peter With "single screen" I don't mean that everything will be done in that screen. There will of course still be popup dialogs like for example the lyrics or pdf editor. Single screen just means that there will not be a management screen and a player screen like in the current version.
Totally agree with you!
peter Love It, the idea is to give all users flehability to setup the interface to zoom in on their needs of operation on one screen but still give them other options in the background .
I see it this way ,
There are firstly 2 main modes of operation , The preparation mode and the performing mode we should be making a choice to which mode we are in and the interface behaves in favour of the need.
The third thing is Settings should be easily available in all modes.
Things that immediately matter in particular modes should be obvious on the screen.
Flexibility to favour left or right hand users should work on every screens ie Stop button, song list and others on left or right side,
When choosing controls within screens to have choice of placement within that screen , ie I want my stop button on extreme sides and assignable buttons after the stop button as the STOP BUTTON IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND I LIKE IT IN THE BOTTOM CORNER AS ITS HANDY AND LESS CHANCE TO ACCIDENTALLY HIT IT IF USING OTHER BUTTONS.
All these seemingly small things really make a total big difference when on stage.
I am interested to see how you implement the loop system as that’s the next big thing after Lyrics that makes a big difference on stage.
I would be happy with a full width screen that pops up above my bottom control area and a very narrow song position slide indicator above the loops or perhaps at the top of lyrics to show and allow positioning of song position ,
The loop selection buttons to be even size at all times and an hour glass indicator to go through the loop buttons, this then gives me great control of song manipulation if I require it yet you can disable this button area if not needed,
The loops don’t just control the audio but can be used for PDF and LYRICS ONLY exact text place selection just like the audio backing loops become PAGE TURNS for easy and consistent user experience on stage all being remote controllable this is a 3 type of loop control choice to the need of the song type performed, every song type has the use of loops the same way but using different components.
Oops I did it again so I will stop for now
Great work Peter.
peter Nearly all of the space is available for lyrics. Just 2 small toolbars on top and on on bottom. You can slide in a sidebar with the songs and playlists. That will have a variable width. Example:
The top tool bar to only have things you don’t need to touch while performing, the bottom tool bar to have the things you need to touch while performing , this applies to loops bar verses EQ and mixer area the loops you always need to touch if performing so this needs to be on bottom the EQ and Mixer should have been setup in prep and perhaps is needed for a minor occasional tweak so this should be above that comes down but does not block your lyrics it just drops down the lyrics so you can either leave it on screen or have a momentary drop down and hide option depending on requirement, the idea is to always see your lyrics and minimise hand movement over the lyrics while performing.Thats in performance mode while in preperation mode this does not matter as you are not fussed if lyrics are hidden by hand movement.
Good points Damir. One thing that is hell of a lot of work is to provide mirrored layout choices (song list and buttons either left or right). I think I would rather spend that time on more important things.
peter Good points Damir. One thing that is hell of a lot of work is to provide mirrored layout choices (song list and buttons either left or right). I think I would rather spend that time on more important things.
As a Simple powerful Player for on stage ST3 really does not need anything more it just needs to be presented more practically, yes the multitrack import needs to be easier and text Editor could be improved to speed things up in prep, but unless you are adding new things like video/photo sync with audio replay , I think placement of buttons for left handed or right handed people is very important , this includes one handed iPhone control for left or right single hand users is very important.
As I said before if you are right handed and place an iPhone 11pro max in hand the thumb neatly wants to touch the bottom right side to start play , this is the opposite for left handers yet you have this button in the wrong spot for both users, this is what I mean when it comes to tidying up the layout small things that could greatly improve the operating experience, yes we can live with it but why not improve it if it makes sense and is not too hard to do.
Perhaps just give us limited options like which side do we want the song list on and the STOP button the rest does not matter that much .
Just pointing things out that I found uncomfortable and awkward when using the two portable devices like iPad and iPhone.
Please consider more midi links so you can pass off some of the controlling during a set to another surface. I.E. that nanostudio mixer if needed! :-)
The fact that you’ve made this available on an iPhone is already huge.
Optimized for iPad, where this app technically belongs, is default and I’m wondering how much can actually be crammed into the much smaller screen?
I’m not very good at design, I’m good with practical and technical. My app on the iPhone is there for backup no2 (after an iPad backup) and while it’s not great on the phone it’s definitely could be made to work.
I say forget about the iPhone. Most professional gigging musicians use iPads or Macbooks. Stage Traxx is now at a professional level where we can dump the iPhone. Does Ableton run on an iPhone? Does Logic? I agree about your thoughts that the MacOS experience is not the best. I would like to be able to use ST on my MacBook and have it be the same great experience as on the iPad. Right now it just feels like the iPad app but it doesn't translate so well on the Mac. Finally, I would love to be able to send the PDFs to an external screen just like you do with the lyrics. Trying to cram a chart and all the ST controls on an iPad screen is just too small.
Not necessarily a layout idea,
But to use the iPad as a remote to trigger playback for the Host on a MacBook that’s FOH is what I’m looking for
I know this needs a complete redesign and you had previously said it’s earmarked for ST4
rumbakid I say forget about the iPhone. Most professional gigging musicians use iPads or Macbooks
Sorry Rumbakid I totally disagree with this comment, firstly a fully professional performer would not be touching any device, that would be done for them by a sound engineer and they would not need any lyrics display as they would know all their lyrics.
A sound engineer would want a compact device near them as they have a large mixer in front of them so an IMac and or a laptop is not ideal , an iPad or an iPhone is perfect , the other two are practical for home users, the most practical devices for average performers are iPads and iPhones , the iPads for those that need lyrics and move around to some degree the IPhone for those that just need audio playback and still they can have lyrics if they absolutely need them but the device would be mounted closer to this user and some users might mount this small device on their instrument ie accordion,
ST3 is not just for the minority of SEMI PROFESSIONALS but for a much greater user base of all users that need a practical device to give them lyrics , backing , notation, auto cue, DJ work, home tinkerers, party music players , great music librarian , etc etc, yes it is of a standard that serious on stage performers can use as well but most would not have a laptop or desktop computer on stage as they would not fall in to the professional category as having big bulky gear on stage is not very professional in my eyes, I wish I did not need ST3 at all but I do as I am not a full professional but I don’t want to look like an amateur by only having huge gear around me when a simple small iPhone will do.
Cheers Damir
jaytrax I know this needs a complete redesign and you had previously said it’s earmarked for ST4
Remote control is indeed on my bucket list. Some form of it will be part of ST4 I just don't know yet how much of it could be remote controlled. I aim at least for playback controls and song selection within a playlist. If possible, then also switching playlists. What will most likely not be remote controlled is song editing.
There’s sure is a need for the phone app, but believe me, pros definitely need and use lyrics and other prompts.
Session guys do so much work they simply can’t just remember everything, and personally me, when I was in my 20s,30s I could remember 2000 songs.
Now at 51 I can barely remember 10. Lyrics that is.
And I’ve been doing this professionally for over 30 years now. Age strips you away from many things, memory is just one.
Even when I do a whole run of theatre work I need my prompts, song list etc. even after doing two shows a day for months.
Pros need iPads, phones etc just like everyone else
Damir Damir I have been a professional musician for 25 years playing gigs at the highest level with large corporate bands. The sound engineer NEVER runs the tracks. The musical director does. In all those years I have yet to see anyone on stage using an iPhone for anything. Most people use iPad mini's or iPad Pros. I'm not saying the iPhone has no use, but if it comes at the expense at the iPad or Mac app then forget it. You have never seen a laptop on stage? Then you have never seen a professional band before as most drummers or keyboard players have them on stage right next to them running the tracks.
rumbakid sorry perhaps I didn’t use the correct terminology of who does what and yes I know people use laptops on stage, I did this years ago way before bands used backing tracks to fatten up their sound, my point was that a hack of a lot of people are using iPhones as well and are finding it perfect for their needs , I don’t see a problem of not having some niceties on it compared to iPad but it gives us great option to be able to use both if needed like I do, I use the iPad to perform and the iPhone to play background music and if I really had to I could get away with iPhone only in an emergency , my iPhone goes with me everywhere so I can use it anytime that’s needed my iPad does not so it’s very useful to have both platforms.
I don’t need any other music program ST3 does everything I need and it’s there for me at all times. I have it on my iMac and laptop at home but I am finding more and more I can get away with just the iPad and iPhone , all my complicated audio prep is done on an IMac but I am finding the iPad is good enough for simple editing, i think a lot of users would be very disappointed if ST3 was not available on IPhone, that’s one of the biggest pluses of the software it is so flexible in its final interface capability.
I would also be very interested in a main mixer panel of some sort. I am running backing tracks as multitracks with a set structure. Meaning drums on CH1, bass on CH 2, etc. Right now, if we want to enable/disable playback of an instrument across all songs, we have to go into each song and mute/unmute that channel. It would be ideal to have a main mixer panel that allows you to set the volume of each of the individual 8 tracks across all songs. For example, CH2 on every song is bass guitar... we would normally keep this CH2 volume at zero because we have a bass player. But if our bass player can't make a show, it would be nice to be able to turn that channel volume up for that event. Otherwise, we are going in and unmuting the bass on 30 individual tracks. (actually, we currently control this sound through an external hardware mixer). If there is already another way in StageTraxx to accomplish this, I'd would be grateful for your suggestions.
wait till you get to 64 i cant remember 1 fully, i create great new lyrics along the way