Thoughts on Push by those who have it now?

[Citizen]

Ok, enough with all the threads of people whining that they don't have theirs yet - I'd really like to hear some thoughts on Push from people that have actually received their units. Please try to stay on topic!

Initial thoughts? Surprises? Disappointments? Inspiration?



Spill it!

[hennessey]

Lot's of fun. Could jam on it for hours.

Quality hardware.

You have to hit pads pretty hard to get velocities >90-ish. I've never used other pad devices, so I can't compare. You can also put a Velocity device in your chain to fix this, so not a real big deal.

Worst thing: Sifting through all the Core Library content to get to your own sounds when browsing devices. I wish I could set up my own sound categories and only put my presets in them. All the provided content gets in the way. If you're a preset user, than this wouldn't be an issue I guess.

[Citizen]

Worst thing: Sifting through all the Core Library content to get to your own sounds when browsing devices. I wish I could set up my own sound categories and only put my presets in them.

Is that to say that there is no system for tagging and adding your own organisational system for your custom sounds?

All the provided content gets in the way. If you're a preset user, than this wouldn't be an issue I guess.

I guess you can probably delete that content, right?

Is there any way that you can specify a search so that only custom patches and samples are shown?

[Evengy]

best controller i ever had! some small problems like rgb calibration but jamming, composing is a lot of fun. the hardware looks very nice and is solid

[hennessey]

Is that to say that there is no system for tagging and adding your own organisational system for your custom sounds?

You have to use the Ableton sound categories. I just don't do things that way. I never think "Oh, I need a bass, let me audition the hundreds of bass sounds." I usually think of the instrument first. Then create a sound. It might end up being a pad, lead, bass, percussion, sound effect, who knows. Other times I want a sample based instrument and reach for Kontakt. Other times I know of a specific preset from Zebra. Etc. So I wold like categories like Synth Emulations, Sampled Instruments, Zebra Presets, PianoTeq Sounds, Electronic, etc.

You can set up your user content however you like. But that folder hierarchy is not retained when browsing on the Push. For instance all my Instrument Rack presets where under "Other".

I guess you can probably delete that content, right?

Yeah, but you have to dig into the Package Contents (I'm on OSX) and it's kind of hackish. Even then, the sound categories remain.

Is there any way that you can specify a search so that only custom patches and samples are shown?

Good question. I don't know. But then you are using the computer and have moved away from just using Push.

[dna598]

You can set up your user content however you like. But that folder hierarchy is not retained when browsing on the Push. For instance all my Instrument Rack presets where under "Other".

This sounds bad. So one cant have their go-to folders displayed on push?

[hennessey]

This sounds bad. So one cant have their go-to folders displayed on push?

Not that I've found. I'd love to be proven wrong. It's really my only complaint.

[SuburbanThug]

On the Push discussion forum someone has come up with a simple hack to get your sounds listed along with presets as long as they are tagged according to Abes system. At least that's what I got from reading the posts, haven't tested it out yet.

My first impressions of the machine are that it is very well constructed, the layout is fairly intuitive and feels great to use. Scales mode is a game changer. Completely broke my creative habits immediately. I was banging away and recording session stuff right out of the box. The browser is a bit week but I see this being improved with further updates and hacks (really looking forward to hacked scripts, especially from the Monome community.) I would like to see user curves for the knobs. They might already exist but I haven't found anything yet. Pads are responsive, turned up the sensitivity on mine and it feels very much like its own instrument.

I'm impressed. I don't expect it to do everything I want to and I'm not particularly concerned about "mouse-less workflow" as I find laptop producing to be a revolutionary step in writing and production. As it stands Push is the most powerful and creative song writing tool I've had the pleasure of working with. It really has taken me back to the awe I felt writing on my first sequencer workstation when I was 15 years old.

[lo.key]

yeah, for me, the browsing is a tertiary concern. before i get to composing, i make all my instruments, often from scratch. once i turn to the push, i already have t/e components in place. the browser is more appealing for those moments when you think 'this track needs a redux' or somesuch, and then you drop it in.

to me the flat out appeal are 64 pressure sensitive responsive pads. it could do little more than that and i would be much pleased, and it does much more than that.

[dna598]

This sounds bad. So one cant have their go-to folders displayed on push?

Not that I've found. I'd love to be proven wrong. It's really my only complaint.

I hope they fix it because that does not impress me. I have never been blown away with ableton stock sounds, and strongly dislike the hierarchy of their implementation. They have only ever been just about useful for me, and barely that. And somehow thin on the ground considering the room taken up. anyway...

so yeah, not interested in ableton preset browsing over here.

I would hope to browse my hard drive folders (any hard drive folder on any drive), as one does on screen, from Push.

Without a hack!

[blinkeye]

Is that to say that there is no system for tagging and adding your own organisational system for your custom sounds?

You have to use the Ableton sound categories. I just don't do things that way. I never think "Oh, I need a bass, let me audition the hundreds of bass sounds." I usually think of the instrument first. Then create a sound. It might end up being a pad, lead, bass, percussion, sound effect, who knows. Other times I want a sample based instrument and reach for Kontakt. Other times I know of a specific preset from Zebra. Etc. So I wold like categories like Synth Emulations, Sampled Instruments, Zebra Presets, PianoTeq Sounds, Electronic, etc.

You can set up your user content however you like. But that folder hierarchy is not retained when browsing on the Push. For instance all my Instrument Rack presets where under "Other".

I guess you can probably delete that content, right?

Yeah, but you have to dig into the Package Contents (I'm on OSX) and it's kind of hackish. Even then, the sound categories remain.

Is there any way that you can specify a search so that only custom patches and samples are shown?

Good question. I don't know. But then you are using the computer and have moved away from just using Push.

I don't understand why they couldn't just have it all work out of the box with multiple levels of tags (even easily adding your own custom tags) like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8bsWEWt0A

[ObtuseMoose]

I've had my Push for a few days now and have spent some quality time getting to know it a little better. Here are my first impressions.

- It's darned good looking (but then, there's no accounting for taste... )

- It's bigger than I thought it would be. I was expecting something a little bigger than the LaunchPad, but it's quite a bit bigger than that.

- It's HEAVY. Maybe dense is a better word. It stays put on my desk. I hope I never drop it on my foot.

- Build quality and "fit and finish" are excellent. This is probably the most solid feeling piece of equipment I've ever owned. It's a nice switch from the plastic-y stuff many manufacturers are putting out these days.

- There is absolutely no wobble in the encoders. Very smooth, very nice.

- The encoder knobs are just a little too close together for my fat fingers. Trying to quickly change a setting from zero to full, I often end up bumping an adjacent knob. That said, I wouldn't want to make the unit any bigger or have fewer knobs. I can adjust.

- I like the light-up legends on the buttons, but some of them are kind of hard to see in bright light even with the unit powered by the wall-wart power supply. I don't expect that to be a problem once I learn my way around. It's nice that disabled buttons are totally blank when not lit up.

- As others have pointed out, the color variations on the pads when they're supposed to be white are a bit disappointing. It certainly doesn't affect the performance of the unit, but it mars the aesthetics and bothers me more than it should. I hope Ableton is able to come up with a way to tune the white color of the individual pads with a software update.

- Playing sustained notes on the pads in note mode is a little harder than I expected. Despite adjusting the sensitivity and the response curve, I seem to have to keep some pressure on a pad to keep the note sounding, but too much pressure activates the aftertouch. Since there's no movement to the pads, it's hard to find the pressure that will keep the note on, but not start sending aftertouch. It's more fatiguing than playing my usual keyboard. I suppose that's just something I'll have to get used to.

- I wish there was a dedicated "Save" button. (Yes, I know that the first time I save something I have to type a name on my computer keyboard anyway, but that happens once, compared to the dozens or hundreds of times I save a work-in-progress.) Second best would be a shift-key combination to trigger a save. Another hope for a future software update.

- "Shredding" in one of the scale modes is just incredibly fun. I don't really like listening to that kind of stuff, but man, it sure is fun to play.

- Although Ableton touts the fact that you don't have to look at your computer while using Push, I'm finding it quite helpful to watch what's going on in Live as I'm pushing buttons.

Bottom line: I REALLY like this thing, and I think it will only get better as Ableton issues updates.

--
Moose

[login]

check this topic on how the browser works:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=190514&hilit=browser

[deva]

Is that to say that there is no system for tagging and adding your own organisational system for your custom sounds?

You have to use the Ableton sound categories. I just don't do things that way. I never think "Oh, I need a bass, let me audition the hundreds of bass sounds." I usually think of the instrument first. Then create a sound. It might end up being a pad, lead, bass, percussion, sound effect, who knows. Other times I want a sample based instrument and reach for Kontakt. Other times I know of a specific preset from Zebra. Etc. So I wold like categories like Synth Emulations, Sampled Instruments, Zebra Presets, PianoTeq Sounds, Electronic, etc.

You can set up your user content however you like. But that folder hierarchy is not retained when browsing on the Push. For instance all my Instrument Rack presets where under "Other".

I guess you can probably delete that content, right?

Yeah, but you have to dig into the Package Contents (I'm on OSX) and it's kind of hackish. Even then, the sound categories remain.

Is there any way that you can specify a search so that only custom patches and samples are shown?

Good question. I don't know. But then you are using the computer and have moved away from just using Push.

I don't understand why they couldn't just have it all work out of the box with multiple levels of tags (even easily adding your own custom tags) like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8bsWEWt0A

This is a thread about Push... Please stop posting your Maschine advertising in thread after thread.

[onestep]

- Playing sustained notes on the pads in note mode is a little harder than I expected. Despite adjusting the sensitivity and the response curve, I seem to have to keep some pressure on a pad to keep the note sounding, but too much pressure activates the aftertouch. Since there's no movement to the pads, it's hard to find the pressure that will keep the note on, but not start sending aftertouch. It's more fatiguing than playing my usual keyboard. I suppose that's just something I'll have to get used to.

Hmm.. That's not a good sign because that's actually been the case for all Akai pads because they're not sensitive and responsive enough due to the way they're designed with a gap between the sensor and the pads. Whenever I tried to play sustained notes on MPCs and MPDs, they would get cut off too easily, making them only useful for percussive style triggering. It's night and day when comparing to more sensitive pads like on Maschine or padkontrol which don't have that issue at all.