DeafMan transforms Ableton Live with custom colors, interactive editor

DeafMan’s creations for Ableton Live have evolved from a selection of cool retro themes to a vast library of complete color makeovers — a “visual system.” And there’s an insanely powerful new editor for managing themes, tweaking colors, creating customizations, and assigning color to tracks. It’s more than just customization: it’s a way of thinking about your workspace and music in hues and shades.*

These retro and SGI-inspired Ableton Live themes will make you smile

Deafman’s set of retro themes for Ableton Live, originally inspired by Silicon Graphics workstations, impressed when I first wrote about them. This summer, Clem has a bunch of updates: improved themes, a theme editor, a new pack, updated fonts (with Retina and bold versions), and easy installers. It’s a one-stop makeover kit for Ableton Live. But it’s more than that: it’s a mood enhancer. I smiled, like, literally.

Peter Kirn - July 12, 2025

Remake Live 12 with retro refinement: updated workstation, ultra-dark themes

If you’re staring at Ableton Live for extended periods of time, why not dress it up so it has all the panache of a high-end 90s UNIX workstation? DeafMan’s retro-chic theme collections have now been rebooted for Live 12, where they look better than ever.

Peter Kirn - May 20, 2024

Make Ableton Live easy on the eyes in low light – with a retro 80s & 90s look

Peter Kirn - October 4, 2023