80gray - Minimalist REAPER 7.0 theme | v1.0 [01/11/2024]

[kotll]

Hi all,

Since REAPER 7.0 got released with the new custom images feature, I've been working on a redesign of my old theme Quanta v0.1.

Like my previous theme, the goal of this theme is readability and compactness. The TCP layout is mostly the same as before, but other elements have been completely redesigned.

There are many inspirations for this theme, including Default 3.0, Paulie, and Hydra. In particular, the design is greatly inspired by the Spacegray theme for the Sublime Text editor with the Eighties color scheme, hence the name "80gray".

Install:

Download the theme here on Gumroad.

REAPER 7.0 is required for this theme, since this theme uses custom images extensively.

This theme uses the Inter font family. Please install the Inter fonts to ensure that the theme is displayed correctly.

Features:

• TCP: Everything* fits within 2 rows of the TCP
  • * Everything except for the send list, FX parameters list, and FX embeds. Those are shown in the region below the 2 rows.
• TCP: FX List width is adjustable with theme adjuster (can be disabled with option "Show FX inserts in TCP (when size permits)")
• MCP: Compact MCP design, following the general philosophy of the TCP
• Envelopes: Envelope colors are color coded to match what they represent, for example:
  • Volume envelope: Yellow (same as volume slider highlight color)
  • Pan envelope: Blue (same as pan slider highlight color)
  • Mute envelope: Red (same as mute button color)
  • etc...
  • (Due to REAPER limitations, the width envelope is yellow instead of purple, since width and volume share the same envelope color)

Todo:

• Hi-DPI support
• Toolbar icons

More screenshots:

TCP and Arrange:

Single-row TCP:

MCP:

Embedded FX and Sends:

Uncolored tracks:

MIDI Editor:

Theme adjuster:

This theme supports the theme adjuster, there are several parameters you can use to tweak some aspects of the theme:

[DaniloVillanova]

Looking nice! Can't wait

[Alez156]

Yay for compactness!!
Amazing job so far, that volume slider in the TCP is so nice!

Suggestion: I would up the brightness of the icons just a bit, they are a blending a bit too much with the background.

Keep it up!

[henu]

Looks amazing!
Could there be a layout for both mixer and tcp where the tracks have fully colored bg? i really like when my tracks are super colorful. maybe some kind of a selection indication block (bright when selected, dark when unselected) where the current blip of color is at the moment, under the track number lablel... basically flip the backgrounds of the main track area and the numbered area actually... just a thought

[Touristkiller]

looks great... definitely going to try this one!

[rothchild]

I'm always on the look out for themes with 'slider' volume and pan controls, so this looks right up my street!

Super sharp looking theme, can't wait to try it out.

[ForrestH]

Medium grey text on a dark grey background?

[luiza177]

Looking great! I love the color scheme. I never came across your old theme before either, I love the MCP in that one. Great job!

[winbe]

Wow, looks really really nice so far!

Keep up the good work!

[Denys]

That looks very promising! Keep up the good work!

I agree that dimmed text could benefit from being a bit brighter too.

[Clapz]

I just love it the way it is haha

[JonLinnarson]

Looks great! I would prefer either boxes or just horizontal lines dividing the inserted FX, but maybe that's something you can do yourself through the Theme Editor?

[kotll]

Thanks for the kind words! I've finished coding the theme and I've just released it here, hope you guys enjoy it!

[henu]

For some reason im not getting the track names to show up!
theyre visible when you edit them but other than that theyre just not there

[kotll]

Could you provide a screenshot of the issue?

[sockmonkey72]

Originally Posted by kotll

Could you provide a screenshot of the issue?

I see it as well, macOS 13.6.3 -- the text is simply missing, both from the TCP and the MCP. Maybe a font issue? I did install the font.

[sockmonkey72]

[RogerDolk]

can confirm i also have this problem

[kotll]

Originally Posted by henu

For some reason im not getting the track names to show up!
theyre visible when you edit them but other than that theyre just not there

Originally Posted by RogerDolk

can confirm i also have this problem

May I ask which OS you are using? I'm on Windows and I can't seem to get the bug to occur. My best guess is that this is a MacOS-specific bug.

[kotll]

I've added a hotfix in the Gumroad download page, please try it and let me know if it fixes the issue!

[sockmonkey72]

hotfix 2 is working for me on macOS

[RogerDolk]

sorry hotfix 2 not working
Win 10 machine

[contactswimin]

Hotfix 2 definitely fixed it for MacOS user. Thank you very much for this.

[kotll]

I've just uploaded a hotfix 3 that removes (what I think is) the code that's causing the issue. Please see Gumroad for the hotfix.

If any theme developers are reading this, I'd like some help please!

The following is the code I removed:

set tcp.trackidx.margin [. h . h . . . .]

That code is a hack that tries to "force" the track label text to be horizontal at all times. When the TCP gets too narrow, the track label normally switches to be upright:



After adding the code above, the text stays horizontal even when the TCP is narrow:



It works by setting the vertical margin to a large value such that the margins are overlapping. However this seems to cause the label to disappear entirely for some users.

If there is any other way of forcing the text to be horizontal please let me know!

[DocBob]

Just so you know, the Theme Adjuster current beta version gives me an error when I try it on this theme.

[winbe]

wow, loving the theme more and more! The compactness is just what I was looking for.

The only thing I would like to be able to change is simply to make the armed tracks more visible. The red dot is not very red, and a bit small. Only real complaint, but really amazing theme!

Keep up the good work and hopefully the donations will follow!

[vsthem]

Also love the compactness! A few questions/suggestions:

Can the sends list be put on the right side TCP in a minimized view? I'd love that option

Can you remove elements from TCP, such as FX bypass and Routing?

When the track is minimized, and I have it set to two FX Columns in the TCP, it displays 3 plugins great, 2 on top, one on bottom, but when you add a 4th, a slider appears, and only 2 plugins are visible without scrolling. It seems that 4 should be able to fit. Is this something that could be looked at?

Thanks!

(I'll make a nice donation if I end up using this theme, but appreciate what you're doing!)

[winbe]

Oh, so visually, the theme is perfect but then yesterday I really tried to use it, and I had a hard time use the tiny volume bars on the TCP.

Maybe I should use MCP more, but for some reason, I extremly rarely use it!

[matthias.matthias]

Though I won't be using it as my main theme for now, this is a really nice theme. I like the design, but also how compact it is. In the MCP it displays 40 tracks where the default theme would only show 20. Thank you!

I have two wishes. Since I often use timecode as ruler format, the display of the time selection is currently too small (it's only partly visible). Also, it'd be nice to be able to adjust folder indent in the TCP as well. Maybe that will be possible once the theme is compatible with the Default_7.0_theme_adjuster.

[kotll]

Originally Posted by winbe

The only thing I would like to be able to change is simply to make the armed tracks more visible.

Thanks for the reply! I haven't found a good way to make the red dot larger without making it look a bit silly compared to the other track buttons:



Perhaps I could add a red underline for armed tracks, not completely sure about the new design yet...

Originally Posted by vsthem

Can the sends list be put on the right side TCP in a minimized view? I'd love that option

Can you remove elements from TCP, such as FX bypass and Routing?

Not at the moment, I've ran out of settings in the theme adjuster which unfortunately only allows a max of 10 settings in total.

Originally Posted by vsthem

Is this something that could be looked at?

It seems the text in the FX list is just slightly too tall to fit when the TCP is at it's minimum size, I'll have a look at improving this in the next release - thanks for the heads up

Originally Posted by vsthem

I had a hard time use the tiny volume bars on the TCP.

You are actually able to change the volume by dragging on the number rather than just the volume bar (the entire red area in the picture), let me know if that helps!

[kotll]

Originally Posted by matthias.matthias

Since I often use timecode as ruler format,

Thanks for the heads up, the selection graphic is definitely too small for timecode formats, will try to improve this next release

[winbe]

Originally Posted by kotll

Thanks for the reply! I haven't found a good way to make the red dot larger without making it look a bit silly compared to the other track buttons:



Perhaps I could add a red underline for armed tracks, not completely sure about the new design yet...

yes, the small dot is ok, but maybe something to highlight the track, yep, good idea.

The volume "knob" on TCP is slightly too small to be really usable for me, or maybe it should be more "contrasty" when touched, I don't know...

[tonalstates]

I've been using this theme off and on for a couple of days, switching between Magic Clover (dark) theme and this one, I seem to enjoy themes that go really small and are minimal in many senses so nice job there. In general I really enjoy this theme and will surely use and recommend a ton.

One thing I think I need so I come here to ask for is if there are any plans to make more track layouts?

I like the way the TCP is arranged I just feel I need a little bit more separation between tracks and folders, as in, a colored line on top of the folder track or a tinted layout would be very helpful for visual aid and separation.

Examples:


As you can see in the right, the folder tracks have a tinted layout and the child tracks have an untinted one (this using sws auto color to automatically change them) so this helps immensely to quickly know where the folder starts and ends. So something akin should be really useful.

Also, notice how track 1 and 10 have a whole track meter layout, they're both the same layout but Track 1's height is minimal so it hides the name label. I'd also find this extremely useful with your theme, specially on big projects with tons of busses.

I hope you could consider any of these for the future at least since I see this as a very nice theme and I'd love to use it more.

Thanks.

[Flouny]

Hi ! Love it , amazing theme, my new fav' for sure. A question thought is it possible to adjust the Mixer control panel width. My master track with with my embeded meters is very tight and skinny. Impossible to have acces to the track layout options in the theme adjuster or in the options.

[Alsion]

Very nice approach and I really appreciate the work and effort. But is it just me or is that all way too dark? Contrast between font and background is really low.

Am I the only one who would love to see a "bright" theme instead of the 42nd dark theme?

[Flouny]

The ability to color the entire instead of the corner TCP and the MCP would be great !

[timzibrat]

Hi. Very beautiful theme indeed. I only have one problem and that is track selection. When the track in it's minimal state, there's almost no way to select it. Only the track number works and even that is impossible with folder tracks. Ok granted, there's tiny edges that are clickable between sections, but on a 4k monitor that's hard to target. If it's in a double height state, then the second row is practically all dedicated to inputs, so a click there always brings up the input menu. Expanding further then works, but is a little tedious. No amount of stretching horizontally works either, since it only expands the name bracket.

I'm not sure how to fix/adjust this or modify to work a little better, but that's my only problem for now. Otherwise the design is just beautiful and the rest seems functional.

[AsVit]

On a 4K monitor, everything appears small, and nothing is being scaled.

[sinkmusic]

Congratulations, and thank you : this theme looks beautiful!
I wish we could have an option using a slightly bigger font for increased readability on smaller screens, but the overall design is slick and gorgeous.

[grrttshw]

This theme is so close to being incredible. Just a few additions like a few other people have posted regarding color coding and visibility. Especially at 4k, it looks crisp but boy is it small, not that I have a problem with it being condensed, but it would be a huge help to have a little more identifiable coloration on track and mixer pairs.

Also allow for more adjustable sizing like a 50% - 75% - 100% - 150% - 200% for different elements. I'm sure you've checked out the reapertips theme and several others, they do this VERY well. Overall I see so much potential here. Can't wait to see progress!