Ableton Forum

Does anyone else have this with their P3's pads? There's a chemical smell that's a bit like vanilla crossed with plastic that rises up from the pads. It gives me a weird headache when working with it on a horizontal surface. I don't remember this with the first P3 I had that was returned. This one's been with me a couple of weeks, I think, and it doesn't appear to be getting significantly less.

rgarner wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 02, 2023 11:56 am

Does anyone else have this with their P3's pads? There's a chemical smell that's a bit like vanilla crossed with plastic that rises up from the pads. It gives me a weird headache when working with it on a horizontal surface. I don't remember this with the first P3 I had that was returned. This one's been with me a couple of weeks, I think, and it doesn't appear to be getting significantly less.

Does it happen for you when you work longer time with it? So when the device gets warm?

Roland- wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 02, 2023 5:27 pm

Does it happen for you when you work longer time with it? So when the device gets warm?

I'm not sure. I certainly notice it more over time, maybe it's just building up in my nostrils. At first I thought the traffic was heavy outside or something was on fire. I know it's weird, but if you sniff your pads, what do they smell of? I asked my partner to smell the pads. She said "Eeeeurgh".

> what do they smell of?
Hmmm. Not much.

102455 wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 02, 2023 7:41 pm

> what do they smell of?
Hmmm. Not much.

Thanks for checking, appreciate it.

Mine smells of misery and failed dreams, but other than that no chemical smell.

Tarekith wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 02, 2023 8:39 pm

Mine smell of misery and failed dreams, but other than that no chemical smell.

Thanks for checking. I then had to check that my own misery and failed dreams did not smell of vanilla and burned plastic, and in discovering that they did not (mostly sulphur and bile), I opened a support ticket.

This sounds like a faulty battery. If I were you I would return immediately. You may want to remove the battery and try controller mode. If this is a faulty battery, that’s poison gas you are breathing. Good luck.

dougtheguy wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 02, 2023 10:23 pm

This sounds like a faulty battery. If I were you I would return immediately. You may want to remove the battery and try controller mode. If this is a faulty battery, that’s poison gas you are breathing. Good luck.

This is a controller-only Push 3.

It would've been wise to mention that in the first post

So it's presumably not down to heat then, as the standalone ones get pretty toasty.

102455 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 03, 2023 4:34 pm

So it's presumably not down to heat then, as the standalone ones get pretty toasty.

Well, although the unit presumably doesn't get as hot as a standalone, it does warm up some, and the smell (and my headache) definitely gets worse as it gets hotter.

It's 3 weeks later today since support said they'd process this as a return. I've asked what's happening a couple of times but no response. I realised things are somewhat backed up but absolute radio silence without even a holding response for 21 days is ... well, you tend — rightly or wrongly — to feel somewhat abandoned.

EDIT: clicked "Submit" here and there was an email in my inbox as I came back. It's always the way, isn't it?

Thank goodness. The new one is here and it's positively fragrant. Long may this continue. I'm loving it again.