Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Discuss Push with other users.
jsn
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Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:32 pm
Location: JKPG SWEDEN

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by jsn » Sun Mar 31, 2013 3:18 pm

Hi Ableton! I wonder would it be possible to get the SELECT button to latch with a quick press, like REPEAT and ACCENT? I see that SELECT and a drum pad enables to user to either nudge note lengths and/or adjust velocity for all notes triggered by that particular pad simultaneously. The problem is that since SELECT does not latch on, one currently has to press and hold this button and one of the drum pads on the left side of the unit with one hand while using a free hand to twist the appropriate knobs. This is not a physically easy task because you really have to strech your fingers to reach both Select and a drum pad to use the option! Thanks for any help w/ this undocumented yet handy feature.

Also, would like to be able to Delete notes within a sequence belonging to a single pad all at once (hold pad + Delete possibly?) (or pressing select and being able to select multiple pads for collective editing)

Also, along these same lines I can see further potential in being able to duplicate a currently loaded pad and it's currently sequenced notes for quick layering/variation. After duplicating a pad one could quickly swap out the loaded device/sample for an appropriate layer. This can all be done inside Live of course but would enhance drum sequence editing workflow when working mostly from the PUSH

By the way I LOVE the [recordable] Repeat functionality built into the step sequencer.
Live Suite 9.5 (32-bit), MFL 6.1.3 (416a295), Win7HP

coleb
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:16 am

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by coleb » Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:28 am

jsn - to select a pad to nudge or change the velocity of all the notes for that pad - at first you do have to hit the select button and the pad at the same time, but then you can release the select button and only hold the pad. from there you can still edit the velocity and nudge the notes. you don't have to hold down both while using the knobs, as you suggest.

i would love to figure out how to delete all the notes for one pad without deleting the simpler on that pad. i can't figure that one out... holding select and the pad just deletes the entire clip from session view.

jsn
Posts: 213
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:32 pm
Location: JKPG SWEDEN

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by jsn » Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:11 am

coleb THANKS FOR THAT one. I didn't even think to try letting go of Select ;P Cheers!
Live Suite 9.5 (32-bit), MFL 6.1.3 (416a295), Win7HP

coleb
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:16 am

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by coleb » Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:25 am

glad i could help!

something i've been messing around with is getting led feedback while in user mode. has anyone tried this? each pad responds to the same midi note it sends and the velocity controls the color. so using a midi effect rack, i've successfully gotten the pads to stay lit in one color continuously and then change to a different color when pressing that button (kind of like maschine's pad feedback, if you know what i mean).

but, i can't figure out how to get live to recognize a CC message from a pad while in user mode, anyone have any ideas?

scientist
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Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2003 2:06 am
Location: seattle

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by scientist » Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:44 am

coleb wrote:glad i could help!

something i've been messing around with is getting led feedback while in user mode. has anyone tried this? each pad responds to the same midi note it sends and the velocity controls the color. so using a midi effect rack, i've successfully gotten the pads to stay lit in one color continuously and then change to a different color when pressing that button (kind of like maschine's pad feedback, if you know what i mean).

but, i can't figure out how to get live to recognize a CC message from a pad while in user mode, anyone have any ideas?
at this point it looks like you'll have to dig into user remote scripts. forum member julienb has done some great work on this front: http://julienbayle.net/ableton-push

coleb
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Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:16 am

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by coleb » Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:15 pm

i've seen the great work that julienb has done so far. i have no doubt that any mappings beyond only the most basic ones will have to be done using remote scripts. but it still puzzles me that ableton did not make the user mode with more useful midi messages. out of the box, all of the pads, which are velocity sensitive, only send midi note on/off data. also, each of the encoders seem to respond linearly when you turn them clockwise, but more on a log value curve when you turn them counterclockwise. i could see where this could be useful, but not for the default for all of the knobs.

Machinate
Posts: 11648
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:15 pm
Location: Denmark

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by Machinate » Wed Apr 03, 2013 11:31 am

Hi Jesse et al.

Okay, my question may have been answered in the 27 previous pages, if it has I'm terribly sorry.

My understanding is that our ability to interact with Push via mfl is still TBD, and that a roadmap/programming guide is under way?

My main request is low-level access to the pads. These are presumably FSRs, which are also used to give us the equivalent of monophonic aftertouch.

I get that poly touch is filtered from Live, just like sysex, due to the difficulty of presenting the data (at least that was the reason given to me about sysex back in the day) BUT it would be immensely powerful to at least present that data as a possible input to MaxForLive.

Imagine being able to have 64 pressure sensors coming in to Max? Yum. It'd be like 4 TriggerFingers in CC mode :)

Any comment on the possibility of that ever happening? I'd love to know if that data is filtered in the hardware, or later, in software?

cheers.
mbp 2.66, osx 10.6.8, 8GB ram.

lo.key
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:05 pm

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by lo.key » Wed Apr 03, 2013 2:07 pm

+1 for detailed m4l documentation

+1 for low level access to the raw sensor data.

Machinate
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Location: Denmark

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by Machinate » Wed Apr 03, 2013 2:53 pm

It actually is the USP that I'm looking for in this product, and it's such a shame that I have no idea if it's even available in MFL.

The absurdity of it being filtered at all really was hard to swallow, too.
mbp 2.66, osx 10.6.8, 8GB ram.

lo.key
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:05 pm

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by lo.key » Wed Apr 03, 2013 3:06 pm

its only getting filtered on the software level, at least, as the push py script uses multi aftertouch for the step sequencer repeat mode note volume...

metastatik
Posts: 318
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:28 pm

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by metastatik » Wed Apr 03, 2013 3:25 pm

The Python script doesn’t actually deal with poly AT at all. It’s dealt with at a lower level. All the Python script does in relation to AT is to send the hardware a SysEx message to tell it what type of AT to output. The hardware can do either channel or poly.

I haven’t done much work with M4L, but isn’t it possible to use some sort of external to send/receive unfiltered MIDI directly to/from the hardware? If so, then it should be possible to set the AT mode and receive poly AT in M4L.

FWIW, the SysEx message to set the AT mode is:
240, 71, 127, 21, 92, 0, 1, X, 247 (where X is the mode: 0 for poly, 1 for channel)

lo.key
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:05 pm

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by lo.key » Wed Apr 03, 2013 3:30 pm

the trouble is that you would need to set that send for the unfiltered midi up in max itself, not within m4l, because by the time a m4l midi patch sees any midi data from the controller, live has already filtered it out ;p


thats good info on how the py script works, im still trying to get my mind around the structure, where in the script is that handled?

metastatik
Posts: 318
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:28 pm

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by metastatik » Wed Apr 03, 2013 3:44 pm

Perhaps I misunderstand, but I thought there were externals (such as this one) that allowed you to send/receive directly via MIDI ports in M4L hence bypassing any filtering that would typically happen on the track level.

Anyhow, Sysex.py defines the applicable message and it is employed in Push.py in _on_note_repeat_mode_changed.

lo.key
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:05 pm

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by lo.key » Wed Apr 03, 2013 3:59 pm

well bam, consider me out of the loop! That is handy.

thanks again senor.

Machinate
Posts: 11648
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:15 pm
Location: Denmark

Re: Ableton Push: Questions & Answers

Post by Machinate » Wed Apr 03, 2013 5:32 pm

good stuff - I do have access to a Push, so for testing would python hackage be needed, or just the employment of that external (thanks for that, btw!)
mbp 2.66, osx 10.6.8, 8GB ram.

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