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I barely knew about ableton before some recent HN front page articles. IMO they must have some of the best frontend/ui/designer people out there, especially for

by elamje 7y ago

I barely knew about ableton before some recent HN front page articles. IMO they must have some of the best frontend/ui/designer people out there, especially for a company that’s not huge. The synth and music apps for the browser are pretty great! Edit: links https://learningsynths.ableton.com/ https://learningsynths.ableton.com/ https://learningmusic.ableton.com/ https://learningmusic.ableton.com/

squeaky-clean 7y ago
Yeah these demos are really well done, but I also wonder how they managed to spend the amount of time that must be required to make these tutorials, is it really just for PR and education? There's fully functional drum and melodic sequencers with an "Export to Live" link that downloads a project file of whatever you've made! I wonder if they plan on re-using this to release something browser based in the long run? https://learningmusic.ableton.com/the-playground.html https://learningmusic.ableton.com/the-playground.html
eating555 7y ago
I agree. But actually the frontend/UI design of a digital audio workstation, DAW for short, is good or not really depends on personal preference. Sometimes arguments between DAWs can reach the same level as religion war.
deltron3030 7y ago
>IMO they must have some of the best frontend/ui/designer people out there, especially for a company that’s not huge. They're one of the pioneers of flat UI's, long before e.g. Apple jumped on that train in 2013. Here's a review with screenshots from 2004: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/ableton-live-4 https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/ableton-live-4 Their UI style didn't change that much since then, they got it right from the start. I wish they'd make an OS and laptops/computers etc., as another design oriented alternative to Apple with an European background. They have the design cred to succeed there.
- enneff 7y ago
  Design maybe but their engineering is not exactly stellar. Ableton is pretty crashy, especially when working with external plugins (including their own Max). I’m not sure I’d be thrilled by that in the context of an OS.
  - deltron3030 7y ago
    On Windows it's shit, because if you do music on Windows you depend much more on external driver quality. Only a few companies like RME get it right on Windows, the rest will always cause issues. Never had a problem with Ableton on OSX/macos, even with low budget class compliant interfaces like those cheap Behringers, there, all external hardware drivers are built on top of core audio.
- twic 7y ago
  For another aesthetic, see ReBirth: https://www.musictech.net/reviews/rewind-propellerhead-rebirth-rb-338/ https://www.musictech.net/reviews/rewind-propellerhead-rebir... I fervently hope they don't make an OS based on this.
- ezconnect 7y ago
  Microsoft has been using flat UI on Microsoft Money since version 8 Microsoft Money 2000. When I first saw it I found it beautiful back then, but they didn't use it on other products.
- crucialfelix 7y ago
  I call that the Fishertechnik aesthetic: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischertechnik https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischertechnik In a way I think that held them back for a while from being considered a serious audio app. I thought it looked too simple, gray and plastic. They needed more of a feeling of precision and control. On the other hand it had more of a fun lightweight feel and that helped for their main market.
  - teucris 7y ago
    Super interesting, because I was drawn to Ableton years ago because I thought the aesthetic made it feel more professional and serious. I love how there’s no one absolute in design, or anything with humans for that matter
glup 7y ago
A lot of the most interesting stuff, e.g. Max for Live and I believe the browser-based audio interfaces, is from Cycling '74, which Ableton acquired in 2017.

by elamje 7y ago

squeaky-clean 7y ago

Yeah these demos are really well done, but I also wonder how they managed to spend the amount of time that must be required to make these tutorials, is it really just for PR and education? There's fully functional drum and melodic sequencers with an "Export to Live" link that downloads a project file of whatever you've made! I wonder if they plan on re-using this to release something browser based in the long run? https://learningmusic.ableton.com/the-playground.html https://learningmusic.ableton.com/the-playground.html

eating555 7y ago

I agree. But actually the frontend/UI design of a digital audio workstation, DAW for short, is good or not really depends on personal preference. Sometimes arguments between DAWs can reach the same level as religion war.

deltron3030 7y ago

>IMO they must have some of the best frontend/ui/designer people out there, especially for a company that’s not huge. They're one of the pioneers of flat UI's, long before e.g. Apple jumped on that train in 2013. Here's a review with screenshots from 2004: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/ableton-live-4 https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/ableton-live-4 Their UI style didn't change that much since then, they got it right from the start. I wish they'd make an OS and laptops/computers etc., as another design oriented alternative to Apple with an European background. They have the design cred to succeed there.

enneff 7y ago
Design maybe but their engineering is not exactly stellar. Ableton is pretty crashy, especially when working with external plugins (including their own Max). I’m not sure I’d be thrilled by that in the context of an OS.
- deltron3030 7y ago
  On Windows it's shit, because if you do music on Windows you depend much more on external driver quality. Only a few companies like RME get it right on Windows, the rest will always cause issues. Never had a problem with Ableton on OSX/macos, even with low budget class compliant interfaces like those cheap Behringers, there, all external hardware drivers are built on top of core audio.
twic 7y ago
For another aesthetic, see ReBirth: https://www.musictech.net/reviews/rewind-propellerhead-rebirth-rb-338/ https://www.musictech.net/reviews/rewind-propellerhead-rebir... I fervently hope they don't make an OS based on this.
ezconnect 7y ago
Microsoft has been using flat UI on Microsoft Money since version 8 Microsoft Money 2000. When I first saw it I found it beautiful back then, but they didn't use it on other products.
crucialfelix 7y ago
I call that the Fishertechnik aesthetic: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischertechnik https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischertechnik In a way I think that held them back for a while from being considered a serious audio app. I thought it looked too simple, gray and plastic. They needed more of a feeling of precision and control. On the other hand it had more of a fun lightweight feel and that helped for their main market.
- teucris 7y ago
  Super interesting, because I was drawn to Ableton years ago because I thought the aesthetic made it feel more professional and serious. I love how there’s no one absolute in design, or anything with humans for that matter

glup 7y ago

A lot of the most interesting stuff, e.g. Max for Live and I believe the browser-based audio interfaces, is from Cycling '74, which Ableton acquired in 2017.