Panel title, global On/Off, file or ZIP selector, floating speaker button, and YouTube-driven transport.
Contents
UI exploration · Issue 8
A stem mixer that stays out of the video’s way.
Three layouts for adding per-track volume, mute, and solo to the existing bottom-right YouTube panel. All preserve YouTube as the transport and preserve the current single-audio flow.
UI constraints
The existing 300 px panel is a useful constraint. Four channels need to be legible without turning the extension into a DAW or covering a meaningful portion of the video.
A channel name derived from its ZIP entry basename, volume value, Mute, and Solo, plus clear effective state.
Waveforms, pan, metering, offsets, effects, master transport, and controls that imply unsupported DAW behavior.
Three options
Each panel shows the same four-stem transcription mix: bass soloed at 100%, drums and other retained at lower levels, and vocals muted. The difference is how directly the full state can be inspected and changed.
ARecommended
Compact channel rows
Every channel and control remains visible. The panel grows vertically but preserves its current width and mental model.
Audio replacementOn
track-stems.zip1:42 / 4:32Change
Vocals72%
Drums65%
Bass100%
Other55%
At-a-glance
Compactness
Control speed
- Best: frequent mixing and four-stem scanning.
- Cost: needs careful touch targets and truncated long names.
BCalmest
Focused channel editor
Select one stem, then edit it in a larger control area. Lower density, but hidden values make comparison slower.
Audio replacementOn
track-stems.zip1:42 / 4:32Change
VocalsDrumsBassOther
Bass100%
MuteSolo
PracticeTranscribeReset
At-a-glance
Compactness
Control speed
- Best: infrequent changes and larger targets.
- Cost: switching tabs to inspect or compare all levels.
CMost familiar
Mini mixer strips
A recognizable audio mixer, using vertical faders. Strong visual grouping, but cramped at extension-panel scale.
Audio replacementOn
track-stems.zip1:42 / 4:32Change
Vocals72%
Drums65%
Bass100%
Other55%
At-a-glance
Compactness
Control speed
- Best: users who already think in mixer strips.
- Cost: taller, wider, and harder to target precisely.
Two-stem state
The common practice and transcription use cases should require one obvious action. Compact rows make those states visually explicit without adding a separate preset system in the first version.
Audio replacementOn
bass-stems.zip1:42 / 4:32Change
Bass100%
Backing100%
One model, two obvious mixes
No special mode machinery is required because the same Mute and Solo controls express both outcomes.
PracticeMute
bass. Keep backing at the preferred level.TranscribeSolo
bass, or raise bass while lowering backing.Recommendation
Start with option A. It aligns with the issue’s simple-mixer scope, keeps all state inspectable, and maps directly to an ID-keyed list of track controls.
Ship first
Compact rows, no presets yet.
Use a 300 px panel, 24 px M/S buttons with title tooltips, a horizontal range, visible percentage, and full stem name in a tooltip. Do not add a mixer header or track count. Preserve one global On/Off switch.
Interaction rules
- Mute is independent per track.
- Any active Solo makes all non-solo tracks effectively muted.
- Multiple tracks may be soloed together.
- Muted and soloed state remains visibly distinct.
- Global Off restores normal YouTube audio without changing the saved mix.
- Display names remove the ZIP entry's path and final extension, then capitalize the first character.
Resolved defaults
These conservative choices keep the first version aligned with the issue and preserve the current single-audio experience.
Original YouTube audio remains muted while replacement is On. It is not represented as another mixer channel.
Every imported stem begins at unity gain. YouTube’s volume remains the shared output level, so stored track gains describe only the mix balance.
An ordinary non-ZIP audio file retains the existing standalone Volume row. Mute duplicates global Off and Solo has no effect when there is only one track.