Questions & Answers

PLEASE update the color palette [Completed 6.1]

+807 votes
10,857 views
asked Sep 1, 2019 in Completed Feature Requests by starsofsound (480 points)
recategorized Mar 22, 2023 by Lukas Ruschitzka

Pet peeve:

PLEASE upgrade the color palette. There are many more colors than the 88 that you've chosen to give us and they go well beyond the typical hues of Red, Green and Blue. It's beginning to make Studio One look aged and stale. I'm trying hard to find a different "ORANGE" but none exists here. We should be able to choose a conglomerate of colors, but we're stuck with only 88. Out of 10 million colors we can differentiate, you only gave us 88. My crayon box as a child contained 256 colors. You can't push the colors up to that? How about more neon colors? Give us SOMETHING to chew on. The given 88 colors are BORING!

Image result for color wheel picker

45 Answers

+61 votes
answered Sep 10, 2019 by spiral (2,190 points)
I would like to see the ability to create your own custom color palette that would be saved with the song.

It would be great if you could save and load palette presets.

This is not a frivolous request. Musicians are often very sensitive to the mood that colors evoke, and this can have a profound effect on the creative process. For this reason, I do not feel that Studio One is providing the optimal creative environment.
+31 votes
answered Sep 17, 2019 by danroberts1 (560 points)
More colors please and have them be more distinguishable on tracks and events.
+18 votes
answered Sep 24, 2019 by scottmcgregor3 (2,610 points)
Maybe a couple different palettes would work. I for one would like a higher amount of differentiation between colours (I'm colour blind)
+28 votes
answered Sep 24, 2019 by robertw (1,120 points)
And definatelly logical order of these colors because right now is total mess, especially when you look for different shade of certain color
+25 votes
answered Sep 26, 2019 by almadanke (930 points)
I was disappointed that it isn't possible to change the blue colour that is present everywhere, on buttons etc...... my least favourite colour, always reminds me of Windows 3.1....

Please let us change all the colours of the GUI!
+9 votes
answered Sep 29, 2019 by rogeranger (780 points)
The color wheel above looks pretty sufficient
Adding that on top of commonly used colors in a row underneath it should satisfy
+8 votes
answered Nov 10, 2019 by leonordmann (2,050 points)
Yes let us make our own color palettes PER SONG from an all color selector (don't know how these things are called).
And I agree with a comment before me, that we need also more options to personalize the colors of the gui.
+10 votes
answered Nov 10, 2019 by justinjackson11 (470 points)
I would like this as I'm colorblind and majority of the colors currently are too similar for my eyes.  More color control please.  Thanks PreSonus!
+2 votes
answered Nov 20, 2019 by artjohnson (1,370 points)
Be aware that Studio One 4.5 has the capacity to select most any color, including the level of saturation and contrast...for the "background" (border and grid). It is a feature of the Start page/menu. Why they don't code a smaller version of this for all of the other color-adjustment-capable items is, well, a mystery.
+7 votes
answered Dec 12, 2019 by sergiopopyks (550 points)
I really like Studio One. However, the color palette is very depressing. I want to customize the color scheme for my items, console
+8 votes
answered Jan 10, 2020 by BezowinZ (1,650 points)
Yes, more colors and in tint order, please.

I get the limited colors, I guess (not really as I imagine it's just additional lines of color codes). But why would the provided colors not be in a logical order?
+3 votes
answered Jan 30, 2020 by luleambaza (210 points)
2020 nothing is done yet
+2 votes
answered Feb 21, 2020 by ansolas (4,270 points)
YES PLEASE !
+10 votes
answered Apr 13, 2020 by andreasfranzmann (3,340 points)

I would find it very helpful, if the channel buttons (mute, solo, record..) were not included when colorizing a track.

E.g. I am having a hard time seeing if a red track is muted or not. Same with solo on yellow tracks.

Here's an example. Do you see that the red track is muted?

Or even better: Keep the whole area around these buttons in a neutral color (grey) and only colorize the field on the left. Like this:

Reaper, Pro Tools and Logic and probably most other DAWs do that. For a good reason. Would be very helpful and appreciated!

Thank you Presonus!

+5 votes
answered Apr 18, 2020 by Scoox (17,270 points)
edited Apr 18, 2020 by Scoox

Check out LMike's FR "Custom Colors" for an improved colour palette which so far has 500 votes. That's what gets my vote. Personally I don't think more colours is a good idea. I'm happier with a small selection of colours that are meaningful to me. ATM the colour palette is poorly designed. I also dislike the fact that the palette for automation envelopes contains a different (and smaller) set of colours than the track colour palette.

+5 votes
answered May 5, 2020 by vincentletourneau (480 points)

It would be nice to be able to also choose gray or black in addition to the colors.

Thank you.

+8 votes
answered May 23, 2020 by fransvannispen (5,910 points)
I don't need more colors, but more contrasting colors. After you've added 4 tracks, its hard to find a color that differs enough. Especially the blue and green shades are so color to each other that I can actually just use 2 of each while seeing the difference.

It would be great to have some more control over the skin. Not only the track colors, also the GUI itself, and mainly the grid. So hard to find a good setting compromise now where you can clearly see the difference between a beat and a measure. Or the black/while keys in the piano roll.
+2 votes
answered Jul 14, 2020 by joncoe (230 points)
yes this is way overdue...
+6 votes
answered Oct 19, 2020 by jameskruythoff (420 points)

YES PLEASE!!!. Just let us choose our own colors from the color picker wheel, how hard can this insignificant request be? It's October 2020 and this is still not implemented, common guys!

+1 vote
answered Oct 28, 2020 by jasonpocorus (740 points)
My only complaint with Studio One is the track coloring system, Great idea, poorly executed. I want to work a system: Purple for Percussion, Blue for Bass, Green for Guitars, Violet for Vocals.

All purple and violet look different when selecting colors, and look the same in the DAW and mix screens. Same with green
+1 vote
answered Oct 31, 2020 by markhume1 (330 points)
The pallete colors are loud and uncomplimentary style-wise. A user definable pallette would be great, which I would personally model after the one in Bitwig. They've chosen a nice set of pantone colors that adds a bit of class to the overall UI along with their nicely styled clips.
+11 votes
answered Nov 7, 2020 by joachimsvare (3,130 points)
edited Nov 29, 2020 by joachimsvare

This one gets my vote!

We also need the selected tracks to be better highlighted in the track header and in the mixer.

I'm coming from Logic and it bugs me that my eyes can't catch the selected tracks right away!

+1 vote
answered Nov 28, 2020 by duncanrigby (1,210 points)
You can get any colour you want its all changeable.... be aware that the default colour collection are faithfully available on Studiolive III mixers so when you go into daw mode on the mixer the track pastel colour is shown by the Channel button on the mixer.... very useful.
+1 vote
answered Dec 12, 2020 by bradzeffren (170 points)
+1

I'd really love to be able to use a wider array of hues and saturation levels, or just be able to add custom colors to the color picker.
+1 vote
answered Dec 14, 2020 by nickberg1 (410 points)
You don't even need to update the color palette, just bring back the palette from v2. That one was in an order that makes sense. Also, it's frustrating that when you make waveforms transparent it changes the colors of the tracks. I have to choose between liking the color of the tracks or have the grid show through how I want and deal with dull less inspiring colors.
+16 votes
answered Dec 30, 2020 by patrickhuitema (2,490 points)
edited Jan 8, 2021 by patrickhuitema

Started in 2019 with over 400 votes.In 2020 there was no colour palette improvement implemented and one of my biggest frustration in studio one 5.1:

  • Why is each colour spread randomly?
  • Why is there no sort options?
  • Why is there no "customize colour strip" option?

The current colour picker is unsorted and therefore not intuitive to use.

This is from the dinosaur of DAW: pro-tools .. C'mon presonus are you really not able to improve this?

Other users bypass this "lack of PreSonus development" and released: Studio One 5+ colour toolbar script.

https://s1scripts.wixsite.com/colortoolbar

+2 votes
answered Feb 4, 2021 by djmindcraft1 (1,230 points)

I really like what these people did --->> https://s1scripts.wixsite.com/colortoolbar

Also I would like to color the GUI of Studio ONE DAW into a dark charcoal color.  like #171717  and other colors around this pallet.
The blue tint is a bit hard to get rid of.
Maybe the guys a Presonus can just purchase that website's script and implement it permanently in studio one?  smiley

+3 votes
answered Mar 4, 2021 by arthurklisiewicz (340 points)
Not only palette needs to be expanded, but also fonts. Many people who use the software are a bit older and the eyesight is not so great. Many use glasses and many use 4K monitors. I have problem reading some fonts because of the colors, size and typeface.
For me not being able to read the screen is a total dealbreaker.
I came from ABLETON product and their interface in Live9 was pretty bad but was dramatically improved in Live10 and Live11 is even better.  I have no problem reading fonts and the SKINS and Skin Editor are fantastic.
At the moment I'm testing S1 and I have to say I do not like:
- limited number of colors on the palette (iOS and windows can deal with few millions of colors so why limit to only so few)
- I do not like that fact that font sizes and font colors  are not consistent
- The top Menu uses gray colors instead of BLACK which makes it very hard to read for me on a gray background.
- the log and few other places present different font styles etc, so this should be unified and the DEVs must remember that CONTRAST is very important in setting up FONT COLOR vs BACKGROUND.
- gray font on a darker gray background is a very bad idea!

There are tons of books on developing software, and many chapters about readability - do your homework.
While S1 GUI in general is pretty good and impressive it should be improved
–1 vote
answered May 5, 2021 by supereastwood (1,950 points)
out of all things this is the number 1 vote smh
+3 votes
answered May 24, 2021 by famuyiwasegun (2,340 points)
Color palette will be really useful please Personus. And option for random colours.
+3 votes
answered Jun 2, 2021 by patrickhuitema (2,490 points)
515 votes since 2019, listed in the top 10 and Presonus acts like this is never requested or mentioned. Maybe they banned this post?
+3 votes
answered Oct 15, 2021 by Dawfreak (290 points)
Yes please.
More colors just is a must!
Also a floating color palat so we can select tracks / events / Items / Folders and klick the folder we like and then select next and klick a new color

Maybe also ways to Set random color and if  multiple tracks is selected set 1 color or random colors.
+1 vote
answered Nov 10, 2021 by adriangrothe (250 points)
its utterly uninspiring to stare at those same colors

also they are not very fancy to begin with

GO PRESONUS! <3
+2 votes
answered Nov 27, 2021 by tonymacchio (340 points)
Is there a way to make tracks have black backgrounds yet? With the wav file colored
+3 votes
answered Dec 18, 2021 by jrgmanfredhuser (1,020 points)
It would be great, if a selected event had a better contrast to the unselected events on the same track. Maybe by a brighter variation of the used color or a thicker outline.
+2 votes
answered Jan 20, 2022 by GTRtice (4,930 points)
Throwing my comment in the ring. I wouldn't even say there are 88 colors when many are too close to others to be useful. I'd argue there are only 15 or so actual useful colors. Please, Presonus, give us a better palette, preferably with custom color options.
+2 votes
answered Mar 9, 2022 by davidwhetstone (240 points)
edited Mar 9, 2022 by davidwhetstone
I am new to S1 (5.5.1), and I think it is a great program!  But compared to Cubase there is a problem visually.  It is hard to read the font and see the graphics.  This is tiresome and fatiguing, causing eye strain, stress, etc.  I spend way too much time just trying to discern what I am seeing on the screen, rather than on music.  I went back to Cubase file, and immediately felt a sense of relief, as I could easily see everything there, in the stock settings.  I had to get a magnifying glass for S1, and I don't wear glasses!   The suggestion to alter the resolution of my screen is a workaround and not desirable.  I understand there was some improvement in the color scheme recently but it needs more attention!  I am not sure if in other DAWs one can change/enlarge fonts - I never needed to investigate.  Please address this!
+2 votes
answered May 30, 2022 by fransvannispen (5,910 points)
The biggest issue with the colors is that they all dim to less then 50% brightness when not selected. You can pick any colour you want, but as soon as you deselect the track, every red, orange, purple and pink will look almost the same. There's a dozen greens, blues and browns, but nearly undistinctable when deselected.

I understand it's really easy to make the selection easy, but in stead of having 40/60, the selected colour could also be just 20% more bright and have the other brightness levels available for the tracks.
+1 vote
answered Jun 25, 2022 by JaEMob (660 points)
This is actually so important!

It can really interfere with your creativity when you can't find a color that A) will help you organize your 30+ track project better, and; B) is not just ******* ugly :P :)

Some more well-organized palettes that are also more creative and customizable, please! :)
0 votes
answered Jul 16, 2022 by wcookjr (2,130 points)
It probably wouldn't even be that hard to implement. Rather than give us a limited number of baked-in choices, just give us a color picker utilizing hex codes and whatnot and bob's your uncle.

Granted, I'm not a coder/developer and don't know what all goes into a feature like this. I'm guessing that more important features/flaws have understandably been taking priority among the development team, but I think this would be a quick win for both them and us if they just spent some time on it
0 votes
answered Sep 22, 2022 by roquemix (910 points)
Please, that the automatic colors of the tracks are not always blue, they damage the eyes.
+2 votes
answered Nov 28, 2022 by januszmordak (1,210 points)
I have a question when Presonus will do something with colors for paths/channels/patterns, i.e. developing possibilities? The palette of possibilities is first of all too short, and secondly without any logic. I also work in FL-Studio, arrange large and instruments rich in instruments. I use several dozen/several hundred colors for the orchestration itself (each instrument and each articulation - a different color of pattern/object). For this I arrange rock and EDM works, i.e. percussion instruments, bass and guitars, keyboards, vocals and choirs. I use hundreds of colors that I got used to. In FL, I prepared a template / preset script. But in S1 there are 1/100 possibilities relative to fl. To be honest, Studio One must necessarily improve here, because when it comes to coloring possibilities, it has the worst solutions of all top Daw's!

For example, there are no shades of gray at all, and this is what I mean all types of drums :(

We need "Color Selector" with a standard extensive color palette and, above all, with the RGB palette, so that I can determine the color and create a palette of my colors.

Automatic coloring (and assigning the icon) based on the name entered would also be useful (separate scripts for paths, mixer channel and for Pattern).

I use "Color Toolbar" scrip because there are more colors, I can determine them myself according to the RGB palette, and color automation by name. This is well resolved and something like this could be implemented in S1. For me, the problem is only that there are 72 colors, I talked to the creator and unfortunately he cannot increase, because it will not fit on the toolbar. I suggested to add rows, but he increased only to 72 colors.

As I write comments, it's one more. If someone uses a large number of mixer paths/channels, then after selecting the path they are poorly highlighted and I do not see later which is active. Even when the contrast is set in options. If the mixer paths and channels are colored, then there should be more not colorful area to mark the path and its backlight more visible.

Are any activities planned here?
+1 vote
answered Mar 19, 2023 by arthurklisiewicz1 (660 points)
I would like to add my 3 cents ! Why S1 colors are so terribly ugly and unattractive ?  It is time to change it !
When the channels are added they look like a bunch of rotten fruits.  Also I REALLY, REALLY would love to see the way to customize FONT colors. In some cases there is not enough contrast and fonts are hard to read. STAY AWAY FROM GREY FONTS. Simple .ini , .xml or .json type of file would be sufficient to customize.  Existing color customization in S1 really sucks. If I adjust one color then the other one gets screwed and this is an endless loop. Colors must be stored in a database and user should have 100% control of them. that is FOREGROUND, BACKGROUND, FONT, BUTTON, ICON, BAR etc...(and of course different states/events, ie. active/inactive and so on).

COMPUTER SYSTEMS DEAL WITH PALETE OF 5-10million colors and programs seem to have control only over a few dozens ?  THAT IS A SHAME!
+2 votes
answered Mar 21, 2023 by Michael1985 (13,010 points)
Especially updating the coloring possibilities like also the event borders, selections and playhead.

Changing event border colors, the playhead and the selections could help to indentify better which is what.
0 votes
answered Mar 27 by jeremymichels (140 points)
edited Mar 28 by jeremymichels

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