it’s true the buttons are hard, and also add the fact that if you want to have it tilted on many stands the whole structure moves, at the moment I ended up putting it on the table horizontally and I had to decentralize my keyboard, but at least this way the buttons are solid and the knobs close… and also these knobs, why not put them at least under the screen instead of above? Meh… 
From Top: Screen, knobs, buttons. This would be best, but the indicators of what the knobs and buttons do will be in double rows an therfore less clear. Also the knobs under the screen could potentially be in the view of the screen from a flat angle.
I hate the shift and selcect buttons on the bottom right. I mostly use my left hand for the shift button. So it should be left.
Push 3 looks good and sounds so good. It is an incredible Powerhouse. But when I want to get in a musical flow, I still use my elektron boxes.
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I like the stiffness of the buttons - reduces the odds of accidentally hitting something when jamming. Also like that they made it splash proof. Jogwheel feels great as well. The capacitive knobs are great for stuff like selecting parameters to add to the matrix, and from that point of view I think having the screen underneath makes sense.
Possibly related, I also really don’t like the feel of the Digitakt buttons, too flimsy to me and unsatisfying because of this. Always reminds me of a 2006 era office keyboard. Much prefer the MKI Rytm and A4 steps which at least have a bit more resistance to them.
But whichever you prefer the physicality and underlying logic are totally different between both ways of doing things, with a very distinct flow. Push - and Move with its clicky step buttons - don’t feel like they’re really designed to fly around the place copying and pasting trigs and all the stuff that’s standard on Elektrons. For me at least Push/Move feel more like instruments that invite you to get on the pads and play, where - and I say this with love - to me Elektrons can sometimes feel more like I’m programming an oversized calculator.
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I must say that even with the stiff buttons I still find I get in a flow state easily on push3. it’s a great yoke.
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Push or Move are the two electronic instruments - and aside from that a guitar I guess - that I can most easily just lose an hour or two playing with sounds and trying things out. It’s a very different flow to what I get on an Elektron, which to feels more scientific and goal-focused.
So for me they each reward different methods and mindsets - I feel like taking an Elektron approach to Push kinda works but feels a bit unsatisfying. I would say vice versa, but really the only way of using an Elektron is with an Elektron approach.
Lucky to have both available although if I had to choose probably I find the Ableton stuff a bit easier to get in flow with, for me it feels more musical and relaxing / meditative.
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That’s a real issue on something like overdub or punch in recording, where you just want to catch the end of the bar, and then miss it because it didn’t register as a tap.
So yeah, I get it (and typically just blame myself anyway, so there’s that)
Push 3 is so much more elegant to use than push 2, I’d be amazed if anyone prefers a 2.
Don’t get me wrong, push 2 was good, but push 3 is better in every way in my opinion.
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I find the buttons on my Novation Circuits and Ableton Move a joy to use. Which speeds up my workflow massively. The Push buttons need more of a deliberate press, which slows me down, but makes me think more about what I’m doing. So the difference with Move and Push, means I actually produce slightly different music on each device.
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I have an adjustable desk I use for standing and sitting and have the push flat on there. It’s perfect since I can sit down and have it lower or at standing height.
Obviously not something you buy just for a push, but it’s a damn good combo.
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I can’t find a way to turn on the new Clip feature of the updates Auto Filter on my Push 3 SA…
Did Ableton “forget” to add this parameter as a control for Push, or did I miss something?
I’m on a push 2 now, now that they’ve got the bpm /and time signature stuff it’s hard to resist the P3,
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Do it!
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How do you folks all have your Push set up on the desk? Mine is off to the left, angled towards me and propped up on one of those folding laptop stands.
I have my computer keyboard in front of me, and a midi keyboard (the x-key 37) behind that.
I find I can use the Push off to the side like that, but having the computer keyboard anywhere but straight ahead drives me nuts.
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Yeah, I’m with you. I have my Push angled up slightly, dead centre but behind my computer keyboard. I’ve been looking at getting a new desk, and my main priority, when researching, is a desk that accommodates the Push plus computer keyboard depth.
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I had this issue and I RMA’d it, the new one doesn’t do it
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They did on the encoders but not on the main casing of the Push 2 IIRC. I’ve seen some nasty examples for sale on eBay and Reverb where the dreaded stickiness is obvious from the photos. I haven’t sold my Push 2 yet and have kept it in the original box to try to keep TPE meltdown at bay.
Mine’s on a pull out drawer under my desk with my System 8, so quite low and on the right hand side. Have thought about angling it, but the viewing angle is good and there’s not that much headroom under there. I’d consider putting it front and centre, but I also use this desk for work stuff so probably it’d involve moving it back and forth a lot so not worth the hassle. Also leaves the upper desk free for swapping in and out other gear that are less of a constant than Push is.
Jammed for a couple of hours last night just starting a fresh set with Fors Dyad and going from there instead of using one of my usual templates, a good time all around. It really lends itself to improvisation.
One gear-related thought out of that, for me the knob placement above the screen makes a lot more sense than below, I don’t really think that going over the screen to make changes affects visual feedback, or at least it’s better than having them below constantly in your line of sight for the lower part of the screen. Or maybe I’ve just got the muscle memory down at this stage, idk.
Tried this out last night and fwiw I think I still prefer the existing solution of setting up the performance pack devices with variations mapped to BPM. I prefer having the option of changing the tempo over a couple of beats/bars rather than having a sharp jump every single time. Nice to have control over this without having to patch it up though, more options are always good.
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I have the P3 right infront of my Monitor on an angled stand, with my computer keyboard infont of push and my mouse pad to the right. Many things constantly move around in my setup, but the push always remains front and center
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I’ve built a stand that’s off to the right of my computer keyboard, mouse and monitor. The stand is steeply angled, about 55-60 degrees, because I have neck problems and leaning over gear and looking downwards becomes very painful.
My Push 3 is a controller version but I use it as if it were standalone… I do as much as possible directly on the Push without looking at the computer.
I’ve found that if I put Push directly in front of the computer monitor it kind of gets in the way. Either I’m using Push as a hardware instrument and arranger, or I’m controlling Live with mouse and keyboard. Putting Push off to one side at right angles to the computer desk so I cannot even see the monitor changes the whole vibe for me, it feels like an Elektron workflow in many ways.
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This is partly how I ended up with mine off to the side. I can easily turn in my chair and use it exclusively, or I can use Ableton on the screen in front of me, and glance over to tweak or play on the pads.
Using the Push as my main audio interface helps too, as i can just switch it on and go.
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