I’ve had the Analog Keys in mind as my next big purchase for a little while, but Ableton went and threw a big kink into my plans with the release of Push 2. I’m really finding that I love playing on it more than any keyboard or control surface I’ve used before, and as nice as the AK is I’m wondering if it’s worth the added expense and space over the A4 thanks to Overbridge. The joystick seems like it would be the biggest loss, as there simply aren’t any options I’ve discovered with a 4 way joystick/button combo like the AK…my Novation Remote SL37 does come pretty close in features as well, but not quite.
Beyond that, eventually the Push 2 will become obsolete or unsupported (although that may take some time), and while I don’t play live at the moment I’m 50/50 on taking a computer on stage again, which makes the Keys more attractive for the long term as a performance instrument. Yet the A4 would sit better in my space, save some money, and Overbridge would negate most of the differences between the two. Is there something I’m overlooking? What would you do?
If AK joystick owners could get the control options available on the Novation they’d jump at the chance imho (latching, separate breath & mod wheel)
There are other ways to get a fake joystick in the AK style - a few discussed within these forums - doable in Lemur
I think some of the workflow options coupled with the tiny sonic improvements may be plus points but i’d put space needed as a minus
I had a very painless path to swap-up my A4, but declined to - many do though, so it depends on your needs and whether you like your elektron boxes to line up nicely !
I don’t have push either so my opinion is disqualified
FWIW, my Push 2 acquisition has quelled my desire to swap my A4 for an AK.
I’m not a keys player, but the AK appealed to me for its design (one handed mutes, sound selection encoder) and improved multi-map capability with the onboard KB.
Push 2 gave me a great velocity sensitive midi input device for A4’s multi-map. I use A4’s multi-map exclusively for drums, and Push 2 gives it a Rytm/DrumRack feel for sure.
I just tested out my new portable rig today, before packing it all up (and the family) for a visit to my parents for the holidays. Push 2 + A4 + Nord Drum 2 = perfection. Live 9 is running on my 4.5 year old Macbook Air 11", with a new Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 interface. I set up P2 to send MIDI out to the A4, and A4 MIDI Thru to the ND2. Then I set up two MIDI channels in Live - one for the A4, the other a drum rack with 6 external instruments each sending on a different MIDI track for the 6 channels on the ND2. Added a couple of audio tracks so I can sidechain reverb, delay, etc within Live, and muted all of the zero-latency routing built-in to the 6i6. All working beautifully.
I’m still learning the Push 2, but I have to say - there won’t be any need for me to bring a keyboard along for this trip. The velocity response of the pads is light years ahead of what I found on the Rytm, so that one is staying behind. Being able to set up any routing I want in Live, and then use the P2 for control, is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Would like an extra touch strip on the P2 so you could have two modulations at once, but since I am focused on using this as a portable setup, it’s a small limitation. Overall, I’m finding new life in Live along with my Elektron gear.
Been using the A4 and Push 1 for a little over six months.
The biggest surprise for me is that I’ve come to think of the Push much more as an instrument than a controller. To the point that - weird as this may sound - I take 10 minutes most days to practice scales and arpeggios on it.
To be fair, I’m not much of a keyboard player - guitar has always been my first instrument, never really played keys much beyond childhood piano lessons. Coming from the guitar, the idea of figuring out tonality then choosing scales and positions accordingly made perfect sense. However, the more I’ve used it, the more I’m starting to move beyond in-key mode to give myself a bit more flexibility.
I’m sure this applies even more so to Push 2, which by all accounts has made great improvements in the pads and feel.
A4 integrates well into this setup, especially with Overbridge, tbh I don’t really see what you’d gain by foregoing the Push to get AK - especially if you have a keyboard controller you’re already happy with.
Potential obsolescence is an interesting point - for sure Push 2 will no doubt be replaced by Push 3 in the medium term, but it seems that Push will be around for as long as Live is. And I don’t see Live going away any time soon.
Within the last three weeks I bought Push 2 and an Analog Four. I didn’t really consider the Analog Keys. Push 2 is a fun little instrument. It really shines with Ableton’s included instruments (Sampler and Operator especially). I sold my Moog Slim Phatty, Virus TI Snow and a few other knick-knacks I had lying around to upgrade my studio.
Unfortunately I’m running OSX 10.11 and it’s not compatible with Overbridge so I run into a few major problems (tracks muting/not working on the A4, MIDI not being rec’d by the A4, etc) but until OB v1.10 comes it’s what I have to work with. If you’re in a production environment obviously wait for things to be supported before you upgrade!
When it works - the two are REALLY a lot of fun. It’s something special. Playing the “keyboard” on the Push 2 is a little weird. Mapping commands would be a big help - creating macros so you could use the Push 2’s knobs to control things a lot like the performance knobs on the A4…when you consider the possibilities it’s really amazing! Imagine moving all 8 performance knobs at once with a single Ableton macro knob mapped to Push 2. Lots of options!
This is all definitely sounding like the A4 might be a better choice. In the worst case, I can always sell the A4 and upgrade to an AK if I want or need the performance features of the Keys…or have both, if Elektron ever implements some type of polychaining ability.
Is there a Lemur template someone can point me towards that has the joystick control integrated? My attempts to program my own Lemur templates have been an exercise in futility.
