i just picked up a 20 inch monitor..talk about opening things up..this is auesome..im now working off two monitors..not to get off the thread but i can imagine this will make things less ocupied as i like to call it..if thats what you mean by "cluttered"..(fingers making quatation")maybe i will start another thread as how i can use two monitors to my potential.

Mod Bod

Also seems like the buttons are bigger

I think I asked for that one, so blame me.  Now, I'm asking for no dark gray text on black backgrounds. 

@24bit:  Cluttered?  You've got to be kidding.  The old joke about Sonar on KVR was that the screen looked like someone vomited icons all over it...  The X1 UI is really sleek.


@Mod Bod: It would be nice if you could affect the buttons and other graphical objects in X1 the way you can in Windows - you know, Large Icons versus Small Icons, etc.  I would be nice to have a scalable UI.  Some users would like more visible/larger objects while others would like more real estate. 

@Mod Bod: It would be nice if you could affect the buttons and other graphical objects in X1 the way you can in Windows - you know, Large Icons versus Small Icons, etc. I would be nice to have a scalable UI. Some users would like more visible/larger objects while others would like more real estate.

I'd be all for that.

allenheresy


So, not cluttered, just bulky.

From Lego to Duplo.

UnderTow

Seth Perlstein [Cakewalk
]

I couldn't disagree more. 8.5 was massively cluttered with buttons and widgets everywhere.

Operator error.



(A pity about all that waste of space though...)

X1 is much more organized and sleek looking.

One thing I find very ugly in X1 is the lack of indentation for track folders. That dotted line looks horrible and amateurish. The total opposite of sleekness.

 Try hiding the Control Bar by pressing 'C' if you want to go for a really minimal look.

Actually, you can not get X1 looking as sleek and minimalistic as 8.5. You are always left with the second menu at the top of the track view, the inspector tab, the browser tab, the multidock tab. Sure you can undock the inspector, multidock and browser but that in itself is a form of clutter and whatever you do you are always left with that extra menu at the top of track view so objectively speaking, there is no way you can say that when both versions are setup for full minimalism that X1 is less cluttered as there is a larger minimum number of elements in X1 but I digress...

I feel Cakewalk might have bitten off more than it can chew on with X1 in a single development cycle. Some things are great like the fact that you can quickly show/hide the Control Bar with a single keystroke is a great improvement and the Control Bar itself is an improvement over the sea of icons in the default 8.5 setup. On the other hand, many things feel and look not quite finished...

I hope all these little niggles and inconsistencies will be dealt with. For instance I think it would make sense to have an option in Preferences to completely hide the browser, multidock and inspector when minimised (not just undocked). If people want to keep those tabs on the side/bottom of their screens, fine. If users want them to go completely it should also be possible.

UnderTow

Mesh

neiby

 

 I think a whole bunch of small buttons looks horribly cluttered.

Possibly ordered the wrong version of X1??  
 
 
 
 

Ain't THAT the truth! LMFAO!!

On a more serious note:

I wwonder how anyone's desktop looks because it's the same thing, per-se. If you're trying to see more on screen, then, the icons (screen res) will have to be smaller. I also believe the different definitions of clutter, but all of us had to use the top image before the bottom one - though iit's harder to find the top image when looking at the bottom one. It's there somewhere. Having said this, I also agree that it's easy to overlook something when it's right in your face. Of course, when all else fails, just mentally photograph where everything is - even if it takes awhile to do so.

UnderTow

allenheresy

So, not cluttered, just bulky.

From Lego to Duplo.

+1

I think 'bulky' is an apt description.

I opened up 8.5 yesterday to deal with a project that was crashing X1. I absolutely loved how much more I could see in the FX bins and the track headers. X1 is a giant step backwards in that regard. Why did the text have to be so big, or why can't we make the text smaller so we can actually read the information that is there? Even if I get a monitor capable of 4000x2250 pixels it wouldn't matter since the text and FX bins are coded to not show very much information.

I also really, really, miss  the visual feedback for the auto-crossfade status and the select envelopes with clips status.

After dealing with X1 for a while, I think it's close. But it has far too many little annoying things about it that were quite nice in previous versions. If we could just get those things back (and the bugs fixed) X1 would be top notch.  I really hope they're not shooting for a Sept. or even Dec. release for X2 or whatever it will be. Take the time to get it right.

People really hate change that's all I can think about when I read post on X1.  Glitches and bugs, aside X1 really is a better product than v8.5.3 or below.  We can all thing of things that CW can do better or where they missed the boat, but after using X1 for a month now, I don't see why this didn't happen sooner. 
 
Now I'll admit, I really do feel like this version is geared toward the 24" inches + and the dual monitor crowd when dealing with the interface, but if we've been paying attention to the computer tred at all; large screens, dual monitors and more are all the rage, so to speak.  The first thing I thought of when I saw this product being advertise was "I'm gonna need a larger monitor."  I was using a 18" inch monitor before using 8.5.3 and I hated the experience.  I figured dual monitors would have made a much better experience, but I didn't have that luxury. 
 
Enters X1, right around Xmas time(smart), and I really went all out for it.  Mrs. Claus was good to me and X1 /w a 40 inch monitor is what I got.  Large displays is really where the interface really establishes itself over the previous versions.  I can imagine that this interface doesn't work as well on smaller monitors because everything is bigger, buttons, text, screens.  Again though, smaller monitors are so........90s and if you have a CRT........80s, 70s.  At least run dual screens for this product IMO.   If I had X1 on a smaller monitor I would be a little upset, but I would get use to it because anything has to be better than all those damn buttons.  Yeah, I could hide buttons, but who needs hieroglyphs, when I can just use words with a dropdown.  Again Hieroglyphs so......late b.c. to early AD.  Some buttons are fine, but everything a button!?!? especially when I'm going to learn the shortcut for it anyway, doesn't work for me.  
 
While I may feel smaller monitor users are kind of overlooked here, I also feel like smaller monitors are just like the 8.5.3 interface; in need of an upgrade.  Times are changing and we can't all jus expect everything to always stay the way they were.  XP machines? Go Windows 7 already,  17 inch monitor? Try dual, Interface with tons of buttons and tooltip? Get X1 and you'll see the light, Skylight rather. 
 
I've was using Sonar 3, 4 and then Ableton came out, I was so ready to get divorced and remarried, but Sonar 5 went 64-bit.  So I stayed with Sonar knowing what 64-bit would provide and I was willing to deal with the interface because of other things that I loved about Sonar.  Versions 8 & 8.5 were just better toned bodies with the same ugly face, I'd been married to for years.  But, unlike people(seen Dick Clark lately), software face lifts can really add new flavor without any traces of the old, thanks CW.   I didn't even mention screenshots....(drool).
 
At the end of the day, its all about mastering your instrument or instruments.  I'm sure that we all can say CW should've done this or this bug has been here for years or why can't I find this it used to be this way.  Change is hard to deal with, so I understand the frustrations, but I think Sonar has really changed for the better.  This is not just same package with new toys, its a paradigm shift meaning going forward this new design will only get expanded upon.  I've yet to read a review that hates the new interface and everyone that seems to dislike it, never provide a good reason, at least not a reason I can agree with. 
 
For instance: I read somewhere that they didn't like the fact that you couldn't completely close the window, there's always a browser, or inspector on the screen.  I had that attitude at first, but then you fall prey to out-of-sight...out-of-mind, I prefer working smarter not harder.  So being able to collapse the browser to a sliver when I don't need it and then re-open it with a simple scroll and click of the mouse to use the drag and drop feature is just convenient.  But, it again, I've spent a month working with it, seeing what it can do for me and the way I like to work.  It's such a flexible product that it should work for everyone, if you invest the time.   My only true gripe was setting up the whole thing.  I couldn't jam right out the box, but that's with any new instrument.  So love it or hate the change has been made for us I think for the better and if you "DIG," in you'll see what I mean.   Oh, btw, I didn't even mention SCREENSHOTS!!

Destro makes several excellent points. The people complaining about the way X1 looks should post their monitor types and sizes. I have a 22" 1080p monitor and I think X1 looks fantastic. I think the overall look of it rocks. It's not perfect, but I think 8.5 is ugly and unrefined compared to X1. 

Tarsier's point about not being able to see enough in the FX bins and such is also a good point. I love the new interface, but I think it could still use a bit of tweaking, especially in Mixer View where there seems to be a lot of wasted empty space on the channel strips.