Hmmm. A few UI things could certainly be refined, but I'm not seeing them in your list.

As are opinions on a whole subjective, I'd have to whole heartedly, though respectfully disagree with most of this UI critique. I also have been an avid user (no pun intended) of most DAW's from their beginnings. Actually Sonar being one, I've never used.

- Each clip has a thin black outline

If you used S1 as long as you said, you'd probably know clips in Studio One are defined as "events". As to black outline, I think you are referring to an active or selected event. To my eyes, events are very clear, and possibly bolder in appearance in Studio One than PT (I'm a PT user from its inception). So lets just call this a difference of opinion.

- The waveform colors are based on the clip color

Not sure what you're driving at. PT provides contrasting waveform color, just as S1. Slight differences, but perhaps you can define this in particulars.

- MIDI notes have some height to them and don't compete with CC automation lines.

Note height is easily tailored to user preference. Nor do i see S1 wqveforms competeting with automation lines. They are completely different tracks. Very transparent and usable. However, when automation is overlaid over tracks, I would agree PT's automation lines are clearer visually, and not hazing over waveforms when overlaid.

- The clips are translucent but have more opacity than S1. I've adjust the last row of clips slightly to show what this might look like.

??? OK. Should I prepare some visual where S1 looks clearer over PT? Not understanding the point. More opacity control?

- The waveforms are higher resolution and look smoother overall

Higher resolution? Perhaps you mean clearer on your monitor? The waveforms are rendered differently if that's what you mean. S1 waveforms display different elements such as oscillations, or variences along with obviously relevant amplitude, where PT has more of the common RMS to sample amplitude resolution, only. This is a subjective call to waveform preferrence. Question: Would you also define Melodyne waveforms as having less resolution? They are just different interpretations of audio information.

- Clip title text is more legible

Agreed. Different clip symbols though. Not sure which I prefer. Although the event/clip text in PT is larger, and therefore clearer.

- Much broader range of clip color options.

Agreed. Far and away, more colors with PT.

Each DAW holds to their own design concepts. Making music in a less distracting way will usually steer users to their preferred choice.

A few good points to be sure. Anyway, good luck going forward.

Thanks for the reply! Definitely want to just start a conversation. I work in this field for a living, but that doesn't mean I have the right answers - just wanted to provide some food for thought. Very subjective of course.

Lokeyfly wroteIf you used S1 as long as you said, you'd probably know clips in Studio One are defined as "events". As to black outline, I think you are referring to an active or selected event. To my eyes, events are very clear, and possibly bolder in appearance in Studio One than PT (I'm a PT user from its inception). So lets just call this a difference of opinion.

I was referring to non-selected events actually. PT has the black stroke for all clips, not just selected. I do notice a very thin line on the edges for S1 events, but not on the top and bottom. I think Presonus could bump it by 1 or 2 pixels and also add to top and bottom to help provide some visual boundaries of events.

Not sure what you're driving at. PT provides contrasting waveform color, just as S1. Slight differences, but perhaps you can define this in particulars.

S1 always chooses a dark gray to display the waveform on an event, regardless of event color while PT displays the waveform a similar color to the event (just more saturated). Personally, I think this looks better.

Note height is easily tailored to user preference. Nor do i see S1 wqveforms competeting with automation lines. They are completely different tracks. Very transparent and usable. However, when automation is overlaid over tracks, I would agree PT's automation lines are clearer visually, and not hazing over waveforms when overlaid.

Note height within an event is not editable though? And the Drums event in my screenshot clearly shows CC automation data competing visually with the MIDI notes.

??? OK. Should I prepare some visual where S1 looks clearer over PT? Not understanding the point. More opacity control?

More control over opacity could be an option (or they could just up the default). I personally don't think S1 looks clearer than PT in any regard when it comes to clips, but once again, that is subjective.

Higher resolution? Perhaps you mean clearer on your monitor? The waveforms are rendered differently if that's what you mean. S1 waveforms display different elements such as oscillations, or variences along with obviously relevant amplitude, where PT has more of the common RMS to sample amplitude resolution, only. This is a subjective call to waveform preferrence. Question: Would you also define Melodyne waveforms as having less resolution? They are just different interpretations of audio information.

I have a 5k retina iMac - monitor resolution is not the issue The way S1 renders waveforms is not smooth, especially when you zoom in all the way (it is stepped). Logic, Ableton, and PT have all moved to a smoother display when zoomed in very close - I think one benefit of this is nicer looking waveforms when zoomed out.

Anyway, my 2 cents. S1 has great features, but I do believe the UI turns off folks from trying it - and we should want more people to use S1 (easier to work together, more money for Presonus for continued development).