Ableton Live 12’s new Themes do look great, but is that enough choice for us obsessive DAW users, working on productions into the wee hours? Absolutely not! And so we’re grateful that Madeleine Bloom continues to do the great work of producing terrific themes, all available as free downloads.
This may not be everyone’s take, but I thoroughly enjoy the new Live 12 UI – I didn’t once want to go back while testing 12 and 11 side by side. The only real sad part was losing some favorite custom themes. So fortunately Madeleine has been working through her exceptional back catalog, remixing themes (née “skins”), tweaking extensively, and producing some all-new designs.
The latest outing is the Dark Collection, which also shows off some eloquent naming chops – Bronze (new), Cielo, Dash, Disco, Elegance, Heliotrope, Morea, Ochre (new), Onyx, Red Greys, Rosequartz and Viridian.
Free Ableton Live 12 Theme Set No. 3 (Dark Collection)
No. 2 went retro – with even a wonderful, 80s-ish beige look. (And if you’re into retro, see the link at bottom, too.)
Free Ableton Live 12 Theme Set No. 2 (Retro)
Collection #1 covered all the basics, mostly overhauls but with new features and some all-new stuff:
Free Ableton Live 12 Theme Set No. 1
Users of older Live versions — don’t feel left out. Live 10+ Themes and even Live 9 Skins are still available.
I still want Ableton to release an official theming tool, so Schönhauser Allee, if you think this is us letting you off the hook, totally not!
I personally find a refreshed theme puts me in the mood for finishing tracks; there’s something weirdly creativity-sapping about seeing the same UI all the time. But if you did want to, uh, maybe do something musical with the software, you should check out Sonic Bloom’s (and Max for Cats’) incredible tutorials and resources. Many are free, but you can also use the chance to support the work by chipping in some extra cash.
A great place to start is this guide to Tuning Systems, which also includes a free download:
All About Tuning Systems (+ 16 Free Tunings)
More on the tuning topic soon, for sure.
Okay, that’s enough music for a while, let’s change the Theme again. From May (and this SGI-themed set goes great with the Retro ones above):