EDIT: I obviously have no problem with the spartan design of Cubase. It is fine. I tried Reaper once. Cubase is really pretty to me now.

Crowe said:

You make peace with what it is, instead of lamenting what it is not.

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lame comment dude

Pier said:

You don't.

Edit:

I also think Cubase is kinda fugly but I don't care honestly. You get used to it. And it looks so much better than the first version of Cubase I used back in 99-00

Click to expand...

omg

Wunderhorn said:

Get Studio One, that's what I did...
(Though the aesthetics were not the main reason, just for the records)
I think for the rest of the Cubase UI you just have to live with it. All those inconsistent borders and 90s looking hodge-podge elements you will just have to live with. Make some good music, then it's an easy thing to dismiss...

Click to expand...

nah, I love cubase for what it does. It's just that it would be great having a more modern graphic that's all. I used ableton, fl and another one and still think that cubase is far more great that all of those

Cubase may be ugly, but it has a heart of gold.

I'm not updating to C13 The only thing I can do.
C12 looks to me good enough. Not great but good enough to live with it. C13 for me went beyond the "safe line" where GUI was still acceptable.

I wish Cubase would be more pleasant for my eyes but tbh other DAWs are not "eye candy" for me either, except maybe Sonar but it's a bit cluttered on default.

Pier said:

You don't.

Edit:

I also think Cubase is kinda fugly but I don't care honestly. You get used to it. And it looks so much better than the first version of Cubase I used back in 99-00

Click to expand...

At that time pre-SX Cubase looked ok for me, but then all the software was ugly. At least Cubase had a wallpaper option
Somehow I like to this day the look of old reverbs and channel strip, more than current versions.

I'm pretty sure that people will look at current software and see it as we see these pictures in the next 10-20 years :D

Cubase UI always reminds me of horrible user-designed Winamp skins.

Ofeeeeelia said:

omg

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If you think that's ugly look what I used before Cubase



I spent years with FastTracker which was essentially a rudimentary sampler with a sequencer.

I may be alone in thinking this but I think Cubase is uglier than Reaper. It looks so dated.

I may be alone in thinking this but I think Cubase is a stunning UI.

It's a totally subjective topic. I open Cubase (13 now) and I feel totally at home now that I'm familiar with so much of it. The UI looks and works beautifully for me, I love working in it, and THAT'S the point of a UI.

I installed Abelton for a friend of mine who was getting into writing pop tunes, and working in that UI to help her learn it was almost depressing... there were several settings I could't find without Googling, and the graphics look like a toy to me. But to an Abelton user, it's great, it's their home and they love it.

It's perfectly OK to hate the Cubase UI, that's your right. It's perfectly OK to love it as well, and that's me. I may be the only one on this thread who thinks so, but every good film has its antagonist!

Pier said:

You don't.

Edit:

I also think Cubase is kinda fugly but I don't care honestly. You get used to it. And it looks so much better than the first version of Cubase I used back in 99-00

Click to expand...

That actually looks pretty cool, would love to have an alternative retro-style overlay.

the only way to make cubase visually better is having used ableton before it xD

Pier said:

If you think that's ugly look what I used before Cubase



I spent years with FastTracker which was essentially a rudimentary sampler with a sequencer.

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I used this too. Before it was Soundtracker, Noisetracker, Protracker... used all of them. At the time a incredibly creative way to make music.

Now, in terms of design... If you consider the era and also the limited possibilities that 320x256 pixels with 32 colors offered, this was not all that bad. At least it was consistent, something the Cubase GUI is not...

Tronam said:

Cubase may be ugly, but it has a heart of gold.

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Yes. Heart of gold with a triple bypass on the Expression Maps.

Pier said:

You don't.

Edit:

I also think Cubase is kinda fugly but I don't care honestly. You get used to it. And it looks so much better than the first version of Cubase I used back in 99-00

Click to expand...

I actually miss this aesthetic. Maybe it’s just nostalgia for the old days.

However, I don’t miss these:

Ofeeeeelia said:

I addedd instruments icon, more colours for the tracks and changed a bit the background. What else could be done?

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Hide things you don’t need. Most of the toolbar icons can either be shown or hidden. The transport can also be customised to only show what you need. Same with track settings. A lot of stuff can be tucked away out of sight.