Colours in Logic Pro X have to change - agree?

Hi

I wonder what other users of Logic Pro X think about the new colour choices? Personally I don't mind the darker background but the colours available to use for objects in the arrange window seem very dull and depressing to me. The main reason is that there is no pure yellow or red meaning two of the primary colours are not there. Instead there seem to be various shades of brown or muddy greenish sludge colours. Some of the greens, blues and purple/scarlet type colours are nice but no red or yellow!???? It seems insane.Colours have a powerful pschological impact I think and I used to use a pure bright yellow to highlight certain instruments or to highlight a particularly good take in a vocal for example. Now the closest I can get is a turgid muddy horror show. I find it very depressing.


Does anyone agree with me? I've sent this as feedback but I imagine it will need a lot of people to do the same before anything is done about it.

Logic Pro X

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 3:46 AM

Reply
22 replies

Sep 16, 2013 10:30 AM in response to Tony White

Tony,

You're definitely not alone in disliking the colours in Logic X.


In addition to Jan Due 1's link above, there's a thread over at Gearslutz which is over 50 pages long:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/logic-pro-x/857146-custom-logic-x-guis-thread.htm l


Clear evidence of the frustration among users....


So, you could modify your setup, but please add your voice to those who are not happy by telling Apple directly:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/logic-pro.html

Sep 16, 2013 11:09 AM in response to Colin Shapiro

Thanks guys - glad to see there's an issue with this for other people. I've already sent feedback to Apple - I suppose if enough people do so they will change it eventually.


Thanks as well for that link - that's really cool being able to modify the appearence and I might give it a try at some point. I'm a musician though not a computer person so I'm a bit cautious about messing with my Mac in case I screw it up. I noticed also that even on that set of colours that you can modify the picker from there's not really a proper yellow or any bright reds - all the colours look doom-laden.


Anyway thanks for the feedback - very pleased to hear I'm not alone on this.

Mar 4, 2014 3:49 AM in response to Colin Shapiro

Hi,

I've sent feedback to Apple on numerous occasions but so far no changes in Logix X styling. While the dark interface looks quite tidy initially, I find it really hard to work with as the strong contrast with the track colours gives me eyestrain yet I find the black on grey text areas not contrasty enough to read easily, especially if you're using a laptop in a bar on holiday - for example.


A simple solution for Apple to put in place would be a preferences slider to adjust the backround colour strength for those problem areas — possibly labeled 'style' at one end and 'usability' at the other.


I can't understand how anyone does not have eyestrain issues with this interface design — all my Logic using friends dislike it and many of us have gone back to using Logic 9 as the ease of use far outweighs the usefulness of the new features.


I'm also unconvinced by some of the menu changes - it always made sense to me that the relevant menus were associated with specific windows but many options have now migrated back to the main menu bar. Other things I've experience, which it would be great for you to confirm, is that there's no progress bar when doing destructive edits in the Sample Edit window —- leaving you to wonder if the computer has died — and when using a function key to turn the region length tool into Stretch mode, the text no longer changes to Stretch as it did in 9.


Thanks for tolerating my rant!


Paul

Mar 4, 2014 9:30 AM in response to Ed Egned

It's subjective. I personally LOVE the colors in Logic Pro X.


After staring at the stark, cold colors of Protools for the past 20 years, I welcome the Logic palette with a warm embrace. Perhaps it's because I like to keep the lights low in my studio, and I am blessed to be looking at a nice, bright, large monitor, but I think the colors are perfect. The choices we have in the palette selection may seem limited, but they allow for brighter tones when things are selected, and darker tones when things are deselected. If we had the option to assign full red to a clip, where would the color go when we actually select the clip. There would be no room for it to become brighter when selected.


I believe as contrast ratios increase, and monitors are capable of greater brightness, there needs to be a shift toward using more natural tones in the interface. If your monitor displays pure white (0, 0, 0) as a blinding, intense, "staring-into-the-sun" sort of thing, then the interface should not use pure white (except when displaying an image of the sun). For example, should a blank page in Word really be displayed as pure white? Not in my world. Not on my monitor. A blank piece of paper should not be as bright as the sun.


But, like I said, it's subjective. If you are using a dim laptop in a bright bar during a holiday to mix your tracks, then eye-strain is the least of your troubles. The designers of the interface were not thinking about you when they designed the palette. They were thinking about me, the guy sitting in a nice, quiet, dimly lit studio using a bright, properly calibrated display. Sorry.

Mar 4, 2014 11:41 AM in response to Arnett Sound

This certainly seems to be an issue that polarises opinion and on a new Apple monitor with bags of brightness it can look pretty good in the studio. My own studio system monitors ( 2 x 20 inch) are original Apple cinema displays and they're not as bright as they used to be so I keep trying to turn up the brightness to find that it is already maxed out, which was never a problem with Logic 9. As to the laptop use, I expect the same software to be usable in my studio and when I'm composing away from home but Logic X just doesn't work well in that environment. Given that some people love the interface and others don't, it shouldn't really be too much to ask that the user can decide for themselves what they need and set preferences accordingly. I think this discussion is one that will run and run but I'm on the lookout for a reliable hack to tone down the greys. I know most of my colleagues don't like the Logic X interface or the limited colour palette and for them to stick with Logic 9 just because of the lack of eye fatigue must say something, even if it is just that Apple should cater for an older demographic with less forgiving eyes.

Mar 4, 2014 3:10 PM in response to Paulwhitesos

I was a little worried this thread was not being represented by both sides of the issue, so I figured I would jump in. I come from the Protools experience and I never used Logic 9, so to me the colors and look of X are a welcome change after the misery of looking at the ugly Protools screen for so long.


I completely understand the needs of the mobile mixer. There was a time when I was using Protools on my laptop and would often find myself in difficult locations and varying lighting. However, today I do most of my work in my own studio, which I have maximized for comfort and workability. Occasionally, I work at other studios and am shocked at the bizarre anti-ergonomic setups people are willing to accept. The worst thing, in my opinion, is to have the monitor way up and away from the line of sight, usually on the top of a meter bridge and 4 or 5 feet away. I know one mixer who has his monitor way up on the meter bridge of a Neve VR console. To me, that's crazy. I can barely see anything on the monitor. i don't think he can, either. He is really good at using the Apple "zoom" function to scan around the timeline as if he is looking through a telescope. When I watch him work, inside my brain I am screaming, "Move the monitor closer!!!"


I adhere strictly to the idea that the monitor should be 18-28 inches away from my eyeballs and at a level height where the top of the monitor is even with my eyes. When flatscreen monitors first appeared, we used to put them on retractable arms that would allow them to float over the surface of the console. Eventually, I did away with my console, and now have my monitor at a nice 24" from my eyeballs, with plenty of space on the desk in front of me for keyboard and mouse. I never experience eye fatigue.


One of the things I really love about Logic X over Protools is the high level of customization options. It seems almost as if the Protools program is designed to be as NON-customizable as possible, while Logic offers a ton of customizable options. There can always be more, however, and it would be nice to have greater control over the colors. I can imagine a sort of "theme" based system where we could load different color palette presets depending on our working environment. If it were up to me, I would continue using the default theme we have now. I love it. I don't think the colors are drab or depressing. I find them to be warm and comfortable. But that's just me. And I think, unfortunately, that I am part of the older demographic you mentioned.

Mar 5, 2014 7:13 AM in response to Tony White

My 2 cents worth.. FWIW...


I prefer the new palette of LPX. It took a couple of weeks for me to get used to it but now, when I go back to LP9 I find my eyes prefer the newer LPX look


Additional:


Don't forget that with LPX 10.0.5 there is now an option in Logic's Prefs to make the Piano Roll have a light background... instead of a dark one...which I gather some people prefer....



There is now an option to set the Piano Roll to a light background color.

Mar 30, 2014 6:37 PM in response to Tony White

Dear Logic Team,


I know there are a few work arounds to get all kind of fancy color versions but it includes some kind of coding etc. I'm just a songwriter and not a mac programmer. One thing I do have though, is I'm color blind. Not complete but enough that your new colors are a real pain for me to work with.


PLEASE give the option for black and white - I can't find them anymore and they used to make my life so much easier. I don't mind what colors but please give the option for those who have a hard time seeing colors.


Please support people that have some kind of handicap seeing colors.


Thank you for supporting us

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Colours in Logic Pro X have to change - agree?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.