Push Review (vs Launchpad S and Launchpad 95)

[Buleriachk]

My Push finally got here, and I opened it up. It is truly a marvelous, groundbreaking controller. Live 9 by itself is well worth the software as well. That said, With the Push plugged in...

1. The pad LED's were borderline acceptable in Note Mode; about half were purplish. Session Mode was fine, as was Track Mode. The LED's on the sides were so dim that they were unreadable, even with power plugged in, and they were not evenly lit. (This was normal apt. lighting)

2. As I suspected, there was no way to change between relative major and minor (IMO, one should be able to select a Major Key, or a Minor Key as a base key. Then, if one is in Major key, one should have a set of momentary buttons to shift to the relative Natural, Harmonic, or Melodic minor while keeping the tonic (e.g. C) fixed. E.g. C Major base key, momentarily switchable between A Natural Minor, A Harmonic Minor, and A Melodic Minor, keeping the C emphasized.

If one selects one of the minor keys as the base key, then one should be able to select either of the other two minor modes and the major key while keeping the tonic key fixed (e.g., Am Harmonic Minor base, momentarily switchable between A Natural Minor, A Melodic Minor, and C Major)

Also, one should be able to arrange the keys at the top in the Circle of Fifths as an option, with something like the LR arrow keys to navigate.

Granted, it is not part of the current Ableton perspective, but for me it is a deal breaker, since there is the alternative below.

2(a): There also should be a Guitar Mode, with the bottom six rows available as tunable strings, with a "capo" function. I won't hold my breath though, since Ableton doesn't even have a guitar tuner as one of its devices.

3.I found the pads not to be as nice as Maschine's for my taste.

It is an excellent tool for production, but my orientation is much more live, but as an instrumentalist, not as a DJ. With that in mind, I am returning it, to wait until it has been developed further, especially with a view for my needs above.

I can do this because I have:

1. a Launchpad S, Launchpad95, which is a darn good emulation of the most important aspects of Push, except the pads are not touch sensitive.

2. a Korg NanoKontrol, with NativeKontrol's ME_nanoKontrol software, which gives me a controller interface for what I need vis a vis track control (the mouse will handle the rest)

3. If I decide I need device control, I will get another APC40

4. I do have Maschine, which gives an excellent control surface for Live, but also works really well as a VST within Live.

5. I do have Live 9.5, so when an updated version of Push becomes available that addresses the above issues, I will jump on it in a NY second.

I have a MINI air, if I need to jam in major/relative minor....

For me, the variability in the pads, the dim LED's and the lack of Major/Minor in live performance is not enough for me to keep it when I have Launchpad S/95.

All of this is my own take, YMMV. Ableton will eventually get it right, for sure.

Push is great, but for me, not quite ready for prime time. But I'll keep Live 9.5 for sure.....

I'll probably regret this post when I wake up in the morning....

[yur2die4]

When you hit the scale button on Push, the options on the display are arranged in the circle of fifths.

Not only that, if you were to perhaps play in the key of A min, you could jump between major and minor with the up/down buttons. Although I personally do not think it feels 'natural' enough.

With In Key mode off, you can do pretty much anything.

If you want the pads to be more responsive, you can change settings by holding 'User'. Also, turning the 'Accent' button on does full velocity, similar to the Launchpad. (Although I do agree, the LP is still really amazing to play. Funny how cheap devices can be so fun to tear away at!)

A new thing I have been playing with is, the 3rds mode (when in scale mode hold shift) tipped to the side. Chords are very easy to play, basically three buttons in a row. And I can just step downward for the chord below it.

I'm mostly mentioning all this so that you can exploit all possible options and Then return it. This way you'll be aware of any make-or-break features to consider in case you do eventually decide to pick up a future model.


Oh, one last thing, I highly recommend the Seapunk color scheme that someone posted. It is a much more pleasant playing experience, as the single color doesn't involve as much flickering as "white" does.

[Buleriachk]

I tried the up/down buttons; didn't work. Also, I saw the circle of fifths, but I want to change in real time, live, modulate between keys, etc. which would require a different user mode. I am sure it will be done someday; maybe not in this iteration, but perhaps the next. I also tried all the sensitivity options; I still think Maschine's pads are better; and Maschine is a great surface controller for Live.

I think all of these are ultimately doable for someone who wants to program it in Python, or M4L, but I don't want to do it myself; I'm 73, and simply don't have the time.... I don't want workarounds, since the Launchpad S/Launchpad95 works just fine. Also the fact that it is $600 for functionality I mostly already have....

Launchpad 95 is a good emulation; you can do roughly the same things (select scale, key, octave, etc.) just not with controls, except there are no LED's, you have to watch the computer more.

I emphasize, if it works for you, great, I repeat YMMV. My results are strictly personal, but I can't hide my disappointment that the results were exactly what I had predicted. But the return postage is CERTAINLY worth the education....

And I will be closely monitoring this forum and Ableton - if these issues are addressed (and I'm still around) another Push will be on its way.....

[Buleriachk]

BTW, just found this:

http://fabriziopoce.com/isocontrollers.html

The M4L version lets you see the scale, transpose, and mode in which you're working, and best of all, runs on top of Launchpad95 (which has a feature that shows you the note pressed if the scale overlaps the end of the row).

Great work from both programmers....

[lyovino]

I'm very happy for you that you have come to a moment of peace with your decision of returning push. Everyone has different wants and needs.
For me, when I first received push I thought it was a nice addition to my studio. I had no idea how I was going to feel in a week of using it. There is no way that I could have made a decision in one day of owning it and searching out all of the downsides that one may find.

To make a long story short, any of the shortcomings are out weighted by the workflow and fun it has in a studio environment. After a couple of weeks, I can say I very much like the idea of having pretty much full control of Live while also adding an Instrument and eliminating excess components sitting all over my desk. I truly hope you gave yourself enough time to actually experience the workflow it brings. I never could have come to this enlightenment in one or two days of it's presence. Best of luck with your thoughts.

[Buleriachk]

Before I ordered push, I had worked with LPO95 emulation, and with Maschine (both as beat creation and as control surface); I am familiar with keyboards, and knew very specifically what I was looking for; from the ads and YouTube videos I couldn't tell what had been implemented, or whether Push had gone farther than L95 or NativeKontrol's Ditto (which I also tried). I also just sold my APC40, since I don't need it any more (I also have Me_nanoKontrol when Maschine isn't running as a control surface).

I don't tweak Live's parameters all that much, and even then I didn't see much advantage to what I can do with Maschine's device controls (although the APC40 is better, naturally)...

So it depends on your workflow (of course) and what one wants to do. And if Ableton addresses my concerns with the Push, I have $600 ready and waiting.....