Just noticed a few packs had updates, just downloading now…
Sometimes I think Push 3 rather should have focused on full M4L support than on MPE Pads.
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It made sense to get the pads sorted because that side of the device involves hardware which will need to stand the test of time and trends for years to come. Other stuff that involves software can be added later. And its not necessarily the same company human resources being used to work on these different things anyway.
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No news. Im not talking to Ableton about it myself, and I didnt raise a ticket with them. Because mine only does it on first boot of the day and so even if a hardware fix is required I’m not going to get mine replaced as soon as possible, I will wait a while. And if mine started doing it more often I would be tempted to use the workaround of placing something metallic in that area for now. At least until I know whether they can work around the issue in firmware.
Well, I might be eating my own words here….
Seeing as it’s sitting there all boxed up, and I’d not been getting great results this weekend using the Machine+ (recording bass guitar into it just sounded terrible for some reason), also getting fed up with M+ packs and browser for user samples with only two layers to the directory, missing Warp, missing parametric EQ with visual feedback, compressors with visual feedback etc etc. I thought I’d give the P3 another go whilst it’s here.
Finally sat down in standalone mode. And pretty happy tbh. Few odd bugs with some settings not changing when turning knobs until you exit the page and go back, mixer seems to respond oddly and almost delayed response.
And seeing as I’ve been using the M+ with the knobs below the screen, I can safely say my hands get in the way much more often than when the knobs are above the screen like on the P3. I do feel like I’ve been hunched over though, so if it stays, I’ll need a stand to angle it slightly.
But audio quality was great! No odd pad behaviours today either.
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I hear you. This is my first Squarp device, and there was a lot of hype about how they loaded up extra features on their previous devices, and for Hapax, this was just the beginning. I’ve had mine nearly a year, and it doesn’t seem like they’ve added much at all. There’s a lot of complaining over at the Squarp forums about this. Maybe something internal has them distracted, but that’s just speculation. I am hoping Push/Live gives me a better foundation to use a hardware sequencer for sequencing lots of different synthesizers simultaneously, even if that means sequencing ITB synths and samples. I have found the Hapax, along with the MRCC midi controller, a great way to sequence multiple hardware midi instruments, but I also found myself feeling pretty limited in what I can do with it.
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Its not hard to look at all the firmware release logs for their Pyramid, and study the dates. They added plenty over 5-6 years but there were also a few occasions where a year went by between updates.
So its still too early in the lifetime of the Hapax for me to draw proper conclusions.
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I probably wouldn’t have bought one without them to be fair! I think that’s the one aspect that they’ve absolutely nailed, and I’ve been having a great time using it 90% of the time as an MPE controller for Bitwig. That Push 3 LFO posted earlier makes me think that most of the stuff you need to make M4L devices work nicely on the Push is already there, so I’m hoping we’ll see a lot of movement there as that knowledge percolates through the M4L community.
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I launched a simple scene chainer M4L device that works on Push Standalone. Basically it will play back your scenes in order. No setup or configuration needed. If you already bought the song mode device, you can email me and get Scene Chainer free. Thanks all for the support and suggestions! Any other M4L devices folks want to see for Push 3??
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when I read dataline talk about prepping for his upcoming show I had to wonder is there any utility that ableton has already come out with or is planning to come out with that would facilitate transferring a project you are working on into an optimal project to be played on the push 3 in stand alone mode for your upcoming shows?
would be great if there was a one click solution that turned everything to audio or maybe had options to do whatever you needed done to prepare for your Live set, for example maybe you want to compile the set to playable mode but un check a box that leaves midi tracks alone if you are going to continue to use midi live, but if you did check said box, everything gets turned to audio and stored on the push etc…
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I was thinking I shouldn’t respond, to avoid distractions from the Push 3 topic of this thread, but then realized my comment applies to the Push 3 just as much as the Hapax. So, here goes, “you know what they say… 'don’t buy gear for what you hope it can do with updates, buy it for what it can do when you buy it…” So much of the Push 3 talk is about fixing bugs, which is great, but alot of it is about things like, “will Push 3 get to a point of reliably running M4L devices?” and “will Push 3 eventually have an arrangement view?” All great questions, but I have to remember, if I am buying any device, I need to ask, “is it what I want right now, based on its current functionality?” TBH, and to be fair to the developers, I’d say the answer is a resounding yes for both Hapax and Push 3.
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I ended up selling my Hapax, Oxi One, and Erae Touch (Mpe controller) for this.
I’m gonna sell my Push 2 eventually but kinda hoping the price bounces back. Plus if Push 3 ends up being so unstable even in controller mode I can call back on my trusty Push 2. Doubt that will be the case.
Hapax is great but considering I work in ableton anyways it was sort of adding an extra kink in my workflow. I was using my Oxi One mainly for CV but then I ended up getting an ES-9 which allows me to use Ableton for CV which made that redundant.
And I’ve always loved the Push 2 workflow. It’s not perfect by any means, though the push 3 layout of the buttons and the click wheel look like it will vastly improve certain areas. But it’s extremely intuitive. I wish Ableton came out with a stand-alone awhile ago. I wouldn’t have fucked around with Maschine+ or MPC.
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Yep I sold about everything as well and mine shows up tomorrow. I will say that if it doesn’t work out, I may send it back and repurchase down the road when they dial it in better. But I don’t regret selling a lot of my other hardware pieces. The truth is I can sit with Ableton now and make anything I want.
The Push3 is a rare buy where I am buying it for what I hope it will do. But I talk to people close enough to Ableton and am confident that I will be fine there. I also bought the Dirtywave M8 early on and that development has been exceptional. I know Ableton will deliver, the fact that they made a standalone really defied all expectations. It was something I asked for in threads here and many people said it would never be done. Ableton really brought the heat on this one and they are committed to it long term, which I really appreciate.
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I like your pragmatic yet hopeful optimism. You’ve captured how I feel and what I hope for. I can’t imagine Ableton releasing this thing only to not support it.
That being said, business in Europe rends to slow down quite a but in mid to late summer, so I am expecting at least one major update pretty soon to fix at least some of the launch issues that people are experiencing.
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So after some use of the standalone version, I am generally happy with it. But find myself more and more using it as a controller plugged into the laptop.
I don’t think anyone can deny this has been a rushed release. And some really funny omissions from the standalone version that have me baffled it even managed to get out the door. (Say, external instrument, set channel to MPE… channel configuration? Wops. Not here)
Generally what has me most challenged is a lack of a fluent workflow. A lot is possible, it’s just all a bit clunky right now.
For example, I grab my A4 before I go to Analog on the Push because I work way faster on the A4… and the UX working with the Push synth on standalone is just a mess right now.
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I tend to agree, when comparing the sound design workflow of P3 to an elektron device. But, consider that you can a build instrument rack with 16 macros which will load by default when you select the track on P3 (if it’s the first device in the track).
Yes it will take some setup time, but so does making macros on the A4. I find macros to be super valuable when you want to save time and avoid the temptation to dive into a sound design rabbit hole. “Just get on with it.” So that my plan, create instrument racks with 16 macros and try to use those exclusively when creating on P3 in standalone mode.
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I dont find that one so baffling. Because there arent all that many synths that require a more limited channel range (though Sequentials sucha s the OB6 is an obvious example that plenty of people own). But more importantly because there should be a workaround - Save some External Instruments with channel ranges set how you want as presets on a computer and then transfer those presets over. Not ideal but workable while waiting for these options to be exposed directly on the Push.
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I wonder how many people are new to the Push workflow jumping straight in on Push 3.
I’m curious what their experience is like versus long time Push users (say since Push 1).
There seems to be a lot of surprise about what the Push 3 can and can’t do.
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I had Push 1 long time ago, but never clicked with my workflow, now with standalone I can create the foundation of tracks super easy, on Sunday started 2 tracks that are already finished on Bitwig after some mix tweaks and bus processing.
I feel it really really easy and fast to use, just a shame that it has some important bugs right now.
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The Model One.
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