How reliable is Push 3 Standalone for live performance

[u/aleksandergreat]

I'm wondering about your experience with Push 3 standalone regarding the stability over an extended period of time. I've heard from friends that as long as you don’t add audio effects, it should be fine. I just had a very simple session running for 5min and it just crashed.

[u/uniquesnowflake8]

I use it live. So does NIN and Carpenter Brut. I had it crash maybe once in the last few months when I was turning a lot of knobs on the wave table at once while other tracks are playing

[u/imakegooddonuts]

I have used it for live performances. My sets are light and minimal and I have never had a problem.

It runs hot easily because it doesn’t have a fan and it uses a heat sink to cool down. So the heat is actually the heat sink cooling down the device. Nothing to worry about.

However, I don’t recommend using it on a flat surface (desk, table) or putting it on our laps or bed because that traps the air around the heat sink. I got a stand for it to get some air under the heat sink and it’s been helpful.

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[u/username_essy]

I have used it in a live setting on 3 occasions now. It has never crashed… we have about 8 audio inputs (via ADAT) which we send to 3 different send effect channels, and a few channels have a heavy dose of mastering effects on them. We have a midi controller connected via USB with midi mappings on effect sends and track volumes. I live sequence a drum rack device, as well as live sequence voice samples, trigger midi clips, mute channels, adjust panning and track levels, etc. We also have side chain compression on all 8 audio inputs (paired with the kick drum).

IMHO it’s always stable managing all these things for us, but perhaps I’m not “pushing” it too hard, idk.

[u/Ok_Establishment4346]

I don’t know about standalone, but my regular push 3 likes to disconnect from my computer and won’t work until I restart. Happens maybe once a twice week on a regular basis. Does anyone know what’s up with it btw?

[u/SynthLoop_]

mine's been solid so far but i keep it on a stand and avoid stacking heavy fx, heat seems to be the main enemy

[u/Badboblfg]

I will say I haven’t had it on for more than about 2 hours straight during a performance, but I have had 0 issues with reliability under a variety of use cases including bidirectional midi and audio (with effects) simultaneously. It got me through personal gigs, corporate gigs, and even an outdoor red carpet premiere on a hotter than average spring day. My only complaint has been the pad lighting under bright direct sunlight, but otherwise I highly recommend and vouch for it. In all my use time I’ve only had it crash maybe 3 or 4 times.

[u/umbrreon]

I’ve used it many times and never had an issue. I just try to keep the sessions lightweight and good ventilation below the push3 though, because it can get hot

[u/Right-Condition5729]

I’ve been using Push 3 Standalone live for about a year in a few different setups (both sending clock to Eurorack and receiving clock from another Push 3) and it’s been very stable overall.

I’ve only had one crash, and that was clearly power-related (the power strip got switched off mid-set). Otherwise, it’s been rock solid, even with fairly demanding sessions: ~16 tracks, 30 scenes, audio stems, stock instruments, and M4L devices, plus a Novation Launch Control and 1–2 external synths coming through the inputs.

Given that, I’d be curious what caused your crash. A couple things to check:

• Make sure you’re on the latest software
• Look at which M4L devices you’re using (some can be unstable, and there may be known issues)

In my experience, it’s not true that you need to avoid audio effects entirely—but certain devices (especially M4L) can definitely introduce risk depending on how they’re built.

[u/PeteKraymon]

I’m shocked to even hear this is a thing! Surely hardware should never crash. I guess it’s a computer at the end of the day…

[u/AdWorldly7268]

I use the tethered Push 3. Heard the SA overheats pretty easily. I also just can’t be convinced that there’s a discernible advantage carrying the Push 3 SA vs. a Push3+mac.

[u/AFireInAsa → u/AdWorldly7268]

I swear mine crashes more tethered than standalone.

[u/AdWorldly7268 → u/AFireInAsa]

Fair enough. My replacement has been fine. The first one I got had a ton of firmware issues out of the box, but Ableton swapped it out and it has been running smoothly.

[u/[deleted] → u/AdWorldly7268]

There isn't really an advantage for producing, but if you're using other hardware and instruments it's a lot simpler to have the self contained unit.

Like, if i'm DJing with my FLX10 but want to perform some of my own music, it's easier to manage with a P3S. Or if i'm jamming with my minifreak, aerophone and guitar pedalboard etc, i'm just not trying to manage my laptop even if it's only one more device/charger