Ableton Push 2 Reviews

Incredible offer, just don't look under the rug.

TLDR

It's a great controller for home / studio use. For serious professional live performances, be smart and invest in top end hardware. This is a toy.

SCORING

I'm not following any kind of logic here, just going by feels. I'm very picky about my stuff so I'm taking away points where I've been hurt:

# Look & Feel: 9/10

It feels premium. It's great to touch, use, and look at.

# Overall Quality: 6/10

-- Has a lot of rough edges

-- Ableton should charge more and put only the best of the best in hardware.

-- Normal playing will sometimes fire a note at full velocity. Velocity detection range is that great either it works against you when trying to be expressive.

-- The touch slider indicator light is not centered which often causes me to press where the light is and the detection there isn't good.

-- Inconsistent twist feel / force on FX modulator knobs.

# Features 8/10

-- Lacks support for arrangement mode, but the potential is there, you just need to program it yourself. I'd take away another point here, but I purchased it knowing that fact.

-- Lacks support for programming it, requires third party solutions for more control.

-- Would've appreciated a more open software stack.

# Fun factor: 11/10

-- So much fun!

# Push Community: 11/10

-- A lot of cool tricks, apps, hacks, the community is really involved.

FINAL VERDICT

Would I buy again if I could go back in time? Yes.

Would I go play a big show in front of thousands with this? Hell no!

Nothing else gives you this many features; in this small form factor and at this price. Yes I know it's big, but compare it to a fully decked out 61 keys keyboard and you'll be glad to have a device this small you can place and play anywhere.

Ableton Push 2

The most useful digital tool that a musician or a student can acquire. It offers a unique "hands-on" experience over writing and editing MIDI instruments and lets the user extend their creativity with really interesting digital tools and features.

Feeling wise, the rotary knobs, the multicolour display and the button pads make the user feel the sturdiness of the device as the engineering and user structure provided by Ableton allows the artist to expand and understand their targets better. It has a great sense for velocity and touch response and also is really helpful with understanding music theory issues as scales and rhythm. The lights of the touch pads give a helpful experience over understanding scales and chords, as they also accommodate greatly a communication between editing clips or triggers.

I enjoy the most the versatility between custom midi mappings and taking control over your external instruments and gear.

To conclude, Ableton Push 2 is an absolute game changer and a real value for money for anyone interested in digital media

The ultimate Ableton controller

IMO the best Ableton controller and the coolest one.

With 3rd party upgrades and "hacks" you can get even more out of it and it's super awesome. I recommend it. There are many cool controllers out there and I cannot tell you if this is "the best" for everyone or if there even such a thing but..

I am very satisfied and don't regret my purchase, and I think if you're an ableton "guy", it's hard to hate on it. ;)

I've had a lot of joy and fun with the push2 already and look forward to having a lot more.

Good device for Ableton users

One thing I didn't know before I bought - is that Push is not so good with 3rd party instruments, I mean for example presets switch in some vsts, but you can map 90% of controls and use it with comfort, also arrangement and mixing better to do without it, but anyway:

it is very good tool for creative part of music creation or performance.

PS: 4 starts for handling is about a bit late delivery and some troubles with payment, all other was good.

Fantastic tool, but quality control leaves a lot to be desired

The Push 2 has a lot of functionality, and I really loved its workflow, but I've just sent back my second one and both have had build quality issues.

The first one had problems with the touch strip, meaning pitch bends were very inconsistent, and the second had 2 touch pads on the main grid that would get stuck on a note sometimes, and sometimes even trigger randomly. Both of these issues really took you out of the groove when playing, and not what I would expect out of a £500 luxury midi controller.

If you get lucky and get one without any manufacturing problems however, it's a great little box!

I honestly don't know how I could live without this for so many years. It's such an awesome product and it makes composing so much more fun.

3 years and still running beutifully

best price I found. the service and tracking went beautifully.

IDK how they can make the push 2 any better and has thoroughly improved my workflow.

Go to controller

This has become my go-to MIDI controller. An absolute essential part of my studio and performance rig.

A must-have for any music creator using Live10*

Im using Push in my home studio.

Depending on your creative process, I definitely recommend this product for artists that also do live performances. For production purposes only .. i strongly encourage anyone to give the launchpad pro a try as well.

Pros :

sturdy piece of equipment

perfect remote control for live10 especially when you create in session view.

Cons:

I've noticed somehow the same problem at my launchpad x... the pads velocities feel like it is not equal for every pad..which is a bit disappointing.

Overall: i didn't expect it to have those pad sensitivity issues...and im sorry to say : you ll get used to it, because it costs a lot.

Again, buying one just adds up to why are u using it for ?

if you do a lot of live gigs .. you defo need one.... if you re in it for the sampling , production and the chopps, try launchpad pro.

hope it helps you !

Excellent controller for Ableton

The Push 2 is an excellent controller for the Ableton user. Since it was purpose built for Ableton, integration with the software is practically flawless. I use it for breakcore, acid, and trance production and it adapts exceptionally well to each production context. 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. 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. Menu navigation is a breeze and very intuitively organised. The pads are touch sensitive and a joy to play. The encoders are smooth and much more accurate than I expected, and they feel good to work with. VST integration is surprisingly straightforward too, requiring minimal setup. Practically everything just works, right out of the box and the community around Ableton and the Push 2 is exceptional!

Note that there are a few caveats. If you are using the Push 2 with another DAW, you will lose quite a bit of functionality. 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. But there are better choices of controller if you are working primarily with another DAW. 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 if you are looking for a hardware interface to Ableton Live it is unmatched!

In summary, it is a very broad and very deep controller, thoughtfully designed to make arrangement and performance intuitive and pleasurable. 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. I would recommend it to beginner and advanced Ableton users alike. 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.

Excels at creating a fun and fast creative flow

Twenty years of controllers that end up in a closet somewhere, finally over. I'm a die hard Ableton user, and the Push 2 gives me all I ever wanted out of a controller. The first time ever I'm actually creating and recording without even looking at my laptop. Given it's quality and diversity, the price is very reasonable. The designers really thought it through, after the first Push was evaluated by its users, and improved in almost every aspect.

PRO's

-The amazing display gives you relevant feedback about everything you're doing.

-Solid build

-Nice feel: the pads are very sensitive and have good velocity response, both of which can be adjusted to your personal taste.

-Intuitive and smart firmware

-Adds useful features to Ableton, e.g. a step sequencer for creating drums, which you can then edit seamlessly.

-Looks great and tight. It's a rectangle! -tx ableton- instead of some clunky rounded shape you can't fit in between your other devices.

-Plug and play, no setup required.

CONS

-none

No comment, this is just an amazing product

It's a dream machine

This is the device of dreams.. I absolutely love it. If you are an Ableton user, then this device is completely intuitive.

Great gear.

Really amazing build quality. Very intuitive to work with. Makes your software an instrument. Fun to work/play.

Great addition

The upgrade to my setup, especially on the go, has been immense. The removal of the need to use a screen for a lot of functions has made creativity more fluid

Great Instrument

I am a keyboardist. I record music using Ableton Live. Works flawlessly. Effortless to set up. At first I used it for drums only. However if you get creative you can use it for any instrument, just allow yourself time to learn it. There are some great resources on Internet on how it as an instrument other then drums and its really interesting. I had this instrument for 1 month so cannot comment on quality yet, however no problems so far.

Amazing integration with Ableton, some quality issues

Push 2 is an amazing Ableton Live controller. I mainly have 2 problems with it:

Firstly, the 8 potentiometers are endless but they all have a specific place where they are tighter which leads to a sudden jumping behaviour when rotating them.

Secondly, the pad sensitivity is extremely low in the sequencer mode which means you have to press steps very hard in order for them to register. When toggling multiple steps at the same time, you always miss a few and have to press them again. This makes the Push not very useful for drum sequencing compared to other midi sequencers. This seems to be a software or firmware issue because there is no sensitivity problem in the 64 note mode.

on and off button not working smooth, they never fixed it

Based on three day experience, it is possible to record a full song with this device/isomorphic-layout keyboard instrument. But.. it is also very likely that you will do some adjustments on your computer once you are done recording before you put it on soundcloud. Mouse and keyboard is still better at certain things (piano roll edits, manual velocity adjustments etc).

great controller

great controller and great interface with Ableton