Dave Smith Instruments SYNTHESIZERS

Hi Derek et al,

I spent some time with the 4.0 beta this morning (XP 32-bit) ... it
looks to be a great update.  The wave-draw screen is nice, and the
sequencer window is much friendlier.  Thumbs up.

I use a Wacom tablet for just about everything that's GUI-based (mouse
= RSI)so my experience may be a bit different than others. 
Regardless, I'm going to chime in on a few points:

1) Yup, linear knob control is a must.  As it stands, your
implementation of the "circular" method is usable/not awful, but
"linear" is the standard for a reason.

2) I was surprised by the dimensions of the 'flow' editor.  It's 1680
pixels wide, and *just* fits on my 22" monitor.  I like it this size,
but I can see where it'd be a pain on lower-rez screens.  A scalable
UI would be nice.  (Synth1 is a free VSTi that has a fully scalable
UI.  They, too, sacrificed 3D render'd beauty for better usability.
http://www.geocities.jp/daichi1969/softsynth/)

3) "Generic" view doesn't show any window at all when I select it.  I
have to switch back to "flow" and then hit the "edit program" button
to get the edit window back.

4) I understand why the LFO & Sequencer "Destination" uses the pop-up
window, and I don't mind it at all.  However, the window itself should
be labeled with the destination function we're choosing.  In other
words, if I leave the window up and click around the editor's
different "destination" points, the window title bar should indicate
what destination I'm editing.  Right now it says "destination" only.

5) The Continuous Controllers panel isn't vertically re-sizable
(though the cursor changes to the "resize" icon). 

6) I don't mind the envelope color :)... but if we're being picky, the
brown in the bank select and program genetics window is pretty puke-y.
 I think the OSC section could be a little more visually
differentiated.  A darker (or lighter) horizontal band behind the 2nd
and 4th oscillator knob rows would set each oscillator apart.

That's it for now.  Great stuff.

- Dan