

But if you're a creative musician or producer, you should seriously consider getting the Ableton Push 2 - it'll widen your horizons and help you to make music in new ways!Īs a (perhaps not great!) analogy, think of smart phones - no one thought they needed one. However, despite the rising popularity of grid controllers over the past few years, they're still not part of everyone's setups. There are lots of kinds of gear which are a no brainer: for instance, if you own a guitar you'll need an amp if you want to record at home, you'll need microphones, etc. But whether you're an Ableton Live user or not, there are many more reasons why you should add Push to your setup. Very happy with purchases.Sure, the Ableton Push 2 is the ultimate Live controller. I bought the Decksaver over the Prodector as it was the heaviest, weight-wise. replaces a lot of stuff & adds incredible utility & functionality with Max4Live. With clip envelopes, you can go to town, sending unlinked, polymeter midi CC out to synths with wild results. Push 2 has that tight, syncopated vibe too. Its kinda like 'playing' a step sequencer. creating stuff that I'd never have done with a keyboard or midi roll in Ableton. One thing I loved & then missed about the MPC was its midi functionality. Staying in that flow, finding a groove & building layers of sound.Ĭreating this way sounds more organic. There is genuinely something special about being able to create a groove with your fingertips & being able to interact with patterns on the fly. I bought the Push 2 to demo & ended up keeping it. Missed the workflow of my Akai MPC2500, being able to jam & create the music with my hands. But if you are looking for a general purpose MIDI controller or your primary DAW is not Ableton, there are better choices at this price point.

I would recommend it to beginner and advanced Ableton users alike. It is sturdy, well designed, aesthetically pleasing, and a lot of fun to play and if you are accustomed to working without controllers, or with other comparable controllers at this price point, you are in for a treat! The Push 2 has transformed my production workflow entirely and it is now at the center of my home studio. In summary, it is a very broad and very deep controller, thoughtfully designed to make arrangement and performance intuitive and pleasurable. But if you are looking for a hardware interface to Ableton Live it is unmatched! It is a class-compliant MIDI device, but it's MIDI over USB, so there are some limitations if you want to work directly with other hardware devices. But there are better choices of controller if you are working primarily with another DAW. I have used the Push 2 with Renoise, and a useful subset of the basic feature set is preserved, provided you are willing to do some work to configure it. If you are using the Push 2 with another DAW, you will lose quite a bit of functionality. Practically everything just works, right out of the box and the community around Ableton and the Push 2 is exceptional! VST integration is surprisingly straightforward too, requiring minimal setup. The encoders are smooth and much more accurate than I expected, and they feel good to work with. The pads are touch sensitive and a joy to play. Menu navigation is a breeze and very intuitively organised. You can expect to make your first beats within minutes of plugging the device in! Sample slicing, mangling, and sequencing with the controller is a game-changer for me and the high-res display is excellent. It is quick and easy to get up and running, but the device has many advanced features if you are willing to put in the time. I use it for breakcore, acid, and trance production and it adapts exceptionally well to each production context.
Step sequencer ableton push software#
Since it was purpose built for Ableton, integration with the software is practically flawless. The Push 2 is an excellent controller for the Ableton user.
