I JUST LOVE THIS THING <- A bit of Push 3 positivity for a change :)

[Farley]

We've just finished a multiple hour jamm sesh with a friend. He brought a guitar and his awesome nasty 30 plugin Ableton effect rack. There was also 6 different instruments in the session (some multisamples, some synths, played one at a time), backing track and a vocal effect chain track fed by a dynamic mic.

On 64 samples it handled the session in standalone mode like a champ. So it's a groovebox, sampler, idea sketch machine, vocal effector and a damn good guitar pedal (because you can chain stuf, resynthesize it and whatever). All at once. I can definitely imagine running a three person show just off that single machine. Bonkers.

I haven o idea how you managed to optimize it so well. But damn, I have to be REALLY demanding to choke it up. Good job Ableton. I really mean it. And I hope this groovebox has success, because we need this "HW->DAW->HW" workflow in the world. Love it. It has glitches to iron out, yes, but I feel like the negative opinions are way too loud and people kinda forget about how awesome this machine is. Thanks guys. You rock. <3

PS: Also thanks for making it as repairable as possible. Btw any tips on how to take good care of the battery? Should I leave it plugged in or disconnect it when not in use? Cheers.

[braduro]

That's a really cool consideration: that it's also an effects box for an inst/mic input.
Do you think as a DSP it's legitimately passing that sound with a manageable amount of latency that it could be used as an effects box? Could you record something through fx without feeling like your timing or monitoring was off? Does it have direct monitoring? (Monitoring of the input signal without going through the playback engine?)

Or how about an insert point for guitar pedals? Surely, that's a pretty awesome application for the inputs/outputs as well?

J

[Farley]

Definitely yes. That was what we were trying to test and the unit kinda blew our minds. 64 samples of latency are like 4ms at most? That's nothing. That guitar felt instant. We didin't check latency compensation in recorded material, but for live throughput it's 100% usable.

The only time we got it choked up is when we tried 32 samples, played guitar through that same 30 effects chain, I was playing MPE orchestra multisample on the pads in the same time and I just tried to stress it out by putting my whole damn hand wide spread on the pad board to activate as much of polyphony as possible.

But if you "settle" for 64 samples (so 4 ms insread of 2), there was no problem at all. The latencies were no problem what so ever. Insane.

For the monitoring: No direct. It goes straight to the engine. But with 4ms latency it's not really needed I think.

[102455]

I'm finding my battery goes flat after what seems like no time, leaving the Push 3 sitting idle.

[Tarekith]

Wrong thread, let’s keep this one for positive comments please.

[102455]

Just responding (honestly) to OP's last paragraph about the battery, is all.

[jlgrimes]

We've just finished a multiple hour jamm sesh with a friend. He brought a guitar and his awesome nasty 30 plugin Ableton effect rack. There was also 6 different instruments in the session (some multisamples, some synths, played one at a time), backing track and a vocal effect chain track fed by a dynamic mic.

On 64 samples it handled the session in standalone mode like a champ. So it's a groovebox, sampler, idea sketch machine, vocal effector and a damn good guitar pedal (because you can chain stuf, resynthesize it and whatever). All at once. I can definitely imagine running a three person show just off that single machine. Bonkers.

I haven o idea how you managed to optimize it so well. But damn, I have to be REALLY demanding to choke it up. Good job Ableton. I really mean it. And I hope this groovebox has success, because we need this "HW->DAW->HW" workflow in the world. Love it. It has glitches to iron out, yes, but I feel like the negative opinions are way too loud and people kinda forget about how awesome this machine is. Thanks guys. You rock. <3

PS: Also thanks for making it as repairable as possible. Btw any tips on how to take good care of the battery? Should I leave it plugged in or disconnect it when not in use? Cheers.

I think it's best use is as a tool for Live performances as you can trigger stems, tracks for a Live show. Having a Battery is useful as well.

Also paired with a Launchkey makes it even better as the same integration as normal Ableton is present makes it useful without a laptop.

About once a month I let the battery drain out. Otherwise I leave it plugged in. I remember hearing it is good to keep some batteries at about 50% to increase the life. I'm not as sure if Ableton is using the same tech.

[braduro]

4ms latency that is platform agnostic--that doesn't punish me for having an older computer--is a pretty welcome prospect. That's about the same latency as bluetooth midi, which I'm researching concurrently with the CME-WIDI products. And I suspect, that would feel breezy with some outboard/guitar pedal effects. Sounds like you monitored playback through ableton effects, which is ambitious already.

Think of the battery as a safety for if you unplug the thing by mistake, for example, or have a power outage and need to save a session. I am a field recordist, dialog recordist by trade. And your battery life in a dedicated mixer bag, particularly while recording, would be of the same magnitude. If you were to compare this to a mixer-recorder, you'd get bigger external, 98W Lithium Ion batteries in a cradle. And you'd only use the internal batteries for smooth transitions between your external battery swap outs. Otherwise, plugging it in is a great way to go. I'd do the same if I was performing on a laptop: the exceptions belong in casual situations, like a picnic table, that sort of thing.

-*-

As for just triggering and launching stems, a dj would love this thing as well. Consider the improvements in their auto-warp and you could warp and cue tracks on the fly.

The Push 2 had an option to swap the pitch bend for a crossfader. I imagine they'll work things out. And the new big knob is heaven-sent for firing scenes. I'm glad I got through to someone on the tap tempo having a bigger landing pad as well...I'm sure there are other design details and user cases that don't make the common reviews...

[dcjams]

It's versatility is one of its main draws for me. It wears so many hats and covers so many bases. Negatvity has come from two camps. Those who expected too much and those who have encountered teething problems. They both should be heard but it's always good to keep negative comments in context.

You've inspired me to dust off my guitar. Thanks!

[Farley]

I think it's best use is as a tool for Live performances as you can trigger stems, tracks for a Live show. Having a Battery is useful as well.

Also paired with a Launchkey makes it even better as the same integration as normal Ableton is present makes it useful without a laptop.

Agreed 100%. I paired it with a little Korg fader controller, just to have some extra CC's available at all times. I still love that little detail that the Push works also as a hub for USB midi controllers and the CC addresses are constistent between control and SA modes. That means I can assign all the faders in big ableton and those assignments work in SA mode. Love that. Love that so much.

This box pretty much replaces a few cases full of gear when it comes to live shows. So cool.

[ezilybored]

I'm here for the positivity too. Having a great time with my Push 3. I have created so much more in the last few months since I got it.

I have the controller version and still find it easy to pick up and move to the sofa with my laptop. The laptop sits on the shelf behind me and the Push is on my lap. Thinking of getting the standalone upgrade to make this a laptop free process after Christmas.

I'm under no illusions that the Push3 would replace my laptop in my music making process. For me it exists at either end of the cycle. At the start it exists as an ideas pad. Quickly program a beat, chop some samples, get some loops going in a very hands on way. Then at the other end of the process it is great for a live performance. Playing rendered loops of audio with sample playback on the pads. In between these two, yep the laptop and studio are needed.

I have some issues with it, but am sure they will be fixed at some point and they are not hindering my music production or fun in a severe way.

[Farley]

Exactly. Agreed 100%. The very beginning and very end of the process, that's where Push 3 shines. It's like a guitar, but for electronic music. Yes, you have to learn a little, but then it's awesome both for jamming at the start and for the performance at the finish line.

And honestly, I'm even more than OK with that inability to make a full track on it. Even when considering standalone MPC and stuff, I always thought: "Yeah sure, that's cool, but I want to use my VST's to finish a song. Also all the sounddesign, arrangement, resampling, mixing edits, it's all faster with a mouse. In order for all that to happen, I need to stem the track and bring it to a big DAW anyway." So for me Push 3 workflow is perfect. It just transfers seamlessly.

Example.
Jam in standalone mode: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs90_kmJrAB/
Finished and released track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YlitUFa5g

If I got any other groovebox, I would naturally gravitate to the way I use Push 3 now. I don't know how they did it, but they designed a perfect product for me.

[braduro]

Wow, Farley! That’s genuinely an evolution of an idea.

As for finishing, it seems so simple, but even having a couple encoders under one’s fingertips really makes all the difference. Such a subtle consideration, but take an eq notch and a gain—if you have a controller that lets you close your eyes and make these little decisions, you can make a finished piece of music like Farley here

[lmbauer2017]

I just wanted to tack onto this thread... I've been posting and finding bugs, but then I became a beta tester and found that almost ALL of them where fixed. Huge props to Ableton for hauling @ss working on these. I'm amazed how active they are in reading posts and taking in feedback. Keep it up!