Ableton has released Push, its first hardware product.

Push provides direct, hands-on control of melody and harmony, beats, sounds and structure, powered by Ableton Live 9 running on your computer. High-quality, dynamic pads, buttons, encoders and display combined with an innovative workflow allow you to play and compose musical ideas without the need to look at or touch your computer.

The most important features at a glance:

• Play and sequence beats: Push's 64 velocity- and pressure-sensitive multi-color pads can be used to play, step sequence, and navigate within rhythm patterns - all at the same time. The 11 touch-sensitive endless encoders can control device parameters, adjust velocity, nudge timing and more.
• Play melodies and chords in a new way: Push "folds" a keyboard's worth of notes into its 64 pads, with different pad colors showing the key center and other notes in the key. This allows you to play in every key using the same finger patterns, move between keys at the touch of a button, and explore new harmonies and phrases.
• Improvise with song structure: Push expands the scope of creation with its unique workflow. Using just a few buttons to trigger clips, overdub notes, move between song materials and variations lets Ableton Live itself become an intuitively playable instrument.
• Move smoothly from creation to arrangement: Push offers both the inspiring instrument to start creating music, and the full-featured software to finish off a track. Everything created with Push is laid out in Ableton Live on your computer - ready for fine-tuning, arrangement and export.
• Includes Ableton Live 9: Push includes Ableton Live 9 Intro and works with any edition of Ableton Live 9 (Intro, Standard, Suite). All the included instruments, effects and sounds, as well as your own libraries, are ready to be played, tweaked, and personalized.
• Designed by Ableton, built by Akai Professional: Utilizing Akai Pro's long-standing expertise in the field of pad controllers, Push features 64 pressure and velocity-sensitive RGB (multi-colored) pads with an adaptive layout and a touch strip with 24 LEDs for pitch bending or navigating through a Drum Rack. The 11 touch-sensitive encoders and LCD display adapt dynamically to control and show active parameters.
• Fits inside a backpack alongside a laptop: Push is 370 mm / 14.57 inches wide, 293 mm / 11.54 inches deep and is 46 mm / 1.81 inches in height (including encoders) and weighs 2990g / 6.59 pounds. Backside connections are a USB port, power adaptor input and two assignable footswitch inputs. (Push is USB-powered, the brightness of the display and LEDs can be increased by using the included power supply).

Pricing & Availability

Push includes a download version of Live 9. Prices start at $599 / €499 for Push + Live 9 Intro, $849 / €778 for Push + Live 9 Standard, and $1099 / €998 for Push +Live 9 Suite.

Bundle upgrade discounts are available for owners of previous versions of Live. Push can be ordered via Ableton.com and at Ableton dealers now. Due to anticipated high demand, waiting periods for delivery of Push units are expected initially.

More information, including a video tour of Push: www.ableton.com/push

http://youtu.be/1xxWdvotAlo

http://youtu.be/CS2r13xX-nk

http://youtu.be/n_zdjnWjBOg

http://youtu.be/z6HCdhdPREI