Ableton Forum

Dunno if that's already been posted but it looks interesting. Mostly cosmetics but...

http://dancemusicnw.com/this-might-be-t ... interface/

I know there's been a lot of people dissing it already, but I think it's great myself. I would LOVE if Live eventually got an updated display, and I think this is something that would actually work well without compromising their design ethos.

It looks very pleasing to my eyes.

Love it. But I would change the browser icons because they still make me think, which wastes time.

The two most important things for me are looks and immediacy. I haven't opened Ableton for about a month, and it's largely because of those two issues - its drabness and clunkiness don't make me feel inclined to open it. Archaic Live.

When I walk into a music store and hit a cool hardware synth, I feel instantly inspired. Of course, that's partly a software vs hardware problem, but all the more reason why software should be as visually appealing and immediate as possible. Some people love Ableton's current design. That's fine, but give the rest of us an optional design that is sexier and more efficient.

Does Ableton avoid changes of design because of attachment to its design principles, or is it because it's hard-coded in a way that makes it too difficult to change?

Wow! That looks amazing to me! I would switch to this interface in a heartbeat!

The only thing I dislike about Live is that flat, drab interface. This design gives Live a modern look without making it look like one of the other big DAWs. It still looks like Live. Incredible!

garagelive? no thanks bro.

I don't get it, what about it do you actually prefer about it? All I see is a new skin (which you can easily make yourself), a lot of important shortcommings of Lives interface untouched (thin meters, round dials which waste space), and other changes that are very questionable regarding their utility. (mostly the very straight edges on everything, they make distinctions of areas less clear).


Really the only thing that looks good about it is the different color scheme and that can be easily done with the skin editor. Or just look up here on the forums the Maschine skin, which comes really close.

And if mister Vladimir Shagov thinks this color scheme looks so great, why didn't he design a new skin and share it with everyone, instead of just getting his 15 minutes of fame on some stupid blog. That might have actually have had a lasting influence on more peoples worklife.

I would like better and more clip colors though.
And on second look, I guess having the clip view and the device view merged that way would be useful.

Something seems to be missing. To me, if you make it more vivid, then it will need more definition, more 3D effect, and then it would not be flat anymore, which is one of the features that has made Live popular with users who wanted to break away from the traditional DAW interface.

I support an improvement in the GUI, but that may not be the right approach. Why not try to make it more fluid instead?

TomViolenz wrote:I don't get it, what about it do you actually prefer about it? (mostly the very straight edges on everything, they make distinctions of areas less clear).

yup, mainly that is what I like. And that is enough for me to prefer it.

The areas being less clear not a problem for me, I should and do know by now what is what in Live.

It really doesn't matter that much, it's just a skin, and I happen to like the subtle changes, which makes it look better to me overall.

tedlogan wrote:

TomViolenz wrote:I don't get it, what about it do you actually prefer about it? (mostly the very straight edges on everything, they make distinctions of areas less clear).

yup, mainly that is what I like. And that is enough for me to prefer it.

The areas being less clear not a problem for me, I should and do know by now what is what in Live.

It really doesn't matter that much, it's just a skin, and I happen to like the subtle changes, which makes it look better to me overall.

this is not about you knowing where everything is, but your eyes immediately finding where everything is.

This skin makes that hard and will over a long work day be very tiring.

There is much more to GUI design than just making it look pretty.

That is entirely possible. I'd have to work with it to know.

Edit - actually, I use Zebra's Redux skin mainly - very similar approach although a lot less vibrant, and even there I don't have a problem with distinguishing modules. I program Zebra around 5-6 hours per day these days, and suffer no fatigue.

Hehe, we're discussing a skin for a DAW. At least I'm at work and don't mind wasting time here on the more trivial things

tedlogan wrote: Hehe, we're discussing a skin for a DAW. At least I'm at work and don't mind wasting time here on the more trivial things

I like it because it keeps everything where it was, and everything is still easily recognizeable like it is now. But, at the same time it's a drastic enough change that it makes me feel like I'm looking at something almost entirely new. I love Live, but after looking at the exact same thing for well over a decade, a little change on the pupils would be nice too.

He mainly got rid of borders, it looks good but I dont think it is superior to currenr GUI. Live IMHO has the best GUI, to me it is a class of superb minimalism. Way ahead of its time.

Bitwig copied it and ruin it by bringing back 3d shadows.

Tarekith wrote:I like it because it keeps everything where it was, and everything is still easily recognizeable like it is now. But, at the same time it's a drastic enough change that it makes me feel like I'm looking at something almost entirely new. I love Live, but after looking at the exact same thing for well over a decade, a little change on the pupils would be nice too.

^^ This