Simply, they added a lock button. On Push 2, you have to hold the mute or solo buttons to lock it, enabling quick solo/muting of tracks.
On P3 that lock button, as simple as it is, makes muting/soloing performance ready.
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I think for a while at least things on P2 continued to work on the P1 - obviously the visuals were different but I think the functions were the same.
Do the buttons feel any different to the Push 2? I found them a bit stiff for my liking on the P2.
Just came across this.
You are probably right–Ableton is now and will continue to support the Push 2 for a while. They just discontinued it, so people will expect to have it supported for some time. But, as the guy in the video comparing the two points out, after some time, it is also at least possible, if not quite likely, that Ableton will stop supporting the Push 2, which could mean you have to stick with a certain version of Ableton to continue to use your Push 2, or you can’t use new features, etc. Push 3 is “future proofing” things–Ableton sold the Push 2 for 8 years. The Push 3 is designed to have a sales life even longer than that.
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I’d say they’re slightly less spongy, bit more of a positive click, many made from a firmer material, not rubber.
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I’ll say this, if you don’t want MPE, there’s not much reason for going over. Why?
Because the jog wheel actually (in my opinion) downgrades the selection experience. With the P2, I have my collections set up so I can just Add Device, then touch-grab three encoders in sequence and boom, I’ve got an auto-filter on the track. A couple of seconds from end to end. If I make a mistake, I dance back to the encoder one to the left and reselect my collection. No clicking involved.
On the P3, I Add Device, and then I’ve got to click the big jog wheel, and turn and click, and click it again, and turn, and click, on the same wheel. 5-6 seconds and a lot of the time I make a mistake with the clicking and push the wheel left and go back by accident and my frustration builds. I can’t use the encoders across the top because Ableton has put new things there (a Preview toggle, and the ability to assign things to collections from the unit).
Everything else, better on the P3. The MPE pads are what I bought it for and they do not disappoint. But if you aren’t using those (or the CV outs, which I am, or the audio interface), a strong case can be made that the P2 is the better controller-only option because the P3 has grown some things only the standalone version really needed.
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I ended up using some 75% ethanol hand sanitizer since we have boatloads left from the pandemic. It worked great. Just let it soak in for a few minutes and it just wiped off.
I would recommend taking off the back panel though as to not leak into the electronics.
I also sanded it down since I didnt like the glossy finish. Now it’s grey with some texture to it.
Anyone looking to save your sets from Push 2 can use this. Its a M4L device that sends ctrl+s key commands to Ableton.
I have it on my default set and mapped it to a button in user mode. The only thing is that the first save requires keyboard to name the set, then after that its easy to keep saving the set from Push 2.
Works fine on 11.3.3 and been using it for years.
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Thanks for the reply 
I guess I’ve been spoilt by those lovely Elektron clicky buttons. The P3 does look awesome though. Might take them up on the 30 day trial thing, see if it ahem… clicks with me.
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Have you tried using the 7th and 8th encoders? They work for me in Standalone. I still use the encoders and D-pad, but then use the jog wheel for smaller ranges of navigation.
They do work, which is nice, but they don’t have the same behaviour as P2, where you just move to the next encoder to the right to go down the hierarchy without clicking, and go left any number of steps to go back without multiple jog-wheel-left clicks.
EDIT: it certainly helps me get through my Big Purple Collection of MPE-compatible things quicker though, for which thanks
Great perspective from someone very much used to the P2 moving to P3. It sounds like you have a very efficient workflow and muscle memory for P2. For those of us who’ve never considered a Push until the release of the P3, would you say the P3 still suffers compared to the P2? (BTW, I really DO care about MPE, so the P2 is not a serious consideration, but still interested in your thoughts).
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I haven’t really formed an opinion yet, on it being better or worse than before because it still requires lifting my hand to move to the next encoder (P2) vs moving between encoder, jog wheel and D-Pad (P3).
D-Pad is the best for quick navigation of a long folder!
Regarding the sticky TPE surface, I’m wondering if the material was changed in new batches. I just bought a second hand Push 2 which was only a few months old. It appears to have a hard plastic coating instead of the soft-touch material.
The buttons are still soft-touch though.
It’s better in a bunch of other, small ways. The buttons are slightly better, more tactile, less spongy. Not by much, but by enough. There’s a Capture MIDI button. I use that all the time so having it there is a godsend. I use the CV outs to an 0-Coast and an MS-20FS, so that’s really nice to have. And if I go to visit family, I can take the unit and one or two small synths and I don’t have to schlep a Clarett 4Pre (previously I just wouldn’t have taken the hardware synths) as well as a Push.
But MPE? The pads are a revelation. I’m a drummer, I play keys in a mediocre sense, and I can play guitar and bass, so the 4ths layout of pads is great and being able to gliss like a guitar is also fantastic. Sending gate, pitch, slide and AT to CV makes any session with the 0-Coast or MS-20 a finger-based sound design joy — slides translate beautifully. This is a great CV control instrument.
And the MPE drums from the Session and Club packs are phenomenal if you practice and get your technique down. I used to record drums from a Roland TD-20 triggering Superior Drummer. I mostly don’t trouble myself like that now…
The P3 literally only suffers in two areas: the selection thing I’m on about here, and the bugs (oh god, the bugs). But is it going to be worth it if you play and like to play expressively? Yes. I thought the 2 was a lovely poly AT instrument (I bought it secondhand and only had it 2-3 months before the 3 was released). But this? This is love. Some nights you can’t tear me off Arturia’s CS-80V (because with the MPE, it begins to make a lot of sense).
The P2 is a fantastic production device that got me away from my computer and resembled an instrument. This is an instrument. The P2 is still in service in the studio as a production tool. I can’t bring myself to sell it; it still has a place, because hands on, it’s faster to produce on. For me. YMMV.
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Oh btw: speaking to your “muscle memory” part — like I say, I only had it a couple of months. The amazing thing about that piece of design, for me (and I didn’t know the P2 had touch-sensitive knobs before I bought it) was that it took next to zero time to develop that muscle memory because as a piece of design, it was just superb (I already had my most-used plugins in the Red collection). My jaw fair dropped it was that good. I’m taking a lot longer to develop comparable muscle memory on the 3. They’ve reduced it to (good, but still divey) menu diving.
Thanks for taking the time to provide such a thoughtful and thorough response. I am new to Live and waiting for my P3CO (not sure of the nomenclature so thinking this is good for Push 3 Controller Only). I am not ready to fork over $2,000 until I see if I like Live and Push enough to justify it (although I did already buy a (discounted) license for Live Suite, so probably going to stick with Live as my main DAW). I am also not very impressed with a 2 hour battery, so hoping that gets upgraded in the next couple of years, then might upgrade to standalone. Right now, I am using a combination of Linnstrument for MPE and a Squarp Hapax for hardware-based step sequencing. I am waiting to see what Push adds or might end up replacing in my studio setup. I also go to my cabin quite often, so like you, I would love to eventually be able to bring just the Push and maybe one synth (Cobalt8, Hydrasynth, A4, or Iridium). You’re mentioning the CV option also makes me think I might want to finally explore CV on some of my CV capable stuff).
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Besides the MPE the, Push 3 sends midi and CV and can send and record audio. That’s a huge difference. I found the clock to be quite tight on my macbook, so that means no sync box required anymore to record drum machines.
The build quality is better as well, but that MIDI out is a game changer for me.
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