pdlstl2
Personally, I got over the track strip colors rather quickly this weekend. Since I only record for as a living, I have pretty rigid ways when it comes to grouping tracks together. After only one weekend, Mercury with the color track strips looks almost clown-ish to me now. And I was a "track color" power user. So for me, it's goodbye Mercury. And here's a couple of reasons.

I definitely understand those who currently use only one video monitor, it (the colors) could be a big deal. But because I've been using dual monitors (many years), I am able see the full screens of both the Track and Console View simultaneously. It would've been harder (for me)  to accept Losing track colors on a single monitor. I say this because I can see the track color in the waveform on one monitor and the colors on the other. A border around the bottom as was suggested is a good idea IMHO. But nothing more than that.

A far greater reason for my digging the Tungsten theme, At 63 years old, diabetic and on dialysis, my vision is somewhat compromised in one eye. The change from the light Mercury to the dark Tungsten has been a Godsend.Literally, my experience working in Sonar has increased probably 50% both functionally and asethically. So there's that.

Lastly, because I do record others, my software is on display constantly. Tungsten has a stronger professional look/feel to it. And that's a factor when other people pay you to make records for them. Additional control over the UI would.will be much welcomed at my tiny little bungalow 

So, rock on SONAR, rock on.

Anyway just my 2¢...

Earl
 
PS - Good on ya' for the lifetime deal!

I used to use multiple monitors as well, but I switched to a 40" 4K monitor some time ago. AFAIC, that is by far the best configuration as it has the same number of pixels and same surface area as 4 x 20" HD monitors. But without the limitation of only being able to maximize an application on just one monitor at a time. So if I maximize SONAR on my monitor, it almost feels like having a physical mixing console in front of me, it's so gigantic. So as far as that is concerned, I'll never go back to small multiple monitors again.
 
As for the theme, I'm sticking with Mercury for the reasons I gave previously. The loss of depth cues is a showstopper for me since I understand what it means, and what we lose when it is removed. I counted the number of controls I can interact with in SONAR on my monitor at one time (no scrolling), and it came to around 880! Maybe on smaller monitors it isn't such a problem. I like the Tungsten colors though. It would be great if they add another theme with the Tungsten colors but without the loss of the depth cues.

SquireBum

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]

thepianist53
IMO, selected clips don't show the MIDI data as well, contrast is off, to me. I'm going to see if I can tweak this. it's the only criticism I have so far of the new theme, which mostly I like.

I don't see any difference with how selected MIDI clips are displayed with the Tungsten theme. Can you elaborate?
Perhaps you have some custom colors that are affecting this?

Noel,
Attached are screenshots of selected MIDI clips on the Mercury and Tungsten themes using the Normal color scheme in Preferences.  On my system, the MIDI notes in the tracks 1, 4, and 5 are nearly invisible in the Tungsten theme.  My monitor is calibrated and color managed, so my contrast and brightness are not turned up all the way as most monitors are set by default.  I assume the theme designs were completed on a color managed monitor.
 Hope this helps,
Ron

 
Thanks. This has been fixed for the release version.

I just downloaded it and think it looks pretty freakin' sweet! Perfect (for everyone) is not possible, but I find this much better! 

I don't like it. I think it is bad. It is not better readable, orange color is awful, flat buttons looks amateurish in many places. And it has absolutely no sense without settings and editing. I still hope that further development would be better.

Sorry to hear that some don't like it. I'm loving it so far. I'm a huge fan of orange  to begin with, and this is a nice orange. While it may not be perfect, it's a nice improvement for me.

I'm happy that so many people like it, but in the same time I'm disappointed that Cakewalk could think that they did something right. Somebody likes this orange, somebody doesn't, so why not to make it tunable? Am I wrong, that you can't change just this color? Why? Because of god complex.

Adq
I'm happy that so many people like it, but in the same time I'm disappointed that Cakewalk could think that they did something right. Somebody likes this orange, somebody doesn't, so why not to make it tunable? Am I wrong, that you can't change just this color? Why? Because of god complex.

Yeah, I'm sure that's the reason! 

Adq
I'm happy that so many people like it, but in the same time I'm disappointed that Cakewalk could think that they did something right. Somebody likes this orange, somebody doesn't, so why not to make it tunable? Am I wrong, that you can't change just this color? Why? Because of god complex.

God complex? Seriously? It is their software, they can make it whatever colour they want. However, they have said in various places that this is the first alternative theme. Not the only one, just the first one, released concurrently with the first release that supports the theme engine. And they have also indicated that there will be support for not only more factory themes, but editing tools and a way to post user-created themes. Those things are not in this release, but they are in the pipeline. I'm sorry you don't like this theme, but it seems a bit hyperbolic to start diagnosing CW with dark psychological disorders based on that fact. In any case nobody is forcing anyone to use it. It's pretty trivial to switch back to Mercury and wait for a theme you like better, or the possibility to make one. 
 
But yes, it would be great to be able to change the orange, for those of us that don't love it. 

It is base not only on this case, but the whole last years conception. There is too many hard-coded things in Sonar and there is lack of crucial settings, because... and so on. May be it changes, but there are more words than actions. And read this:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3420226
I'm very afraid of this "We're about to move on to discussions" and "But we may introduce".

Adq
... And read this:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3420226
I'm very afraid of this "We're about to move on to discussions" and "But we may introduce".

Well fair enough - it's hard to argue, that's a bit more vague than one might hope for...