Push 3 Standalone - First impressions and feedback...

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VtruV
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 31, 2023 12:54 pm

Push 3 Standalone - First impressions and feedback...

Post by VtruV » Thu Jun 01, 2023 12:48 pm

I didn't hesitate when pulling the trigger to buy the standalone. My experience with Ableton over the years is that they take their time bringing things to market, and I was confident that they put thought and effort into it here as well.

I am not disappointed. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Do I think it will happen? Absolutely.

Build quality: Rock solid. It's beautiful, tactile, and mostly intuitive to navigate. Menu diving is minimal.

Workflow: I ran into an issue where it was not entirely intuitive to understand that I have to be in Clip View to add an audio file to an audio track clip slot.

Once, it was clear that the view mattered for specific functionality (you can't even see audio files for an audio track when you browse unless you are in clip view) I was back into flow.

A break in the workflow is that when you want to replace or audition a new sample, it does not take you back to the same folder location as the existing sample. You have to navigate back manually. This is a significant disruption to the creative process. Also, there needs to be a way to search audio files by name. Scrolling forever is also a lag in the creative process, whereas searching for "tabla loop" would quickly filter for what I have available. 256GB is great, but if you don't have a way to filter what you have, you'll never really be able to use that much space. Perhaps the immediate workaround is a precise folder structure with a naming convention that makes finding what you are looking for much easier.

Wish: I love the ADAT in and out. At this time, you have to assign each track's output to an ADAT Channel each time you create a session. I'd love to see this as a general audio routing option in the settings so I could use it for all sessions as the default audio out. This way, I can route audio through the ADAT in of my Apollo Twin X.

What I love most about the Push 3 Standalone so far is that I use Ableton features that I never gave much attention to in the software, where I was more focused on 3rd party plugins. I'm having a blast with all of the native assets.

As a point of reference... I have Maschine MK3, MPC X, Akai Force, SP404MK2, Pioneer SP-16, etc. Many of the Elektron boxes. I can see Push 3 and its workflow bringing a lot of new discoveries to my creative process. The workflow is great for my particular style. I'm looking forward to removing those stop gaps I mentioned early about nav and filtering to quickly find what you are looking for without disrupting the creative process. The other competing platforms /devices do not have this issue. I expect this will come quickly for the Push 3 in future updates.

eclipxe
Posts: 96
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:27 am

Re: Push 3 Standalone - First impressions and feedback...

Post by eclipxe » Thu Jun 01, 2023 1:58 pm

Would love love love a search feature or a way to scroll even quicker when browsing samples and presets.

warper
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:56 pm

Re: Push 3 Standalone - First impressions and feedback...

Post by warper » Fri Jun 02, 2023 4:44 pm

eclipxe wrote:
Thu Jun 01, 2023 1:58 pm
Would love love love a search feature or a way to scroll even quicker when browsing samples and presets.
Total agree! Also maybe using push pads as kinda "text keybord" for typing text. I think, the display would offer enough space to show a simple graphic wich pad means wich letter...

VtruV
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 31, 2023 12:54 pm

Re: Push 3 Standalone - First impressions and feedback...

Post by VtruV » Fri Jun 02, 2023 6:43 pm

Oh, one more wish list item. Since the Push 3 is absent the arrangement view, it's more about ideas and performing in its current state with the session view. What it could really use is a state lock, just like Maschine MK3, and the Electron products, where you can mangle and tweak FX settings and with the press of a button, return to a previously locked state. That would be nice. :P Perhaps even some macros where you could store a variety of states and automate a morph between them. 8O

Cloth Ears
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:21 pm

Re: Push 3 Standalone - First impressions and feedback...

Post by Cloth Ears » Fri Jun 02, 2023 8:49 pm

VtruV wrote:
Thu Jun 01, 2023 12:48 pm
Wish: I love the ADAT in and out. At this time, you have to assign each track's output to an ADAT Channel each time you create a session. I'd love to see this as a general audio routing option in the settings so I could use it for all sessions as the default audio out. This way, I can route audio through the ADAT in of my Apollo Twin X.
As a workround, perhaps you could make a template? However I think your suggestion should be implemented.
VtruV wrote:
Thu Jun 01, 2023 12:48 pm
What I love most about the Push 3 Standalone so far is that I use Ableton features that I never gave much attention to in the software, where I was more focused on 3rd party plugins. I'm having a blast with all of the native assets.
Agreed. Just so much to try.

VtruV
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 31, 2023 12:54 pm

Re: Push 3 Standalone - First impressions and feedback...

Post by VtruV » Sat Jun 03, 2023 2:28 pm

ADAT Update: OK so it's not as much of a manual process and inconvenience as I thought to route my audio out via ADAT.

I was thinking that I had to change the channel at every track. By default, those go to the master. So it's really as easy as pushing the Master Track button and selecting the output. That's a quick step and minor step when creating a new session. I can live with that. :D

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