The Ableton Push Prototype Was Made Of LEGOs

ableton-push-prototype-lego

The prototype for the new Ableton Push was created with LEGOs, reveals Ableton project manager Jesse Terry in a new interview.

“I used Lego and sugru (a silicon putty),” notes Terry. “We attached Lego pieces to MIDI buttons with LEDs, connected to a Livid Brain. So, there were many burnt fingers and burnt Star Wars pieces along the way.”

“My wife would always hear me digging away in the Lego bin and she’d wonder if I was actually working up here,” adds Terry. “The Lego prototype made it very easy to test out ergonomic setups as we could move the buttons around. We tried all kinds of different layouts and, we were able to user test the entire thing and learn to play it before we had a hardware version to play with. I’ve been playing this Push Lego layout on plywood for 2 years now.”

Anyone else interested in seeing a jam on the LEGO prototype?

11 thoughts on “The Ableton Push Prototype Was Made Of LEGOs

  1. It was made of Lego, not “LEGOs”. When the project manager said “I used Lego…” he’s using it the correct way. I don’t know why Americans insist on referring to “LEGOs.” My eyeballs bleed a little every time I see it.

    1. Edward (and Brian)

      We appreciated your interest in matters of great import, such as this.

      Rest assured that Synthtopia does not throw around the English language willy-nilly. Possible exceptions are when we: make creative/destructive use of the language (as in, ‘the Lego prototype is awesomely stupidtacular’; or when we simply derp.

      LEGO itself, in their style guide, says that ‘LEGO’ should always be capitalized and that the term should only be used as an adjective. So, according to the company, you should only say that you built something out of ‘LEGO® brand building bricks”, but never that you built something out of Lego or Legos.

      Fortunately, language is not defined by corporate style guides, it’s defined by how it is used. Usage weighs heavily on adding the ‘s’ for the plural.

      Also, ‘Legos’ always wins:

      http://spacefem.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37757

      “LEGOs” is a compromise between corporate branding, making the pronunciation clear and aligning with actual usage.

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