Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
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Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
1–10 of 23 posts
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#2Great interview.
They also have been very good at marketing.
When I was looking for a DAW a couple of years ago, the sheer amount of helpful content and tutorials stood out, both from the company and the community they built. I also like their creator-focused events (Loop) and the one-thing series which reminds me to try something new.
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#3Useful reminder that even if all you can see is differences, you probably have a lot of commonalities with others:
> So from the moment you met, did you know you wanted to work together and make music?
> GB: No! We hated each other!
> RH: We came from a very different background and, actually it’s a good question because later we figured out we have a lot of things in common. But on first sight we only saw the differences.
> RH: To paint a totally cliche picture, I was at that time the kind of totally lost goth punk person. And Gerhard pretty much looked the same as he did now [...] nice white scarf and a very stable demeanor. Like the type of people I hated at school.
> RH: Right after noticing that the other was there too, we ran up the auditorium to the exit and said: “What the fuck are you doing here?” And well the next thing you do is you decide you need to have some coffee to discuss that problem.
> Ok, so that’s basically where everything stems from. You became friends through mutual hatred of each other, and how did that become music? Like were you making electronic music already?
> RH: Yes.
And then they both went on to collaborate and create one of the most popular DAWs out there :)
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#4It's been a pleasure to work at Ableton and to be at Loop. Gerhard as a co-founder always had an open ear, and the company deeply cared about its employees. And Robert provided valuable guidance from an artistic perspective.
I think the way Ableton works is responsible for a good part of Live's success: Treat people with respect, as something valuable and unique, and they will create an awesome product. There's a lot of attention to detail, a lot of dedication towards the artists that use Live every day. I mean, in the end, Live should not only enable very different people to create their own unique sound and music, but also work reliably, on stage, in real time, on a desktop OS. There isn't much talk about that, but DAWs are pretty complex, tightly coupled pieces of software, due to those requirements. There's a lot of unsung heroes.
Anyway, I'm grateful for all the lovely people I met at Ableton, for what I learnt, on a technical and social level, and the trust that was put into me, by giving me quite a free hand over a few subsystems of the software.
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#5I like how Ableton brought a breath of fresh air into traditional DAWs. If you use Reaper, but want it to be more like Ableton there is Playtime[1]. From what I understand it is currently rewritten in Rust with a new release expected in 2024.
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#6Live user here. Fantastic interview.
While Live certainly isn't perfect and there are other DAWs out there that are quite feature-rich and offer a different & interesting workflow, I keep coming back to Live as my main DAW. It's just so versatile. Keep up the great work, Ableton!
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#7Useful reminder that even if all you can see is differences, you probably have a lot of commonalities with others: > So from the moment you met, did you know you wanted to work together and make music? > GB: No! We hated each other! > RH: We came from a very different background and, actually it’s a good question because later we figured out we have a lot of things in common. But on first sight we only saw the differ…
A software meet-cute!
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#8Live user for around 15 years here. Looking forward to getting 12!
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#9It's been a pleasure to work at Ableton and to be at Loop. Gerhard as a co-founder always had an open ear, and the company deeply cared about its employees. And Robert provided valuable guidance from an artistic perspective. I think the way Ableton works is responsible for a good part of Live's success: Treat people with respect, as something valuable and unique, and they will create an awesome product. There's a lot…
It's really nice (as a very long term user - and lover! - of Ableton) to hear that they're a great company as well as a company that makes great software. This makes me happy. Thanks for posting :-)
Re: Gerhard Behles and Robert Henke on Ableton (2016)
#10Live user here. Fantastic interview. While Live certainly isn't perfect and there are other DAWs out there that are quite feature-rich and offer a different & interesting workflow, I keep coming back to Live as my main DAW. It's just so versatile. Keep up the great work, Ableton!
What's your view on Bitwig? Created by ex Ableton folks.