16 channels of CV in and out to the Push using Live’s CV tools instruments, as well as multi-channel modular-level audio i/o.
ES-8 only gives you 4 inputs, instead of the 8 ADAT supports, which is why I’m swapping mine for a module which supports all 8 input channels.
oh, a way to access the es8 IO hardware with push in stand alone mode then i guess. but would it add anything if you are using push as a controller?
DMR
1656
If you are using Push as a controller, you could use Push as your main audio interface and then connect the ES-8 via ADAT, you wouldn’t have to create an aggregate audio device. Or you could use the ES-8 as your main audio interface and likely connect the Push over ADAT. If you have no issues with using an aggregate audio device there wouldn’t really be a benefit, since the ES-8 has both USB and ADAT.
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Using aggregate device one can choose to work at double sample rates and full channel count, just to mention one practical difference.
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Never personally had an issue with ADAT sockets, but I did just want to chime in and say that although they aren’t the norm, beefy optical cables do exist!
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Andrew I saw a video of you sequencing a Pulsar with Push3 and it was such a sick setup. Is there any latency or jitter when you record your drum machines into Push? I saw that the buffer can get down to 32samples which is fantastic so it sounds hopefully like the Push3 is a legit hardware recording solution that doesn’t need a 3rd party sync clock involved.
I’m curious if the monome’s M4L devices for Ableton and Crow will work on The Push 3 standalone?
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robint
1662
I will send my Push 3 back on Monday.
So far I have spent 3 hours without being able to play any music. I don’t want to make the product look bad, but here are some of the problems I’ve had:
- fully charged unit plugged into mains will not boot, had this half a dozen times
- turns on and gives an error message about a Live set I never created
- the same error message appears every time I switch on the unit, if it actually boots correctly
- when it does boot, it takes a minute (the same amount it takes to turn on my M1 iMac with a record ready Live template opened up)
- unable to connect to my wifi, only worked after a couple of reboots
- 1.1 update was available immediately, took another 15 minutes
- authorisation process assigned the wrong licence, had to find out how to change it, fixed itself while I was trying to find info in the manual (?)
- feels sluggish and I have not made any sound yet, nothing has been recorded
- 250GB already down to about 206GB after installing the 1.1 update
- endless scrolling to get anywhere, the top right encoder only goes left and right, not up and down (so you mainly have to use the arrow keys to get around)
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There was a similarly worrying comment in the other forum about sluggishness and random crashes / bugs. Not much early adopter feedback otherwise except for synthfluencer / early access videos yet - it seems roughly half of the few people that have commented are enamoured by the Push and the other half highlight multiple issues and feel unhappy.
It does seem like it’s going to be a couple of busy evenings next week trying out whether things feel acceptable or simply too beta after getting everything running…
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Indeed, I’ve been using these from Thomann / pro snake, which are surprisingly flexible, too.
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LLK
1665
I guess that’s some information about the optimization part 
For the 206gb, I’d take a guess that there’s some libraries installed from the start? It’d be worth checking out, a Live install is usually around 10gb so it does feel like a wild difference.
I definitely wouldn’t like the slow start, I’ve optimized my live laptop to boot extremely quickly precisely to launch live, I’d expect close to immediate boot from a standalone unit, in the realm of seconds vs minutes that is.
I mean, it’s just a standard mini PC running Linux. Boot times in the range of seconds won’t be possible I reckon.
LLK
1667
Probably! It’s beyond my comprehension what can be done with a custom linux install for a project like this honestly, my thought was that since the OS doesn’t need to run “everything” and just Ableton, it could maybe be more optimized to be really fast, maybe it’s too hopeful and I’d need to reckon it’s just a computer under a different format with all the typical issues of a computer under a normal typical format.
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FWIW, things like Norns and MPC One / Live / X are mini computers running Linux as well (of course quite modest ARM and not Intel, so less CPU power), so that should give some idea of what is possible in that sense, booting a custom embedded Linux distro and loading some kind of app.
Whatever extra processes and apps the Push loads is entirely another thing - a minute sounds like quite a lot, but that’s what it apparently is.
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tbf, and a totally minor complaint, norns boot time annoys me a bit too 
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Yeah, I am sure there is potential for optimization. As much as I love the idea of hardware upgrades (Metric Halo FTW!), I was disappointed to see it run on a basic Intel platform while ARM is setting benchmarks for mobile applications. So I def have a negative bias towards their strategy in terms of the tech they use.
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The problem with designing for ARM + laptop level performance right now (or a year ago which I assume is a realistic timeline), as opposed to perhaps in a year or two from now, is be that anything else is still behind the proprietary Apple ARM designs by so wide margin, that the benchmark setting in raw power with other manufacturers isn’t quite yet very impressive. And most of the cutting edge probably isn’t available for a small company as ready to integrate “compute modules”.
You do still get a lot more efficiency in the ARM world in any case - right now you could match the 2020 low end i3 inside the Push 3 with a newer top of the line mobile ARM CPU that’s equally or a bit more powerful, and eats a lot less battery. I’m not sure what the situation or supply was when they started designing the device, however, and whether they could have found a drop in solution like the Intel NUC.
However: I suppose they could always port the current Linux based “Live engine” inside Push to ARM based platform at some point, and bundling it with a new backplate / connection harness to hook up the control surface and audio interface (which I assume talk over USB anyway). Which means that even if they’re using an Intel NUC now, nothing is stopping them from using an ARM SBC later as long as it physically fits inside the compartment that houses the computer part right now.
(If they want to spend R&D time on that, of course, which I suppose is kind of unlikely.)
EDIT:
Short format standalone Push 3 review: most fun I’ve had for ages.
Medium format review coming later once I get fed up of all the bugs (so far none found but I’m sure it’s a matter of time). It does boot up slowly though.
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I haven’t noticed any jitter. As you note, the buffer goes down to 32 samples, so that is the minimum recording latency. If you’re recording while wanting to sync live to stuff that Push is playing internally, then you will have that 32 sample discrepancy (under 1ms) between the two. But for the use case of “just” having Push be the clock, sequencer, and recorder, it’s a dream!
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Awesome thanks Andrew. It really looks amazing and the sync sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to try it for myself.
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