KEY FEATURES I/O: 2x input jacks, 2x main output jacks, headphones out, ADAT in and out (up-to 10-in/10-out), USB-C, USB, MIDI in and out (via adapter), 2x pedal/CV ports. PRICING: Push controller $999 / €949, Push standalone $1999 / €1899. Upgrade kit (available in late 2023) $1049 / €999
Ever since version 1 arrived in 2013, Ableton has been calling its Push hardware an ‘instrument’. In the past this has always felt rather hyperbolic – Push 1 and 2 were both great in their own way, but beyond Ableton’s own marketing department nobody seriously considered either to be anything other than a MIDI interface for Live. The latest version, however, might actually warrant that categorisation.
This third generation – known simply as Push, as Ableton is ditching the numbered naming – boasts numerous design tweaks and new features, but two aspects stand out. The first is an overhauled pad grid, which adds multidimensional polyphonic expression to the controller (aka MPE) for
