Re: Push 2
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 12:11 pm
I just got my Push 2 yesterday and played around with it for a bit. Here are my first impressions.
The overall build quality is impressive. I was worried since Ableton now makes Push themselves and no longer commissioned a reputable brand with years of experience (Akai) to build them. It's impressive to see that the build quality is not only as good as on Push 1 but even better.
The pads are a joy to play. Much better than Push 1 which is awesome and a very important aspect obviously.
I won't get into the workflow details as there are many reviews and sources describing the various improvements and changes already. Basically everything about Push 2 is either slightly better, much better or completely new compared to Push 1. Instead, I am going to nitpick a little and talk of some things that I have not seen in any reviews.
I may be the minority but I was fairly disappointed by the screen. Obviously it's technically years beyond Push 1 and much more functional, but contrary to some things I have read, it doesn't seem to be an OLED screen. In fact it seems to be a pretty mediocre LCD screen. The black background isn't black at all (more like a glowing gray, the contrast and the viewing angles aren't that great, which is kind of lame because you'll probably spend most of the time looking at the screen from a steep angle unless you're hunched above your Push or placed it on some sort of inclined stand, and there is noticeable light bleed on the edges of the screen. Being an LCD screen, it is also very vulnerable to reflections and you better make sure to have to bright light sources nearby. I actually had to dim my computer monitor which sat just behind and made the screen difficult to see. This was probably the biggest let down to me because Push 2 had the potential to be a work of art in industrial design and functionality. It's still an incredibly powerful and flexible MIDI controller but the screen really disappointed me compared to, say, the screen of the OP-1 which was an obvious inspiration. In fact, I kind of liked the screen of the Push 1 more from a purely aesthetic point of view and in terms of usability (not functionality obviously). It WAS low tech compared to Push 2's screen but the deliberate retro vibe gave it an 80s feel that just worked very well in that context and high-resolution and full-color RGB functionality aside, it also was easier to read IMHO. Now I don't know the reasoning behind this. Maybe a custom OLED screen of this odd size would have been prohibitively expense or downright impossible to produce, maybe they really just wanted to save a few bucks per unit. In any case it's a huge missed opportunity IMHO.
The second point is REALLY nitpicking but why the hell did Ableton change the encoders from plastic to rubberized finish? After hearing out the complaints of users regarding the edges of Push 1 and the wear and tear of the rubber finish, they finally listened and used a full metal plate on Push 2... only to use the same fragile rubber finish on the part of Push that sticks out the most and that you use the most (the encoders). I am really worried that they'll look like shit in a few months but in that regard only time will tell. In any case I's probably a good idea to keep your finger nails trimmed.
The overall build quality is impressive. I was worried since Ableton now makes Push themselves and no longer commissioned a reputable brand with years of experience (Akai) to build them. It's impressive to see that the build quality is not only as good as on Push 1 but even better.
The pads are a joy to play. Much better than Push 1 which is awesome and a very important aspect obviously.
I won't get into the workflow details as there are many reviews and sources describing the various improvements and changes already. Basically everything about Push 2 is either slightly better, much better or completely new compared to Push 1. Instead, I am going to nitpick a little and talk of some things that I have not seen in any reviews.
I may be the minority but I was fairly disappointed by the screen. Obviously it's technically years beyond Push 1 and much more functional, but contrary to some things I have read, it doesn't seem to be an OLED screen. In fact it seems to be a pretty mediocre LCD screen. The black background isn't black at all (more like a glowing gray, the contrast and the viewing angles aren't that great, which is kind of lame because you'll probably spend most of the time looking at the screen from a steep angle unless you're hunched above your Push or placed it on some sort of inclined stand, and there is noticeable light bleed on the edges of the screen. Being an LCD screen, it is also very vulnerable to reflections and you better make sure to have to bright light sources nearby. I actually had to dim my computer monitor which sat just behind and made the screen difficult to see. This was probably the biggest let down to me because Push 2 had the potential to be a work of art in industrial design and functionality. It's still an incredibly powerful and flexible MIDI controller but the screen really disappointed me compared to, say, the screen of the OP-1 which was an obvious inspiration. In fact, I kind of liked the screen of the Push 1 more from a purely aesthetic point of view and in terms of usability (not functionality obviously). It WAS low tech compared to Push 2's screen but the deliberate retro vibe gave it an 80s feel that just worked very well in that context and high-resolution and full-color RGB functionality aside, it also was easier to read IMHO. Now I don't know the reasoning behind this. Maybe a custom OLED screen of this odd size would have been prohibitively expense or downright impossible to produce, maybe they really just wanted to save a few bucks per unit. In any case it's a huge missed opportunity IMHO.
The second point is REALLY nitpicking but why the hell did Ableton change the encoders from plastic to rubberized finish? After hearing out the complaints of users regarding the edges of Push 1 and the wear and tear of the rubber finish, they finally listened and used a full metal plate on Push 2... only to use the same fragile rubber finish on the part of Push that sticks out the most and that you use the most (the encoders). I am really worried that they'll look like shit in a few months but in that regard only time will tell. In any case I's probably a good idea to keep your finger nails trimmed.