Ableton Spent HOW LONG Designing Push 3?

Go behind the scenes of the painstaking multi-year design journey that brought Ableton Push 3 to life! We take an exclusive trip to Ableton’s Berlin headquarters to uncover the evolution of this groundbreaking standalone instrument.
Join us as we meet with Jesse Terry (Product Manager) and Philipp Von Lintel (Industrial Designer) for a one-of-a-kind deep dive into the original prototype room-where Push 3’s earliest designs and hardware concepts took shape. They open up the drawers, revealing the progression of size, shape, knob placement, heat sinks, memory architecture, user interface refinements, and the fine-tuned layout crafted for intuitive musical expression and long-term adaptability.
Discover how Ableton’s team drew inspiration from Bauhaus, Braun, and Apple’s iconic design aesthetics, blending form and function into an instrument that doesn’t just work with a computer-it is the computer... and a state-of-the-art expressive instrument.
This is a rare look at the meticulous craftsmanship behind one of the most forward-thinking music devices of our time. Don’t miss it!
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ABOUT ANTHONY
Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns , Internal Affairs , The Man From Elysian Fields , 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles , been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller .
His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones , Jack Nitzsche , Lamont Dozier , Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.
Website - www.anthonymar...
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[@anthonymarinellimusic]

Thank you all for your incredible kindness and generosity toward the fire victims in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. My family and team are ok and working to re-connect the studio (yes, the synths are safe!) We expect to be back at full strength making videos by next week. More than ever, our mission is driven by love, resilience, and a commitment to supporting the dreams of others.

[@wallacebillingham9388]

Thank you Anthony for all you do. Your music has been the soundtrack of my life from the classic albums of the 1980s I grew up with, to the great scores you worked on on so many great films Thanks for everything, glad you are safe

[@UNO-1ne]

That is GREAT news Anthony! Glad to hear you and the family literally made it through the fire🔥🏡 safely with everything intact. Now back to some good music and videos!

[@nsjx]

so Glad you all made it without mishap (except for having to rip out tge studio...sigh) ✌️✌️✌️🙏🙏🙏

[@GT-KT]

@@anthonymarinellimusic sweet

[@MrAdam-dh6kx]

Thanks for the update I'm glad you guys are safe. Great video too thanks my friend.

[@nomad1517]

First time Ableton has actually opened up to the public on camera. Pretty rare.

[@anthonymarinellimusic]

Yes, they were very gracious to host this for all of us to see!

[@MG53v8]

They had to look who rolled up

[@TilliKommunikation]

Not quite. There is a very detailed video from Ableton about the creation of Push 3.

[@jeremymurray-wakefield8011]

@@TilliKommunikationWhere is that?

[@TilliKommunikation]

@@jeremymurray-wakefield8011 At the source, of course: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZmcopKuiZWnidUsi=NhpImTOd1Lk3VSqy

[@user-ks8ux4ig6b]

Love this kind of behind the scenes content showing how the sausage is designed

[@terryd1]

Anthony - I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your videos. Your passion and authenticity and the level of curiosity that you demonstrate in your guests and their work or playing is so refreshing and genuine - its a real breath of fresh air these days. Please keep enjoying yourself!

[@andreasfittkau1808]

I love yout channel so much. As a German, I grew up with Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, so I've been interested in synthesizers since my earliest youth. When I turned 60 last year, I treated myself to a Komplete Kontrol keyboard from NI and a Poly D as my first synthesizer to experiment with. Since then I have been learning to master the instruments. Your YT channel as well as Dr. Mix's channel helps me a lot to understand how things work. Thank you very much and please keep it up! 👍💯

[@InspelaRecords]

I’ve used Live since v1 and I’m very lucky to be part of team Ableton. They’re a great company to work for and they actually listen. One of my proudest moments was to receive an email from them saying that I have helped shape Live and their hardware. I truly appreciated it. Great video as always and good to know that you’ll soon be back up and running again.

[@Bloor005]

I love that this is upgradable. Its not something I'd use (even though I use Ableton), but too many companies junk their kit after a couple of years.

[@PdxFreak]

maybe upgrades will be m4?

[@cedric2280]

@@PdxFreak pete M4 is apple no way

[@Bloor005]

@@cedric2280 well said.

[@mrclaytron]

So great to see behind the curtains at Ableton! Such an exciting company - I really love their innovation, and Push 3 is truly an amazing and inspiring piece of hardware. Great video Anthony, I hope you and your family are safe, and you can begin the slow journey to regular life again. Take care.

[@digicat247]

As a designer by trade, this is top quality content to me! Thank you for making this. I wish more companies would put out retrospective books on these kinds of endeavors.

Anthony, to your question about “who did Braun?”, the answer is Dieter Rams (Gary Huswit made a documentary about him). And it was all related to the Ulm School of Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm, hfg ulm), that existed between 1953 and 1968. There is an archive/museum in the city of Ulm, with all the work they did at the school.

[@anthonymarinellimusic]

That is very interesting, thank you for the info!

[@RoyMaya]

Would love to see more of these type of videos. It's fascinating to see how our instruments are made.

[@Tripticot]

Next to the Osmose factory 😊

[@el_dani]

Great insight into the workshop, there seems to be a great work atmosphere at Ableton. They really nailed the hardware on Push 3 (and looking forward to future more powerful CPU generations) - now they need to work on the the software side: coherent workflow, expand this device to live performance stuff like: playable effects, scenes (like Elektrons Octatrack) and first of all: Midi learn and more Max for Live integration

[@heathwellsNZ]

Wow, what an absolute privilege! Thankyou thankyou so much Terry and Philip for your generosity of time and product detail!

[@lamski3286]

Anthony just opened up a huge range of possibilities for this channel, there are many topics outside of synth to be explored. We can get a different perspective like never before with his synth background and knowledge, would love to see content like a.i music, future of sampling/sound design/production etc

[@nsjx]

Thank you so so much for this Amazing opportunity! I am a proud owner of all three. One has to grow into (and with) the Push 3, but I truly believe those who brave it to hang onto these are in for lovely journey. I take my P3 to work nearly every night. Now I don't have to worry w a laptop, a crappy mini-keys and an audio interface. This instrument is the best chance we got to be portable studio right now in one piece. They really put a lot of thought into integration w various setups as well. The beginning at release was rough, but I think where it is today is fantastic. I still get just under two hours of studio time on it. I do a lot of sound programming and heavy processing so that eats up charge as well. Thanks so much again guys 🙏

[@GT-KT]

The R&D behind this is so COOL! Thanks Sir Anthony and the Ableton team.

[@chriskelvin248]

Industrial design!!!! This really gets my brain juices flowing. My brother and I used to draw out imaginary video game consoles when we were kids- I had almost forgotten about those days until watching this video.

[@DavidBoura]

Ableton has a strong taste for Bauhaus, wich i REALLY love.

[@BobingerAudio]

I run the whole Synthesizer Studio Berlin with a Push 3 controller. It’s the central of the studio. Love it and it feels very good. The manufacturing is really excellent. And the possibility to use MPE in scale is just on another level. I still have my push 1 and still use it at home and you are so spot on with musicians not wanting to change their interface for playing music and having to relearn muscle memory

[@jimbotron70]

Nice to see you in Europe 😊

[@TilliKommunikation]

Thanks! 👍

[@bitegoatie]

Another fine video, Anthony - this is really helpful to see and to think about, not just regarding what went into this instrument, but what the design process in general entails. A lot of people in the synthesizer community in particular would do well to think about what goes into designing new products (rather than simply stealing the ideas and copyrights of prior designers and selling the results on the cheap, as some companies do). Thanks for your work.

[@johnnyrenfield]

This amazing to see how they prototype so cool guys 🤘

[@sjay4673]

This was amazing! Keep up the great content, Anthony...and the entire team behind the scenes! 👍

[@harm3753]

Hope you're safe and well. I'm loving your synth course btw!

[@moogfooger]

Good to see you back Anthony. Hope all is well with you and your family and friends!

[@badmon.justin01]

This is great, amazing to see the inner workings of the Ableton team & their amazing products! More please!

[@AlecKinch]

Push 3 is absolutely incredible. I love using it everyday! It is such a beautiful seamless harmony with Ableton. No interruptions with creativity “flow” .

[@MorisNoelBouniol]

Very informative video and tour through the process of product design around push 3. Thank you for this 😃

[@tawfeeqm]

The hardware and thought behind thus beautifully tactile design opens this platform to becoming an unmatched performative instrument. Besides MPE it feels like there is still a great opportunity to make it stand out as a production and performative tool that is fun to explore and reduce clutter ie chord mode(chord types/ voicing/arpeggiation/chord modulation/harmonizer), euclidian sequencing, performative fx Also rtp midi over wifi and ethernet could enable you to command more easily other instruments, visual render engines, lighting etc. Incredibly excited about the possibilities and now a push3 owner myself too!

[@samfayezawad]

This is a phenomenal interview. Well done!

[@rick-hoekman]

This is really amazing to see how much tought and effort went into this product. Thanks for sharing this!

[@RandomNoiseMusic]

This was so amazing and inspiring to watch, it made me appreciate my Push 3 even more. You have such a great open mind and visionary thinking, and that discussion towards the end of the video made me so excited about everything that is about to come in the future!

[@pc7595]

Anthony , you are so full of joy and I thank you for sharing it.

[@OdoSendaidokai]

Thank you for taking us on this tour. It's always very interesting to know how products come to life 🌻

[@GuidoSanten]

Interesting video. Nice to hear their vision behind the push. Thanks!

[@AsteroidKiller]

Really nice reportage! 🙏

[@480billion]

It is really cool you really understand the holistic landscape of electronic music. Ableton for me is in a way the ultimate music tool.

[@p.m-audio]

i love this videos Anthony please keep visiting great companys even when its not about synths , only music gear

[@Farmatique]

That's a pure delight to watch this interview for a Push/Ableton lover, just like I am. Thank you very much 👍

[@Fluxwithit]

jesse is the man, so great to see this!

[@thomasyon4332]

Thank you Anthony and Ableton ! Awesome gear!

[@touchthatdial]

Great video Anthony, so interesting. Thank you. Good insight into the design philosophy at Ableton, it is impressive.

[@scottfrost317]

This was awesome! It goes to show what innovation is and that it necessarily can’t be seen just by looking at a product.

[@n3ver3nd1ng]

Wow, super interesting topic and video! More of this kind of content, please! Thx!

[@chrisharrison809]

Really cool to see the Bauhaus reference. Thinking of design on that level is deep and something I don’t usually realize. I just saw the Brutalist and there’s a connection there between art and design architecture and music and forward thinking creative minds. Really inspirational.

[@FLH3official]

Many thanks for this interesting video, Anthony. I'm not a Push user but I should say that the "reparable+replaceable" philosophy is what should lead us in our buying decisions. It's crucial. And not only about the curent carbon things or polar bears, it's about loss of energy in general. Fighting against entropy. Against death.

[@BradLyons-z5p]

Really cool. Thank you for sharing and opening up your doors behind the scenes. My one criticism of the design of heat sink is that it sits unlevel if it’s on a stand. I kind of wish it had more symmetry under the unit, but there is probably a functional reason for it. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of replaceable parts and longevity of the design-living in a disposable world, it’s a breath of fresh air.

[@merlinoner]

Really good philosophy behind this product. For ONCE sustainability is not just a word. Very interesting video. Thanks !

[@pshimmons]

Fascinating tour! Thanks! Would loved to have seen those guys play the Push!!

[@Clarity-808]

This was so cool! MORE videos with product designers Please! ❤ Glad your synths are ok :) good luck with everything.

[@forestgreen4717]

big fan and long time ableton user, great video, thanks a lot

[@thomas_xsg]

Love this! From experience, Ableton customer service when something on a push breaks, is top notch

[@richarddufresne2683]

What a great video! 🙂 I have learned a lot about their design philosophy for products. Also, the amount of time it takes to make a simple product. Merci ! 🙂

[@bobroberts8264]

Them actually adding removeable parts to all the major component's is fucking incredible and so relieving, so glad to see the thought that actually goes into these things, hopefully this will set more of standard for things moving forward and other brands will follow suit.

[@gummishepardtones]

this was fascinating, thank you so much for making this video!

[@joncjb]

This was great ! What an insightful journey !!Thank you :)

[@Mick-Ozz]

I really respect the thinking to be able to replace the jog wheel, well done.

[@5-Pin-Din]

Absolutely incredible, massive thanks especially to the Ableton gang for letting us see behind the curtain, even though I spent a huge chunk of my work life in engineering I didnt get to fully understand the levels of thought needed and the innovations to find solutions in music tools..... How much is a Push 3? looks like I need to rob my piggy bank 🙂

[@BeatsbyLonza]

It was interesting to see how much thought went into the push. Once i no longer have to use the computer this machine will take over.

[@Geekraver]

Thanks for making this; it was super-interesting to see!

[@CrankyOldNerd]

very cool! thanks for sharing that was a great tour

[@el_dani]

I absolutely love the MPE pads. For the other buttons though: they could have been less mushy, more clicky and responsive.

[@bojanhlastec7198]

It was very hot in Berlin in the first days of may 2024. Some days were even 28 degrees C. No big crowds, very peaceful and with almost summer weather, niiiiice...

[@masonkiller1]

nice look behind the sceene! thx, heard lotta stuff that make sence 🙂

[@Infamous-s6d]

Shot this makes me feel nostalgic like a kid, like I'm watching a episode of Mr Rogers neighborhood, seeing how it's made and the talk cool

[@ap7498]

Thank you for sharing! What a cool episode

[@dubnightstudio]

Learned a lot, didn’t know the push is upgradable! Now I also understand the price a bit better. Wish I could afford one. I Love Ableton!

[@Ast3rixMusic]

This is very cool. I am curious why they did not go with a touch screen design. Considering that the arranger is a intricate piece to building songs outside of just clip launching. It really is the only thing that keeps me personally from buying a push 3. While I do spend alot of time using the clip launching I appreciate the ability of being able to build out my song patterns in the arranger. The device itself looks beautiful, but when you say that something is Ableton in a box/stand-alone, but it's missing something that is part of the song building process... well...

[@Osoronnophris]

no touch screen but also membrane buttons... its like the worst of both worlds

[@786Muzik]

I love the Behind the Scene !!!

[@WilliamAshleyOnline]

great insight into the development process, very unique angle to this video, I've seen this for guitar or violin makers quite a bit but not for control surfaces.. very cool concept. 27:30 this also reminds me of how the electronic music workshop for early tape productions how they would write the compositions for tape these are unique ways that alternate systems of composition beyond the traditional scoring system we all know these days. It calls that whole Marshall McLuhan idea of the medium is the message. Not only do instruments define ways of thinking or the box, the box may design the instrument and that in turn will effect how people look at and approach music but there will still be those people who find new ways to use the instrument beyond its initial design and drive design by expanding the boundaries or shape of the box.

[@Others.Horizon]

It would be really nice to see you look at the linnstrument device with Roger Linn. I've seen they have a youtube channel as well so maybe you could both make a video out of it. I would definitely watch you have a conversation about musical interfaces

[@obshaky]

Upgradeability was the top reason to get Push 3. That I could get the controller version and make it standalone and then upgrade the computer in the future was a no brainer. MPC and Maschine need to have this option (upgradeable/repairable) to bring them from appliances back to musical instruments.

[@prospectnyc]

Would love to see Philipp and Jesse bring their design thinking talents to the Akai MPC line.

[@rosalindwebb7729]

Fabulous. Thank you for sharing.

[@inspector-tech]

What a great video! Thank you

[@valuemastery]

Great to get insights into the design process. The weight, huge battery, low runtime and amount of heat produced is of course due to the usage of an intel cpu. I understand that it's very difficult to change the complete architecture, of course. But going ARM like everybody else would be a so much nicer solution. And of course, please include arrangement view, to give standalone users the full experience 😉

[@djellisdee]

The Push 3 is amazing, I love that controller

[@richieroarscg]

The Master meeting with Future Masters. It’s incredible to watch. The world is about to change again

[@TilliKommunikation]

Great insights! Thank you very much!

[@PoboyMusic]

Anthony isn't all about retro stuff it seems. I love the Push 3. Ableton is amazing

[@PeranMe]

Super interesting, thank you! ❤

[@user-jx6ch2oo1i]

Why I love Ableton and exactly why I have never once switched DAWs all in one video

[@Grant82gc]

Would absolutely love a freestanding wheel like that prototype!!

[@iDSMB1]

Great stuff.

[@100ThingsIDo]

Wow, what a really great chat, thanks for this :D

[@liveanddirect100]

Great one!

[@cliffspencer]

Great video!

[@mikelo303]

I mean. I do not have Push. I just got Move. And I must say this is exactly what I wanted. What I was thinking for years. A standalone sketch pad. Incredible device! (It's all Circuit was not)

[@TwstedTV]

He shook his head yes, when you asked about "If there is a push 4 coming" then he realized he is spilling the beans and quickly stopped shaking his head. Hahahaa. Push 4 coming !! 😂😂😂 Also 5-pin is soon going away. And Midi v2.0 is coming, which will use USB-C. People would also love to have colored versions of their push, or even special order colors and design image for the casing of a push. It will cost to order it, but people would love it. They can make their push their own. As well as the screen, the screen needs to be OLED now and much larger and be able to view parameters and wave file segments. The screen they have now is 90s style, we need to be able to have a 2025 version screen now.

[@DeepDishCoffee]

That would be a cool update to push 3 a new page to trigger effects using the pads, maps psd style

[@Eudawg101]

Ableton, Anthony thank you so much.

[@Fundaground]

I am definitely into R&D and manufacturing so I am locked in.

[@shinjiikari1989]

watching the new ways of making instruments is truly fascinating. Would like to see more vlogs like these in the future,sorry not joining live

[@tapedrone]

There are design decisions in Ableton and in Push that are absolutely baffling. We're at Push 3 and Ableton is 25 years old, but you have no access to the arrangement in Push. You cannot use the jogwheel on the Push to move which bar you are on. The small LCD screen can't be used to trigger/record clips, only display the session clip status, so you're forced to choose if you want drum pads or launch pads. There is still no way to chain a series of Scenes together into a song (please don't say Follow Actions to me, and go apologise to your mother). Besides all this there is no controller (including Push) permitted to move the playhead position through Ableton's API. It's the strangest, most utterly frustrating thing that could have been fixed 10 years ago, but still people are struggling with poorly documented python remote scripting. If you like endless mode-switching and looping a song around and around on the same 8/16 bars at 140bpm, then Push is for you, but for everyone else it's just an expensive doorstop that you'll get more done in Ableton by avoiding.

[@ChrisP3000x]

Exactly.

[@blackout2able]

Tell me daw and controller that can do all you want?

[@davidtrig]

Amen!

[@tapedrone]

@ That's the problem, there isn't one. Ableton has the sampler engine but the controller (Push) is designed to make dance music and has no control at song level. The MPC (now at v3) is trying to come at it from the other side, the controller is great, especially the MPC X SE but the sampler engine is not as deep as Ableton's. Logic works great with many controllers but the sampler side of it is very weak. I think Ableton has the best potential to do it all, but they keep ignoring the half of their users who don't make dance music, and even the EDM guys want some more control of arrangement.

[@ChrisP3000x]

I thought that having 1 or 2 functions(shortcuts per pad would be a potentially a good idea. And having them written on the pads. Could even add transports, punch in, locators.... Most everyone has the problem of forgetting all the shortcuts, having to have a keyboard nearby, and having to relearn everything from a few months of nonuse. It's kind of like a kid having to relearn a video game controls and such. Just makes me not want to use it all.

[@------YeahOK------]

Did Akai make the first Push?

[@Yannleon_video]

This is interesting to see. Visually, Push 3 is a piece of art. But, the buttons are hard to use. They don't always respond well, I think "clicky" buttons would have a been better choice like the ones of their first prototype.

[@Romenet310]

I have to agree. It’s frustrating how inconsistent they are. I can’t complain about the functionality though except for missing arrangement mode. Beyond that, it’s heavy and hot. I rarely would ever use it as a stand alone device for any length of time. It just gets too hot. It’s also heavy. I guess that is where the move comes in…but I bought the standalone version. Sigh.

[@dr.gregoryf.maassen2637]

Push 2 owner here. I hope that the push 3 does not make the crackling noises of the 2.

[@dan.182]

Do you use Ableton? What are your production techniques Mr Marinelli? Seeing a video of your way of producing would be great! 🔥

[@jeremy8936]

Just a beautiful interview. Everyone is speaking the same language..

[@antsteep]

This was great.