Wow, that was a truly great video of one of my favorite plugins, when it comes to interfaces that just explain themselves instantly while representing a DSP algorithm that is extremely complex. 1. The Colour Thing: I think you are correct to think they chose this light blue theme to make it look professional. It also makes it look lofty, elegant and light. The effect reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of an audio signal when you drive it hard. Resonances, often associated with colour and character, are being ducked and make the sound behave in the mix more rather than trying to stand out. That's why it makes sense to me that they made the colours of the interface look very relaxed, or soothed. Soothe is almost like the antidepressant of music production in some sense. It makes things sound 'safer'. Being safe is not a saturated thing. 2. XY Pads: There's some truth in the statement that knots (on XY pads) appeal to beginners in audio production. I think they always kinda add a sense of futurism. The idea that you can morph between multiple dimensions of some audio problem with a single drag to find the solution faster than with a bunch of knobs is just super convincing. A lot of times it's a bad idea to give things an XY pad though. You typically can't CTRL+Click on XYPads to edit a value with a textfield, because like, which value would it be? The one of the x-achsis or the one of the y-achsis? That's why even when adding a huge XY pad with knots there always have to be some knobs or sliders around that represent the same thing as the XY pad. That is why XY pads rarely make you waste less space on an interface, but often actually take up more space. A lot of plugin XY pads also lack sensitive drag on the knots, which requires them to be even bigger for detailed adjustments. Soothe does have this feature though, which is cool! The reason why it is encouraged to arrange EQs in this form is because the combination cutoff VS gain just makes a lot of sense to be adjusted together in practice. And mousewheel is often even mapped to Q, which also feels great, because it's more of a 2ndary function that is not always used super extensively. So basically 3 parameters with some sort of hierarchy of importance all on a single GUI object, the knot. That's why this is more than just a thing that appeals to beginners. It is an XY pad with real intention. 3. I/O Controls: What I feel like stands out most here is not just that it has Delta and Bypass buttons, but that they are close to mix and trim. A lot of plugin developers make the mistake to put these functions far away from each other, because the plugin wrappers of various DAWs also have their bypass buttons topleft or topright, so it makes sense to think that they belong there. But the big advantage of having a bypass button on the interface is that you can put it where all the other functions are that have to do with A/B comparing the patch with dry or other plugin states. And for a plugin that is a lot about mixing and even mastering purposes you wanna A/B the fck out of things so hard! 4. Content Creator Opinions: Even though I'm also a content creator I wouldn't say one should listen too much to what they have to say about Soothe. It is normal for us to be a little sensational at times and if we notice that some people are overusing Soothe on their mixes we make videos about what happens to a signal where you overuse Soothe and talk about how cool it is to leave character and colour in the mix whenever possible. But that doesn't mean real professionals use Soothe less than beginners. Another extremely popular plugin, Spectral Gate by Andrew Reeman (don't look up the interface or you'll explode fr!) does almost the exact opposite of Soothe and people are also making videos about how it can be overused. It's just popular stuff and because of that controversial by default. 5. Soothe For Replacing Other Plugins: I think it doesn't do that (unless talking about plugins that try to be a bit like Soothe themselves, for example DSEQ or Smooth Operator or Spectral Compressor by Robbert). But a lot of times people claim it replaces dynamic EQs or even normal EQs, which I think is too hyperbolic. You mostly add an EQ either to reduce certain frequencies (clean up rumble etc) or to boost the spectral sweet spot. Soothe's musical function is different. It forms the entire signal into a noisier shape. If you tried to do that with normal filters you'd have to create and maintain an almost impossible to achieve setup, even in the most modular DAWs out there (Ableton, FL, Reaper, Bitwig) with a ridiculous amount of filters. No one would do that. It would feel silly if it wasn't packaged as a plugin with a great workflow.
Thanks for the cool point on I/o controls. And for such a well thought comment! The whole comment made me wonder if I have to dig deeper into reviews ,I’m not sure if people need them and would learn much them(or get entertained). Yours, Natali
@Beatsbasteln I don’t think there ever will be… too narrow niche. On a second thought I recall myself saying the same when we just started , I was hesitant if we should do this ui for audio…
@@voger_design i think it's great because it adds a unique perspective to the plugins that is not covered by the other reviewers, who often focus on usability in terms of features and sound quality. but there haven't been crazy revolutions in dsp algorithms for a while so it makes sense to focus more on workflow and design
Sorry, but you missed big time on this redesign, and I’m speaking both as a designer and a Soothe 2 user. The color scheme is actually great and sets it apart from the rest of the tools. Having a soft look serves the purpose of this plugin. It could even be more desaturated tbh. The same can be said for Spiff which works on transients and has a more aggressive palette. The way you managed knobs make it harder on the eye, and while I love incorporating values inside knobs, this is not the case, unless we turned the knobs bright and put a dark number in. The color you seem so much to be in love with might be more functional for things such as reverb.
Super interesting - not sure about your color changes in your UI designers reworked version. It has better contrast but it also gives it a bit more weighty design cause of the deeper blue, but really liked the simplification of dial labels simply as values inside the dials you did. I agree with you about the preset menu. Especially for a single plugin where the user might use +20 in a session (or more) you can't expect users to navigate different concept each time. That said, it is in the top of the plugin where it is mostly found. In testing, I've found that if people are not specifically exposed to a feature that is just a bit hidden there is a very very large risk and probability that they will not find it and use it (i was surprised myself how extensive this phenomenon is). Small things: I would use icons for undo/redo personally that change to text when hovered over them to 99% ensure to explain their meaning (again non-english speaking users are there). Love this channel - this is my favourite content you have put out so far. Would love a workflow over-the-shoulder video of your UI designer in Blender and how you get the shadows etc for your plugins
@@voger_design working on something very interesting - but a long term project (HW/SW). Has quite a lot of aspect I think you will find very interesting. I'd love to get into it (and get your critiques) when it is released and I can talk about it :)
@@voger_design Good constructive reply to someone who ironically managed to grow up with less than a cent worth of manners, while being completely ignorant of all the cool info in the video. Keep them coming!
I agree it doesn’t look expensive. Although, It has a lot of details to show that it was very thoughtfully designed . Would be cool to learn the ui designer feedback from his experience doing that work.
Really liked the videoo great work!!!
Thanks a ton!
Wow, that was a truly great video of one of my favorite plugins, when it comes to interfaces that just explain themselves instantly while representing a DSP algorithm that is extremely complex.
1. The Colour Thing:
I think you are correct to think they chose this light blue theme to make it look professional. It also makes it look lofty, elegant and light. The effect reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of an audio signal when you drive it hard. Resonances, often associated with colour and character, are being ducked and make the sound behave in the mix more rather than trying to stand out. That's why it makes sense to me that they made the colours of the interface look very relaxed, or soothed. Soothe is almost like the antidepressant of music production in some sense. It makes things sound 'safer'. Being safe is not a saturated thing.
2. XY Pads:
There's some truth in the statement that knots (on XY pads) appeal to beginners in audio production. I think they always kinda add a sense of futurism. The idea that you can morph between multiple dimensions of some audio problem with a single drag to find the solution faster than with a bunch of knobs is just super convincing. A lot of times it's a bad idea to give things an XY pad though. You typically can't CTRL+Click on XYPads to edit a value with a textfield, because like, which value would it be? The one of the x-achsis or the one of the y-achsis? That's why even when adding a huge XY pad with knots there always have to be some knobs or sliders around that represent the same thing as the XY pad. That is why XY pads rarely make you waste less space on an interface, but often actually take up more space. A lot of plugin XY pads also lack sensitive drag on the knots, which requires them to be even bigger for detailed adjustments. Soothe does have this feature though, which is cool! The reason why it is encouraged to arrange EQs in this form is because the combination cutoff VS gain just makes a lot of sense to be adjusted together in practice. And mousewheel is often even mapped to Q, which also feels great, because it's more of a 2ndary function that is not always used super extensively. So basically 3 parameters with some sort of hierarchy of importance all on a single GUI object, the knot. That's why this is more than just a thing that appeals to beginners. It is an XY pad with real intention.
3. I/O Controls:
What I feel like stands out most here is not just that it has Delta and Bypass buttons, but that they are close to mix and trim. A lot of plugin developers make the mistake to put these functions far away from each other, because the plugin wrappers of various DAWs also have their bypass buttons topleft or topright, so it makes sense to think that they belong there. But the big advantage of having a bypass button on the interface is that you can put it where all the other functions are that have to do with A/B comparing the patch with dry or other plugin states. And for a plugin that is a lot about mixing and even mastering purposes you wanna A/B the fck out of things so hard!
4. Content Creator Opinions:
Even though I'm also a content creator I wouldn't say one should listen too much to what they have to say about Soothe. It is normal for us to be a little sensational at times and if we notice that some people are overusing Soothe on their mixes we make videos about what happens to a signal where you overuse Soothe and talk about how cool it is to leave character and colour in the mix whenever possible. But that doesn't mean real professionals use Soothe less than beginners. Another extremely popular plugin, Spectral Gate by Andrew Reeman (don't look up the interface or you'll explode fr!) does almost the exact opposite of Soothe and people are also making videos about how it can be overused. It's just popular stuff and because of that controversial by default.
5. Soothe For Replacing Other Plugins:
I think it doesn't do that (unless talking about plugins that try to be a bit like Soothe themselves, for example DSEQ or Smooth Operator or Spectral Compressor by Robbert). But a lot of times people claim it replaces dynamic EQs or even normal EQs, which I think is too hyperbolic. You mostly add an EQ either to reduce certain frequencies (clean up rumble etc) or to boost the spectral sweet spot. Soothe's musical function is different. It forms the entire signal into a noisier shape. If you tried to do that with normal filters you'd have to create and maintain an almost impossible to achieve setup, even in the most modular DAWs out there (Ableton, FL, Reaper, Bitwig) with a ridiculous amount of filters. No one would do that. It would feel silly if it wasn't packaged as a plugin with a great workflow.
Thanks for the cool point on I/o controls. And for such a well thought comment! The whole comment made me wonder if I have to dig deeper into reviews ,I’m not sure if people need them and would learn much them(or get entertained). Yours, Natali
@@voger_design i'm definitely entertained! there aren't many channels that focus on UI/UX of plugins yet
@Beatsbasteln I don’t think there ever will be… too narrow niche. On a second thought I recall myself saying the same when we just started , I was hesitant if we should do this ui for audio…
@@voger_design i think it's great because it adds a unique perspective to the plugins that is not covered by the other reviewers, who often focus on usability in terms of features and sound quality. but there haven't been crazy revolutions in dsp algorithms for a while so it makes sense to focus more on workflow and design
Yeah! I should have started it earlier , before war, would be much easier.
Its unique the care about ui/ux on audio plugins great job voger team
Thank you Arthur
Good content! You just need to do one thing, reposition your microphone.
I totally agree! To be fixed in new videos. If you have any comments on audio please let me know :-)
Sorry, but you missed big time on this redesign, and I’m speaking both as a designer and a Soothe 2 user.
The color scheme is actually great and sets it apart from the rest of the tools. Having a soft look serves the purpose of this plugin. It could even be more desaturated tbh.
The same can be said for Spiff which works on transients and has a more aggressive palette.
The way you managed knobs make it harder on the eye, and while I love incorporating values inside knobs, this is not the case, unless we turned the knobs bright and put a dark number in.
The color you seem so much to be in love with might be more functional for things such as reverb.
And I agree with you! Which is why it was only a suggestion. Also please do not forget the “mere exposure effect” :-)
Cool idea, on a second thought! Let me try this :-)
Super interesting - not sure about your color changes in your UI designers reworked version. It has better contrast but it also gives it a bit more weighty design cause of the deeper blue, but really liked the simplification of dial labels simply as values inside the dials you did.
I agree with you about the preset menu. Especially for a single plugin where the user might use +20 in a session (or more) you can't expect users to navigate different concept each time. That said, it is in the top of the plugin where it is mostly found. In testing, I've found that if people are not specifically exposed to a feature that is just a bit hidden there is a very very large risk and probability that they will not find it and use it (i was surprised myself how extensive this phenomenon is).
Small things: I would use icons for undo/redo personally that change to text when hovered over them to 99% ensure to explain their meaning (again non-english speaking users are there).
Love this channel - this is my favourite content you have put out so far. Would love a workflow over-the-shoulder video of your UI designer in Blender and how you get the shadows etc for your plugins
Cool to have a pro here ! Are you in QA or UI design ?
@@voger_design UX/UI :)
Would be cool to have an interview with you on day ;-)
@@voger_design working on something very interesting - but a long term project (HW/SW). Has quite a lot of aspect I think you will find very interesting. I'd love to get into it (and get your critiques) when it is released and I can talk about it :)
Just drop me an email or insta chat on that 🤝
Ironically your audio sounds crappy
Yeah, that’s exactly what it takes to start a TH-cam channel. Our editor isn’t capable of fixing every thing when the recording is far from good.
@@voger_design Really good reply, loved this video, subscribing to the channel. Will love to see more vids coming up.
@@voger_design Good constructive reply to someone who ironically managed to grow up with less than a cent worth of manners, while being completely ignorant of all the cool info in the video. Keep them coming!
I’m just being honest and try to make best take with every next step. Thanks for support
That UI is very badly designed and shaded. Looks cheap
I agree it doesn’t look expensive. Although, It has a lot of details to show that it was very thoughtfully designed . Would be cool to learn the ui designer feedback from his experience doing that work.