Ableton Push 3 - standalone MPE controller

[pdxindy]

I guess a lot of people are in the same boat, although it does have some advantages if you take it out of the studio as a portable solution (just need a laptop and 1 USB cable)

I'm sure it will work well for many people. I always bring a mic in my portable setup but my favorites that I usually bring wont work with Push 3. It's a bummer that the Push audio interface is missing something important to me. So if I had a Push 3, I'd end up also taking an ADAT device with extra XLR inputs and phantom power.

I have heard conflicting info on how it can be powered. Someone said that if you are using the audio interface then Push 3 needs the power supply and wont run off the laptop. Someone else said otherwise. What have you heard?

[SLiC]

I guess a lot of people are in the same boat, although it does have some advantages if you take it out of the studio as a portable solution (just need a laptop and 1 USB cable)

I'm sure it will work well for many people. I always bring a mic in my portable setup but my favorites that I usually bring wont work with Push 3. It's a bummer that the Push audio interface is missing something important to me. So if I had a Push 3, I'd end up also taking an ADAT device with extra XLR inputs and phantom power.

I have heard conflicting info on how it can be powered. Someone said that if you are using the audio interface then Push 3 needs the power supply and wont run off the laptop. Someone else said otherwise. What have you heard?

I haven't looked to much into it as I ended up getting the standalone version so don't need the laptop I know the audio inputs can select 3 levels of gain, I would assume ay passive levels it wont need ,much power, maybe at the high gain level?

Line Input (balanced)
• Full Scale Level: +18dBu
• Nominal Level: +4dBu
• Signal Path Gain: 0dB

Instrument Input Low Gain (unbalanced)
• Full Scale Level: +12dBu
• Nominal Level: -2dBu
• Signal Path Gain: +6dB


Instrument Input High Gain (unbalanced)
• Full Scale Level: -8dBu
• Nominal Level: -22dBu
• Signal Path Gain: +26dB

[pdxindy]

I haven't looked to much into it as I ended up getting the standalone version so don't need the laptop I know the audio inputs can select 3 levels of gain, I would assume ay passive levels it wont need ,much power, maybe at the high gain level?

Line Input (balanced)
• Full Scale Level: +18dBu
• Nominal Level: +4dBu
• Signal Path Gain: 0dB

Instrument Input Low Gain (unbalanced)
• Full Scale Level: +12dBu
• Nominal Level: -2dBu
• Signal Path Gain: +6dB

Instrument Input High Gain (unbalanced)
• Full Scale Level: -8dBu
• Nominal Level: -22dBu
• Signal Path Gain: +26dB

Yeah... all this sort of information about real world use... also quality of the preamps, headphone amp, converters, will all come clearer as more people have the units and testing happens.

The Babyface Pro runs fine off the laptop, but my understanding is that if you want to use the ADAT, then you need to plugin it in.

[SLiC]

This is a good threat to watch- real users feedback (good and bad!) and people asking/answering questions.

https://www.elektronauts.com/t/push-3-u ... /194831/65

[stash98]

I'm not huge on Ableton but I'll buy this if it can run max 4 live devices in standalone mode and is reasonably powerful and stable. Hopefully it has reasonable support for external storage and such.

It's getting there already. Apparently the sequencer in Fors Kit can already run perfectly on Push 3. I'd give it a few months before buying and I suspect it will be unreal with max4live.

[liquidsound]

and I suspect it will be unreal with max4live.

Absolutely!

[machinesworking]

Honestly the fact that they added ADAT in means that the thing is a perfect hub for almost all studios.

I don't know the needs of most studios... but Push 3 doesn't have phantom power so I could not plug any of my studio mics into it. Push 3, even with the one ADAT, doesn't come close to meeting the needs of even my fairly modest studio.

ADAT means you can have 8 in/outs from another audio card with that many pres if you need. I have a Fireface 800 that currently goes to a Babyface, the 4 pres with phantom power do not need the Babyface to have have phantom power to work. The idea IMO is that you can use Push 3 as the main interface hub for your studio that is super easy to disconnect. I do this currently with the Babyface.

[SLiC]

There is a lot of buzz about this and Ableton have pretty much said it will all be addressable through MAX and RNBO ('RNBO' is now bundled and supported within Live 11.3 both on desktop and on Push standalone) so technically I guess PUSH 3 could run as a different device (RNBO MAX Patch!)

[SmajjL]

No matter what happens in decisionsland, Push3 seems to have raised the bar for other future pad-stuff so, thank you!
It was not yesterday i had a me-want-itch so bad, just have to be mature about it, and mature is not my thing! *haha*

[SLiC]

Just got my delivery tracking today

[bmanic]

Nice! Let us know how it pans out.

I still haven't got my hands on an Osmose E so this sort of threw a wrench in my search for an MPE controller.

I did get that tiny little Hydrasynth Explorer 2nd hand for a pittance so at least I can start working with polyphonic aftertouch but I really do want a full MPE controller.

I'm starting to lean towards a Push 3 because I'm so familiar with the Push 2 and I've always liked the pads of it a lot. IMHO Ableton makes by far the best feeling pads and the build quality of the Push 2 is second to none. I've banged on mine for years and years now and not a single pad has failed or feels even a tiny bit less sensitive (unlike ALL of my Akai MPC stuff that seems to fail rather quickly).

[SLiC]

All the reports I have read so far about the push 3 MPE pads are very good….and I am reading everything whilst I wait! There are some bugs and missing features with the general system you would expect, but the pads and playability seem faultless.

I have an Osmose and it is supurb with the EM engine assuming you play keys competently….the thing with PUSH 3 MPE combined with scale mode is that everyone can play even the most advanced scales and chords with comparative ease…sliding chords or single notes also match easier.

[bmanic]

Well I do play the piano (mainly classical) for more than 30 years now so that's not an issue. I just feel like Push 3 may be a more expressive "general purpose" MPE controller than the Osmose. I'm still waiting for my local music store to get one in stock so I can try it.

But yeah, I'm also reading everything and watching everything about the Push 3 and at least from what I can tell, the MPE implementation and the pads in general seem absolutely amazingly good. That alone is worth the money in my opinion, if it indeed is as good as it seems.

[nanostream]

All the reports I have read so far about the push 3 MPE pads are very good….and I am reading everything whilst I wait! There are some bugs and missing features with the general system you would expect, but the pads and playability seem faultless.

I have an Osmose and it is supurb with the EM engine assuming you play keys competently….the thing with PUSH 3 MPE combined with scale mode is that everyone can play even the most advanced scales and chords with comparative ease…sliding chords or single notes also match easier.

I’m still new to Push, its pads and MPE in general, so this might be an user (me) issue. But I’ve found it’s quite easy to accidentally trigger pads above or below the current pad when using slide (y axis). Although there’s a setting to reduce the slide height, it still keeps happening — and you lose some slide resolution along the way. Which isn’t optimal, as the pads are rather short anyway.

It also happens quite often that a new note gets triggered when bending notes (x axis). That’s actually a bit of a PITA, as the bend information is tied to the notes, and afaik it’s not possible to merge notes in the midi editor. But you can’t just delete the wrong note and manually extend the correct one, as you’d lose the bend curve of the deleted note.

Apart of that I still haven’t quite figured out the right amount of velocity and pressure (or the best velocity curves) for my style of playing, but that’s just a matter of time, I hope. Same for the scale mode, as I’m used to the piano layout.

Now, it’s still a fantastic device, and I’m confident it will get better with more practice and possibly software updates. But I wouldn’t call it faultless.

[pdxindy]

Well I do play the piano (mainly classical) for more than 30 years now so that's not an issue. I just feel like Push 3 may be a more expressive "general purpose" MPE controller than the Osmose. I'm still waiting for my local music store to get one in stock so I can try it.

But yeah, I'm also reading everything and watching everything about the Push 3 and at least from what I can tell, the MPE implementation and the pads in general seem absolutely amazingly good. That alone is worth the money in my opinion, if it indeed is as good as it seems.

I certainly wouldn’t trade in my Osmose.

And in general, I would choose a keyboard controller over a grid controller for say improvising a melody. I have a spontaneous fluidity playing the keys that I have not matched with the grid.

I love the Linnstrument and will never sell it. It has its strengths and I can do lots of unique stuff. I still love the feel of keys and the sensitivity of the Osmose is unrivaled.