introducing the Ableton Push

"Push" is a new instrument that solves an old problem : how to make a song from scratch. With hands-on control of melody and harmony, beats, sounds, and song structure, Push puts the fundamental elements of music making at your fingertips ; and it fits in a backpack alongside your laptop. Of course you need Live 9 from Ableton as well since the pad is just the controller, but since the controller is USB connected, it is a matter of time till some mod will surface allowing for the pad to be integrated in other set-ups, or interfacing to other software suites. Live 9 runs on your Mac or PC and provides multitrack recording, instruments, effects, and everything else you need to make music.

When Ableton Live was first released over ten years ago, it was labeled a “sequencing instrument.” The radical idea was that you could “play” your production tool, which had (and has) big implications in studios, at home, and onstage. However, “playing” with a mouse and keyboard is unsatisfying for most, so even that relatively primitive first version had MIDI controller mapping.

Push is a controller only; it has no audio interface. Instead, it’s a rectangular slab (a bit thicker than an average laptop, closed), dominated by an 8×8 grid of RGB-lit, pressure-sensitive pads. A vertical touch strip along the pads provides additional continuous control. Along the left and right are sets of trigger buttons for selection, editing, transport control, and other dedicated options. At top is a row of eight touch-sensitive encoders above an LED display for menus, parameters, and other functions. Push is powered via USB, but a jack for the included world-voltage AC adapter lets you increase the brightness. On the back, you’ll also find two jacks for pedals – these work just as sustain and expression pedals would normally; they’re the same as you’d find on any MIDI keyboard and can be assigned to whatever you like. (And since you might be playing a virtual piano with Push, they’re also necessary.) [1] In the following video see the Push in action :

There are a lot of ways to use Push, to the point of focusing entirely on one set of features and ignoring the rest. But the way you start a song – Push’s big selling point – is likely to appeal to a lot of users. It’s a rare case in which you’re actually likely to work in precisely the way you see in a software demo. With Push connected, Live will ask if you want to begin a new song. You can either choose your own project, or let Live add tracks for drums, bass, and the new Live 9 grand piano. Then, the idea is to start playing. You can play instruments and drums directly into clips, or step-sequence drums into clips, using new functions for creating or duplicating clips to build ideas. [1]

[1] Ref. http://createdigitalmusic.com/2013/03/push-in-depth-test-whats-it-like-playing-the-new-hardware-from-ableton/ an in-depth review