Edit: 3/29/13
Hi All,
We've consolidated, cleaned up and moved most of these FAQs to our knowledge base.
Push FAQ: Pads
Push FAQ: General Questions
Push FAQ: Editing and Other Commands
Push FAQ: Controlling Instruments and Effects
Push FAQ: Step Sequencer
The questions that don't fit into our FAQ, will remain below or incorporated into updates to the knowledge base.
Please check out the movies on the Push page:
http://www.ableton.com/en/push
And the Learn Push page below as well:
https://www.ableton.com/en/help/learn-push/
Jesse
Push sends and receives standard MIDI messages. It can be used with other DAWs and devices, but it only sends plain notes and CC data, so you can't use the fancy note and drum modes that we have incorporated in Live.How does the Push communicate with Live? Does it send/receive plain MIDI and show up as a MIDI device on the OS, or does it use some proprietary protocol? The reason I ask, is because Push would be more interesting to me if it can also be used without Ableton Live.
At the moment, no. But your wish is noted.Slicing from the controller?
At the moment, no. But your wish is noted.Is there any way to quickly duplicate pads on Drum Racks from the Push controller?
[From Chris, a developer on the Push project]Has anyone else with any type of colorblindness taken a look at the pictures and video of Push? I was surprised that I could see so many colours on my new Maschine hardware (11/16), despite being able to see fewer in the ads online. Other devices, like the APCs and MPCs, don't appear in colour to me at all (red/green = useless to about seven percent of men).
I'm a developer at Ableton and worked on the color management of Push. Being colorblind myself (quite strong red/green), I am very happy with the colors.
I clearly see the 3 split parts in the step sequencer i.e., know which pads are filled, where the steps are and the loop is. I do not see the exact color in the top rows, whether it's green or orange,
but it was never a problem as I see what's selected or useable. For clip colors, which also show up on Push, I make sure to chose the ones which look different too me.
I too have problems on other devices and green, yellow, amber looks almost the same to me.
How modular is the push when it comes to m4l, obviously the apc40 predates m4l so there's quite a bit of stuff you can't do like disable the stop buttons then bring them back together...
Good news -- Mark Egloff, the man behind our APC40 Step Sequencer is the Co-Product Owner for Push with me, and is a Max genius. He's on vacation at the moment, but I'll get more info from him on the details when back. Basically we worked to make it possible to take over certain parts of Push easily. So let's say you create an instrument in M4L, that uses a strange interface (e.g. Game of Life). You could take over just the 8x8 pads, including lighting, and leave the rest of Push as is.Will we be able to bend the capabilities of push using M4L. Can we send stuff to the led's for example?
We don't currently support copying and pasting clips, but we do support duplicating clips, as in Live.Will it be possible to press a clip on Push with midi or audio data and duplicate it to another by pressing on a vacant pad?
As on the APC40, you hold the track select button of a group track to open/close that group track.How do you expand group tracks, is it very quick?
I have used 128s for a long time, without knowing they were a thing called "128s" - so much of the early concept for Push's drum workflow was to eliminate having to make 128s. You hit a pad, press Browse, and use either the smooth encoder, or the buttons beneath the display to move sequentially to different presets/samples.With Push, will it be possible to select a drum rack cell by pressing a pad on push, and then turn a knob to scroll through different drum samples within a folder to choose which drum sample is assigned to that drum cell? Basically, this would do away with spending time making "128s" and would let the user quickly setup drum racks.
Currently, Push is meant for one user at a time, as much of Push's workflow is based on focusing on a single track at a time. For sure there are/will be workarounds, but we just haven't had resources to test this yet.I was wondering if push allows for more than on user at any given time? What I mean by this is that when working in a live situation, it would be good to be able to have 1 person launching clips, and one person focusing on live modulation with push. Currently as soon as a clip is launched, the focus changes, and controller encoders switch. We use an APC40 and APC20 currently. Will it be possible to "lock" pushes focus, or have pushes focus change independently (if set as such) to clip launches?
There are many many things we wanted to do, but we also needed to try to keep cost as low as possible. LCD screens are very expensive, especially when they have to be custom made like ours to match the size of the pads. To add another on the side would have likely made the end user cost go up another $100, and made the unit wider to not fit in a backpack. So, what we have instead is you hold select, and press a Scene to see that Scene's name show up temporarily on the display.Why lcd at the top and no lcd on the side for scene names? thats a lame oversight, means i NEED to look at the screen if i play live.
No, currently you can only navigate the start encoder of warped audio files.Now Push will be able to adjust the selected clip or loop when they are on the session view as clip.
It's possible to use the encoders with the audio samples to preview unwarped samples on the browser and jump to different parts of the waveform?.That would be amazing, use the start encoder to finally move into unwarped clips on the browser.Now we cannot do this, and this kind of thing will make push awesome.
We just send out simple MIDI messages for the encoders in User mode. You'd have to work out something with Max for Live or Python for something more advanced.When in generic midi mode, will there be an option to use the 8 rotaries in banks, in the same way it is with the MPK/MPD controllers? (e.g bank A/B/C/D, giving you 32 possible controls)
Only the Tempo encoder clicks. However, for browsing samples, you can use either the smooth encoder, or the buttons beneath the display to move to different samples/presets sequentially.Sorry if I missed this somewhere but do the dials click I wonder? I have found this to be really useful as with the non clicking type on the APC if you map 127 samples in a rack its impossible to dial particular samples.
No. There is no multi-select on Push, but your wish is noted.can you 'multi select' clips or notes and apply changes (move/reverse/quantize etc.) using Push?
We do our best to keep the colors distinct for those who are colorblind. There is a small diamond shape in the middle of the grid for location without looking.Are there any physical indicators for the visually impaired ?
The latency is comparable to an APC40. In my experience, MIDI latency is related to your audio driver/buffer as well - so this will vary according to which audio interface you use.What can we expect the responsiveness/update latency to be like with Push? I have a Launchpad and an APC40 currently, running on a Windows desktop and Laptop. The Launchpad has noticeable latency (100-500ms) when switching between pages or scrolling around the grid, and sometimes the pads don't update accurately. The APC40 has no noticeable latency or issues loading/lighting up the pads.
No.Is that likely a matter of bus-vs-AC power? Will performance change depending on power source?
Good question…we don't allow for full customization, but your wish is noted. We do have a few extra secret play modes, if you hold shift while in Scales mode, you can select between 4ths (diatonic/chromatic) vertical or horizontal, 3rd (diatonic/chromatic) vertical/horizontal or octave+1 per row, or straight chromatic (no redundancies).Can you change the pitch space in Play Mode? For example, to change from default pitch space (5:1) to fifths by chromatic (7:1) or Longuet Higgings (4:7).
Volume mode.How to control tracks volume without faders? thanks
Session mode lets you launch clips, and you can see clip color/name.i have a dumb question, will it be possible to use the buttons to just lunch clips like, lets say, launchpad or apc? or they are only divided by this 3 way form and cannot be changed?
Yes. Press and hold the "Fixed Length" button to set the value. You can then toggle Fixed Length on off for fixed or infinite recordings. Another cool trick: while recording an 'infinite' recording, if you press "Fixed Length" it will loop the last X measures of your recording. This is how I work: press record, jam for awhile until I get a result I like, then press fixed length to loop the last 2 measures.With Ableton Push, can I pre-define the lenght of the clips before recording them on session view? So I just press record and then the the clip start recording, I record something, and then when it reaches the previous lenght I defined, lets say a 4 bars loop, the clip ends and start looping.
11/30/12 answers
Yes, and you don't even need sysex, you will be able to access the respective Python objects via M4L; then you can just call a function passing in the string to display.Will it be possible to access the LCD display from within M4L ? / Max ?
Yes. In volumes, Pan/Sends modes, you have 8 encoders/8 tracks that follow the "Ring" in session view.Can you confirm it will possible to play with levels/pans/sends/rack knobs above 8 tracks while launching/stopping/soloing clips above the same 8 tracks? Not sure about this since you wrote that Push design was focused on controlling one track at a time.
Most of the time I leave Push in note mode, and use APC40 for track volume and clip launching. But I'm interested to see how else they are combined.How would you combine the apc 40 with push in one setup?
When you hold a step(s) you can adjust velocity, length and nudge the step in time. Also, if you hold a step and press accent, it will be set at 127.I noticed in one of the videos there appears to be two velocities while in step sequence mode. Is this dictated by by how long you hold down the pad/s or the pressure applied to them?
This is the way I use it. The ring of APC40 and Push are not linked though.Is it possible to map two controllers to the same area in the session view at the same time? Id love to build up my grid live with push but still having the faders and pots from the apc 40 on the same channels and clips i made with push....Means.. Id love to have my control over the session view with the apc 40 like i do in my live situation right now..... But making new stuff on the fly with push - "filling" up the session view....
It will work as a generic MIDI controller in Live 8, but for all the main functionality you will need Live 9. We had to do a lot of work under the hood to make it work.Will Push work with Live 8, or is Live 9 a requirement?
Sorry, this is not available on Push, but your wish is noted.will we be able to change the mode of the envelopes by default Linked to Unlinked only pressing a button on Push? This parameter is not midi mappeable and people are saying that it,s not accesible
a API. If i,m recording in session view and i want to unlink a parameter, i would have to use the mouse???? i see trouble here, because the main thing about Push it,s not to use the mouse.Please tell me that we can do this directly on Push.
Yes, Push sends simple MIDI data, Live translates this into the functionality so you would need Live to host the VST.Push sends and receives standard MIDI messages. It can be used with other DAWs and devices, but it only sends plain notes and CC data, so you can't use the fancy note and drum modes that we have incorporated in Live.I just wanted to confirm that I'm understanding this correctly. I am primarily interested in using Push as a replacement for a standard MIDI keyboard controller (in note mode). If I understand your explanation, the "pad-to-note" data conversion happens in Live, not in the Push itself. Does that mean I would need to use Live as the host and then load my instrument (VST) into a track so I can play it?
Yes, that's how it works when Fixed Length is on. After a pass of X measures, recording is turned off, and the clip is looped.It would also be good if this was a "one shot" feature that stops recording after one take - the arrangement view keeps recording and if you're not fast enough it wipes the take.
Well, I have played guitar since I was 5 But we also can set it to thirds, and linear (no doubled notes).The thing that makes me excited about the Push is that the chromatic note layout is analogous to a guitar, with each column of pads representing a guitar fret and each row of pads representing a guitar string. I'm not sure if that was done by design or if it was just a coincidence.
Yes, it is true. For bassists and guitarists, it's dead easy.Just like on a guitar, if you move a column to the right (up a fret), the pitch increases by a minor 2nd, and if you move up by a row (up a string), the pitch increases by a perfect 4th. The Push is going to be instantly playable by guitarists, whether they realize it or not.
This is not the case. It is loaded in Live as normal, unless you record automation.As presented: When you choose a synth or sampler for example..you choose the preset, change the settings.. Its all saved directly into the clip in live 9 when you are working with push.
It accesses the same browser in Live, but has a slightly different layout/gui/interface to match the LCD screen.will it be safe to assume that Push has it's own browser... seperate to Lives' interface ?
You can always record in your non-quantized drums as normal, or nudge your steps to get them off the grid.I do not quantize my drums, it's not my modo. So? Is the step sequencer's gonna allow me keep on doing my thing? How will it work with the pads?
No. Your wish is noted.When you re-enter an already recorded instrument clip from session mode - and you change the tune its playing in --> Does the clip save that change when you go out of the clip again?
You have to nudge it in Live.Lets say, i recorded something nice in c minor but the band wants to hear and play along with it in g minor from then on.
How do i change that clip permanentely? Do i have to nudge it in the midi note view on the computer or is it enough to change it on the controller and live does the note nudging for me?
Push is an Instrument, primarily for playing notes and drums, rather than launching clips. There is some crossover, but the depth of integration is much broader. I encourage you to watch the videos on the Push page.In a nutshell, how does the Push relate to the Launchpad/Nocturn and the APC40? What does it do that they can't?
Currently no. I can't comment on what will happen, your wish is noted (though you can midi remote map the pitch slider).Will it be possible to use the touch strip for parameters besides pitch bend and moving through a drum rack?
Push comes with Live 9 Intro. Push needs Live 9 to work. You would be able to use your Live 8 instruments in Live 9 Intro if you wanted to.The advertisement says "Push always come with Live 9". So it seems I need to upgrade my Live 8 when buying Push. Since I have a lot of instruments with Live 8 my question now is what "3 instruments" and what "9 instruments" will be coming with Live 9 that comes with Push? I just want to be sure that I will not lose any of the instruments I currently have with Live 8.
Why haven't you put a fader on this device.
Size. It needed to fit in a backpack.
We are discussing whether we should drop all feature requests and implement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB6vSHDDdhI]this instead. I will keep you posted.Will Push have a hidden easter egg Chess Battle mode?
We do not currently have an editor, and notes can not be changed on Push. Your wish is noted.I understand that the APC and Launchpad (both Ableton branded) both do not have very flexible midi remapping of the controllers themselves. Will the Push be in the same predicament?
Hold Delete and select the effect in device mode.You have an "add effect" button, but is there a way to delete effects?
Push is not intended for audio tracks, but you could do this in Session mode, as you would on an APC40 or Launchpad.Can I create and record audio clips via push, in conjunction with my audio interface? (Wicked sampling into the fixed note record, anyone?)
Not currently. Your wish is noted.Is it possible to control drum racks w/ push's note mode, so we can access up to 64 samples on one full grid?" +1. This would make Push stand head and shoulders above any competition.
will the push be able to slice audio to midi
Not currently. Your wish is noted.
Not currently. Your wish is noted.and assign warp markers on audio? therefore allowing one to chop samples without a mouse?
Yes, we will offer bundles of Live 9 and Push from ableton.com.Will Push be available for purchase directly from ableton.com?
Yes, it's very easy and this is how Push works by default.My question is about the live usage of Push. Is it possible to set up a dynamic live environment where I switch fast between modes, so that I "play" Push as an instrument in a moment, than I go back launching clips, then I focus on an instrument to tweak its knobs, than I play again and so on?
You could lightly tap the pad, or hold select and hit the pad to silently select it.Not sure if this has been asked yet but is it possible to select a drumrack pad so it can be edited with the encoders up top without sounding off the pad? I can do this with maschine by gently pressing the edge of a pad.
8how many digits do we have for parameter names?
That's fine. The code that comes with Push would have been used on your upgrade, so you would be selling only the Push unit in that case.What if i buy push via an upgrade path, then later decide to sell push but keep the upgrade?
You could customize it with M4L. I understand your point though, we will discuss.Master Volume, or Cue volume if you hold shift - this sounds dangerous, master volume seems to be too easy to mess with accidentally, not to mention that (at least for me) cue volume is much more useful while browsing sounds, is there any possibility of reversing this behaviour? i.e. make the 9th knob act on cue volume "normally" and master volume with shift pressed, it sounds much safer and more useful.
No.does push have any button to change between session and arrange view ?
Push is primarily intended for Session View, but your wish is noted.i suppose for now push is mainly for session view operation but it would be great to have the option to use the touch strip to scrub along the arrangement when live is in arrangement view and push is not in device mode
You can either select the instrument, and browse in place (to leave the effect chain in place) or create a new track to create something entirely new.When using Push to load a new instrument, does it load the instrument without deleting the effects on the track? Do you have the choice between either loading an instrument and delting effects (like double clicking an instrument in the browser) or inserting the instrument (like dragging the instrument into place)?
Push has it's own destructive swing, separate from the groove pool. This allows us to do things that can't be done with Grooves, i.e. we can swing Repeat, we can quantize-swing just the notes on a single pad (not the entire clip). It applies swing destructively to midi notes. You can't access the Groove pool from Push.I don't know if this has been brought up before, but I have a question about how Push handles "Swing". In all of the videos that I have seen so far, Push can adjust what is called "Swing". I thought Live 7 was the last version that had "Swing". Live 8 started "Groove". I haven't seen any video yet which has shown Push looking through the Groove pool, or having the ability to adjust parameters in the Groove Pool. Am I missing something?
The whole simpler will be replaced.will the whole simpler instance replaced and all settings overwrite to "defaults" (like "hotswap" by using the pads) or only the sample (like hotswap from the simpler itself)?
The upper row is bi-color (Red, Amber, Green) the bottom row is RGB.Are the two rows of thin buttons above the pads RGB, or just a couple colors?
The detented (tempo) encoder will provide 20 messages per 360deg rotation.The detent-less encoders will provide 127 messages per 360deg rotation.What is the physical resolution of the encoders, i.e. steps per 360°? And what is the software resolution for volume faders, device parameters and vst parameters, i.e. how many steps are possible? I hope more than 128, for fine tuning.
Yes, touch is taken into account, how you describe it is how it works.Does Live / Push actually support the touch-sensitivity of the encoders in any useful manner for recording overdubbing parameter automation? I.e., when touch begins, start recording that specific parameter, when touch ends, stop recording, go back to playing automation?
No, but your wish is noted (very well described from the beta forums, thanks Banned).Does Push support 14bit MIDI CC#?
No, but your wish is noted.Does Live / Push support using the [Shift] button and/or modifier key for fine-tuning?
Yes, with the exception of renaming Macros and re-ordering VSTs. You need to switch to another device and back at the moment to show the new ordering. Filed.Does the Push device receive updates for its display with track / clip / device / parameter names and parameter values in human readable format every time they are changed either on Push or in Live, e.g. by dragging their order around, deleting, moving, renaming, etc.?
No, but your wish is noted.Can the buttons with different quantization settings (1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc) also be used to set the resolution of the controls to adjust a clip loop length?
You can only see it on Push - it is a destructive form of per-pad quantization that is similar to how classic MPCs work, but different from Groove (which affects an entire clip non-destructively, not a single pad)Since Push has it's own destructive Swing, how does it appear in the software? In other words, can I look at the software and tell "if" and "how much" Swing from Push has been applied to a pad?
It works for audio too.Will the "record and loop the last 2/4/8 bars" work with audio as well, or is that exclusively MIDI?
Yes. In device mode, you can select the kit, or select the pad, then browse.I know drum kits can be loaded through the browsing mechanism; can I browse and replace individual samples the same way?
No. Your wish is noted.Does browsing synths support the new Live 9 synth preview?
From Push, 64, but this very much depends on the instrument voices and your CPU.How many simultaneous notes can I play?
I can't comment about what is or isn't coming in the future.Is sampling/chopping on the fly and assigning to a Pad using only the controller something that is being pursued? If so, how high a priority is it?
I'd bet there is a Monome emulator for Push already as I write this, but can't confirm.will you be able to us the push as a monome?
Clip colors are reflected on Push to the best of the RGB LEDs ability. Playing clips pulse green, recording clips pulse red.Can anyone explain me how the color coding will work for clip launching ?
Is it VERY bright ? (can it be used when gigging outside, under the sun ?)
It's bright, brighter with the adaptor -- but all LEDs suffer in sunlight. I'd try it out first to make sure it meets your needs.
As of right now in order for push you can't load a drum rack that has been nested into an instrument rack.
can you comment on if this is the way it will stay?
I can't comment, but your wish is noted.
I really like that the Push can change intervals intervals in 5ths would be awesome
Your wish is noted.
I haven't seen any indication that the drum rack sequencer in Push is responsive to the velocity that you hit the pads with. I know there's an accent button and you can edit velocities after entry with the knob but seeing as the pads are velocity sensitive, wouldn't it make sense to allow the sequencer step pads to velocities based on how hard you hit the key?
It would be very cool in some cases, not as cool in others, but your wish is noted.
when you use push will you be able to see the wav file displayed on the lcd screen then use the knobs to move the warp markers or transients?? or move the markers in the drum rack?
No, it is only a character display, not graphical.
I have Push pre-ordered. Will my MIDI controller be able to plug into the push, thereby saving a USB Port?
No, there are no MIDI ports and no USB hub on Push.
Have Push the 'push' option on the knob? It's very useful when you want to set a parameter back to the original value, i missed it in the Akai Apc 40, the knob should have the ability of being pushed and return the value to 'zero', like the 'gain-push-knob' on the Kontrol S4"
Your wish is noted.
Is it possible to open and close plugin GUIs with Push ?
No. Your wish is noted.
How about switching the pad bank of the drum rack , eg first 16 samples, next etc ?
You can switch with either the touch strip or the octave up/down buttons.
Can I clone the whole scene to a new one to start working on a variation of it?
Yes, with the Duplicate button (which works like capture and insert scene. New works the same way, except it stops and doesn't copy the clip on the current track.
In the new scene, I want to add a new instrument (for example, a counter melody to my lead). The new instrument steals some sound space to the main lead that hence I want to eq someway, or pan away or lower its volume. I just want this in the newscene, since applying a global volume reduction would make it less prominent in the whole song, even in the scenes where it's the only instrument. What is the way to handle this in a pure-Push workflow?
I suppose recording automation into that clip would be the best way.