Ableton Push 3 - standalone MPE controller

[Goony]

I didn’t care for it for a very long time, but doing the Jamuaries I completely relied on it and it changed my approach to recording, which is much more loose and fluid now.

Totally agree, never used capture before Push 3, now its pretty much everytime. They may as well remove the record button lol.

[GruvSyco]

A dedicated button for capture midi is cool I guess but, record>new on Push 2 wasn’t so difficult.

[elxsound]

A dedicated button for capture midi is cool I guess but, record>new on Push 2 wasn’t so difficult.

Not difficult, but probably missed by many to incorporate into their workflow.

This also adds parity in approach between Push 3 and Note. Note is definitely a Capture first workflow.

[machinesworking]

Just drove out of town to visit family. Setting up a hub with a Launchpad, Babyface and laptop plus some other things lets me know that I'm getting the full stand alone at some point here. It makes total sense for this sort of thing, even without an Ableton provided solution to the Arrangement Page.

Push 3 is facilitating my transition back to Live. I love a lot of things about Bitwig, but an all in one solution has been on my mind for a while, this thing is perfect for traveling and a good friend whom I will be working with in the future I turned on to Live years ago uses it.

My search 4 years ago to replace DP and Live with DAWs that did MPE has ended with Live and DP offering MPE and me moving back to using them. Lesson learned I guess? but Bitwig, Logic, and Reaper are also amazing so good for collaboration to know them.

[vurt]

Just drove out of town to visit family. Setting up a hub with a Launchpad, Babyface and laptop plus some other things

glad to see im not the only person who can't be arsed with family stuff

[machinesworking]

Just drove out of town to visit family. Setting up a hub with a Launchpad, Babyface and laptop plus some other things

glad to see im not the only person who can't be arsed with family stuff

Yep, nice seeing you, off to "bed"!

[machinesworking]

Oh and I bit, I'm I guess back to using Live, Ableton's ability to develop this means I get to mess around on vacation with one device, and still not feel like I'm missing anything. 6-8 weeks out now.

[SLiC]

I think the thing that makes PUSH 3 Stand-alone work for me is how easy it is to use given how much potential depth there is…it feels almost unlimited as a ‘palette of sounds and fx”; but I am zipping around it without any real learning curve (obviously it helps coming from a PUSH 2 controller )

For the power it has as a DAW and the amount of expression and hands on control it offers, it’s actually pretty transportable, it’s spent a lot of time in my garden with the current UK sunny weather and the screen is pretty visible in sunlight.

All in all after 3 days I am more than pleased that I went stand-alone and I also think PUSH 3 will get me back to using Live more than I was.

[machinesworking]

I think the thing that makes PUSH 3 Stand-alone work for me is how easy it is to use given how much potential depth there is…it feels almost unlimited as a ‘palette of sounds and fx”; but I am zipping around it without any real learning curve (obviously it helps coming from a PUSH 2 controller )

For the power it has as a DAW and the amount of expression and hands on control it offers, it’s actually pretty transportable, it’s spent a lot of time in my garden with the current UK sunny weather and the screen is pretty visible in sunlight.

All in all after 3 days I am more than pleased that I went stand-alone and I also think PUSH 3 will get me back to using Live more than I was.

Feel the same, so good to hear you're enjoying the hands on. The fact that it's possible to just use Push 3 with Suite M4L, and nothing else sealed the deal. I had moved to Bitwig and DP mostly because of MPE a few years ago, but 11 getting MIDI comping, and capture, plus Ableton competing with MPC and others in stand alone and I realized Bitwig isn't going to be able to compete with this.

I'm glad that someone came up with a M4L patch, but I really hope Ableton are thinking about some sort of Arrangement page and Follow Actions for Push 3.

[bmanic]

I think the thing that makes PUSH 3 Stand-alone work for me is how easy it is to use given how much potential depth there is…it feels almost unlimited as a ‘palette of sounds and fx”; but I am zipping around it without any real learning curve (obviously it helps coming from a PUSH 2 controller )

For the power it has as a DAW and the amount of expression and hands on control it offers, it’s actually pretty transportable, it’s spent a lot of time in my garden with the current UK sunny weather and the screen is pretty visible in sunlight.

All in all after 3 days I am more than pleased that I went stand-alone and I also think PUSH 3 will get me back to using Live more than I was.

How's the MPE experience? If you get the time, please do compare it really thoroughly versus your quite large collection and experience of other MPE stuff.

I'm a total noob in the MPE space and want to make as good a decision as I can when it comes to this area. Of course I will try to get hands on experience with various things first (still waiting for a demo of Osmose E but they keep selling them out!).. speaking of which, anybody know a good shop with possibility of return in EU? I know Thomann has a return policy but I've been burned by them once before and it was a complete PITA to get it solved so I wont rely on their policy.

EDIT: To be more specific, what do you consider the most important "axis" of the MPE experience? What features of MPE do you find most expressive, most natural to use? I'm trying to find a controller that allows me to make presets for various upcoming stuff that make the end user experience as natural and effortless as possible. Obviously this means I should have multiple controllers available but that is not economically feasible for me right now.

[SLiC]

I am sure that Ableton are going to be 100% behind PUSH 3 and that it will see a lot of improvements and development. Sure, its just launched- there will be bugs, disappointments even a few dodgy units...but ultimately PUSH 3 will be rock solid and well supported for a very long time...

It has started very close to the full Live Suite experience but an MPE playing surface integrated' into the hardware. It is currently unbeatable as a one box solution for playing and recording MPE sequences. I don't think it will be long until everything in Live is MPE focused (instruments, modulation etc) and I think MAX and the new PUSH API are going to lead to a lot of interesting 3rd party development.

[bmanic]

I am sure that Ableton are going to be 100% behind PUSH 3 and that it will see a lot of improvements and development. Sure, its just launched- there will be bugs, disappointments even a few dodgy units...but ultimately PUSH 3 will be rock solid and well supported for a very long time...

It has started very close to the full Live Suite experience but an MPE playing surface integrated' into the hardware. It is currently unbeatable as a one box solution for playing and recording MPE sequences. I don't think it will be long until everything in Live is MPE focused (instruments, modulation etc) and I think MAX and the new PUSH API are going to lead to a lot of interesting 3rd party development.

This is indeed my thought as well. Simply because of the HUGE user base of Live, and because I already own Live Premium, the software itself is not an additional cost for me. This is one of the reasons I'm leaning towards Push 3 as my first MPE controller instead of the Osmose E (or anything else).

[SLiC]

I think the thing that makes PUSH 3 Stand-alone work for me is how easy it is to use given how much potential depth there is…it feels almost unlimited as a ‘palette of sounds and fx”; but I am zipping around it without any real learning curve (obviously it helps coming from a PUSH 2 controller )

For the power it has as a DAW and the amount of expression and hands on control it offers, it’s actually pretty transportable, it’s spent a lot of time in my garden with the current UK sunny weather and the screen is pretty visible in sunlight.

All in all after 3 days I am more than pleased that I went stand-alone and I also think PUSH 3 will get me back to using Live more than I was.

How's the MPE experience? If you get the time, please do compare it really thoroughly versus your quite large collection and experience of other MPE stuff.

I'm a total noob in the MPE space and want to make as good a decision as I can when it comes to this area. Of course I will try to get hands on experience with various things first (still waiting for a demo of Osmose E but they keep selling them out!).. speaking of which, anybody know a good shop with possibility of return in EU? I know Thomann has a return policy but I've been burned by them once before and it was a complete PITA to get it solved so I wont rely on their policy.

EDIT: To be more specific, what do you consider the most important "axis" of the MPE experience? What features of MPE do you find most expressive, most natural to use? I'm trying to find a controller that allows me to make presets for various upcoming stuff that make the end user experience as natural and effortless as possible. Obviously this means I should have multiple controllers available but that is not economically feasible for me right now.

Firstly, I think only Ableton are selling PUSH 3 directly and they have a no questions asked money back return policy for 30 days. Trying one is the best bet!

In terms of MPE...this is personal preference but my personal thoughts against MPE I have owned or own.

Roli (sold) - I didn't get on with this at all -squishy keypad, not good for drums, bad support (they went bust)

Linnstrumet 128 (sold) This was fun but again I didn't really get on with it (thought I would as a guitarist), pads are quite small and not so good for drumming in my opinion, no scale feature (at least when I had it) so there is a learning curve learning to play it.

Sensel Morph (sold when I bought EARE -no longer made)

EARE Touch- this is pretty good but in my opinion not as touch sensitive (low velocity) as the P3 and I find the P3 Y axis easier to control. Still- you can hit the EARE with drum sticks so its pretty cool as a pseudo Nord Drum!

Osmose- just a totally different thing! Great integrated EM Engine and a real keyboard - you have wiggle note vibrato and 2 level AT - its super fun and expressive but maybe not 'classic' MPE...

PUSH 3 - A full MPE 'instrument' like the osmose (if you buy standalone) or a controller like the EARE...similar prices. P3 has the big advantage of also being a Live controller (EARE can do clip launch, but no comparison really). You have touch pots,. lots of dedicated buttons 'adn' the MPE pads which play really well for drums and melody (this seems to be universally agreed) with a lot of customisation options.

Hope this helps! I suspect I will sell the EARE Touch as too much overlap with P3, so that tells you which I prefer.

[bmanic]

Awesome! Yeah that's pretty much what I had gathered from various reviews and videos, hence it was always going to be either the Push 3 or Osmose E. Push 3 would replace my Push 2, so it's a sort of no-brainer and then later I may get an Osmose E just for my own enjoyment (that synth engine intrigues me!).

[SLiC]

Awesome! Yeah that's pretty much what I had gathered from various reviews and videos, hence it was always going to be either the Push 3 or Osmose E. Push 3 would replace my Push 2, so it's a sort of no-brainer and then later I may get an Osmose E just for my own enjoyment (that synth engine intrigues me!).

Honestly- the Osmose and the PUSH 3 are made for each other, the 2 of them cover all the bases and if someone wanted to take it 'live' then a PUSH 3 Standalone and a Osmose is a complete show!