Yes 3.0 GUI is a pretty big step backward for single monitor setups (big or small resolution). 2.8 was much more flexible in terms of which information you could see at once, while 3.0 forces you to constalntly switch between screen configurations or having a sampler in a separate VST-like window (which is even worse solution on single monitor).
But I think 3.0 GUI only needs a few tweaks to make it even better than 2.8:
- sampler/plugin tab should not hide upper and bottom panels
This would again make it possible to use it together with track DSP and spectrum analyzer. It should be a bit optimized to make better use of vertical space though, but just making it tabbed (like proposed in this topic), would make a ton of difference. And maybe you could also make the keyboard hideable or at least a bit smaller vertically.
- make sampler’s left panel independent (like it was before, when it was located on the bottom panel)
This way you could load/replace samples, tweak them and change VST presets (!!!) directly from pattern view, without having to switch into full sampler or opening VST GUI.
I also agree with cupcake’s post about disk browser. Old one was better designed and more logically placed for the workflow when loading samples. New one has controls all over the place. But I don’t think vertical browser is a bad idea! I think it can offer even more flexibility than the old one, which was redundant with the spectrum/track scopes.
My suggestions to improve it:
- place it on the left side of the screen (together with instrument list)
- reposition preset folder buttons (1,2,3,4) closer to other buttons (higher, or maybe even horizontally?)
This would place instrument list and browser right next to the sample list (on the left side, which is a logical position I think), which would make it even faster to load samples than in 2.8 and even make it possible to do this without hiding upper analyzers.
What do you think?