399 lines
14 KiB
HTML
399 lines
14 KiB
HTML
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/push2-main.jpg" alt="The Ableton Push 2 surface">
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<figcaption>
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The Ableton Push 2 surface
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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Since version 5.4, Ardour has had extensive support for the Ableton
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Push2. This is an expensive but beautifully engineered control
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surface primarily targeting the workflow found in Ableton's Live
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software and other similar tools such as Bitwig. As of version 5.4,
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Ardour does not offer the same kind of workflow, so we have designed
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our support for the Push 2 around mixing and editing and musical
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performance, without the clip/scene oriented approach in Live. This
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may change in future versions of Ardour.
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</p>
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<h2>Connecting the Push 2</h2>
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<p>
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Plug the USB cable from the Push 2 into a USB2 or USB3 port on your
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computer. For brighter backlighting, also plug in the power supply
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(this is not necessary for use).
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</p>
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<p>
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The Push 2 will be automatically recognized by your operating
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system, and will appear in any of the lists of possible MIDI ports
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in both Ardour and other similar software.
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</p>
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<div class="note">
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<p>
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Linux does not provide normal users access to arbitrary USB
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devices by default (this is a security measure). To give yourself
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access to the Push2, you need to create a file in
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the <code>/etc/udev/rules.d</code> folder (directory). The name of
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the should be something like "50-Ableton-Push2.rules" (the only
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critical parts are that it ends in ".rules" and is unique). The
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file should contain the following single line:
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</p>
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<p>
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<verb>
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SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2982", ATTR{idProduct}=="1967", MODE="0666", GROUP="audio"
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</verb>
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</p>
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<p>
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Note that you will need to be member of the group named in the
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"GROUP" property ("audio" in the example above).
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</p>
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</div>
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<p>
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To connect the Push 2 to Ardour, open the Preferences dialog, and
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then click on "Control Surfaces". Click on the "Enable" button
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in the line that says "Ableton Push 2" in order to activate Ardour's
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Push 2 support.
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</p>
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<p>
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Once you select the input and output port, Ardour will initialize
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the Push 2 and it will be ready to use. You only need do this
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once: once these ports are connected and your session has been
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saved, the connections will be made automatically in this and other
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future sessions.
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</p>
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<h2>Push 2 Configuration</h2>
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<p>
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The only configuration option at this time is whether the pads send
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aftertouch or polyphonic pressure messages. You can alter this
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setting via the Push 2 GUI, accessed by double-clicking on the "Push
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2" entry in the control surfaces list.
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</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/push2-gui.png" alt="The Push 2 configuration dialog">
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<figcaption>
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The Push 2 configuration dialog
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<h2>Basic Concepts</h2>
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<p>
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With the Push 2 support in Ardour 5.4, you can do the following
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things:
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<table class="dl">
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<tr><th>Perform using the 8 x 8 pad "grid"</th>
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<td>The Push 2 has really lovely pressure-sensitive pads that can
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also generate either aftertouch or note (polyphonic) pressure.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Global Mixing</th>
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<td>See many tracks at once, and control numerous parameters for each.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Track/Bus Mixing</th>
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<td>View a single track/bus, with even more parameters for the track.</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Choose the mode/scale, root note and more for the pads</th>
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<td>37 scales are available. Like Live, Ardour offers both
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"in-key" and "chromatic" pad layouts.</td></tr>
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</table>
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… plus a variety of tasks related to transport control, selection,
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import, click track control and more.
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</p>
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<h2>Musical Performance</h2>
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<p>
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Messages sent from the 8x8 pad grid and the "pitch bend bar" are
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routed to a special MIDI port within Ardour called "Push 2 Pads"
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(no extra latency is incurred from this routing). Although you can
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manually connect this port to whatever you wish, the normal
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behaviour of Ardour's Push 2 support is to connect the pads to the
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most recently selected MIDI track.
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</p>
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<p>
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This means that to play a soft-synth/instrument plugin in a given
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MIDI track with the Push 2, you just need to select that track.
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</p>
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<p>
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If multiple MIDI tracks are selected at once, the first selected
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track will be used. Note that messages originating from all other
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controls on the Push 2 will <em>not</em> not be delivered to the
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"Push 2 Pads" port. This makes no difference in practice, because
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the other controls do not send messages that are useful for musical
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performance.
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</p>
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<h2>Global Mix</h2>
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<p>
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This is the default mode that Ardour will start the Push 2 in. In
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this mode, the 8 knobs at the top of the device, the 8 buttons below
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them, the video display and the 8 buttons below that are combined to
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provide a global view of the session mix.
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</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/push2-globalmix.png" alt="Global mix mode on Push2 screen">
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<figcaption>
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Global mix mode on Push2 screen
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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The upper buttons are labelled by text in the video display just
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below them. Pressing one of the buttons changes the function of the
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knobs, and the parameters that will shown for each track/bus in the
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display.
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</p>
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<p>
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As of Ardour 5.4, the possible parameters are:
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<table class="dl">
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<tr><th>Volumes</th>
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<td>The display shows a knob and text displaying
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the current gain setting for the track, and a meter that
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corresponds precisely to the meter shown in the Ardour GUI for
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that track. Changing the meter type (e.g. from Peak to K12) in the
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GUI will also change it in the Push 2 display. The physical knob
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will alter track/bus gain.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Pans</th>
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<td>The display shows a knob indicating the pan direction/azimuth
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for the corresponding track/bus. Turning the physical knob will
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pan the track left and right. If the track/bus has no panner
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(i.e. it has only a single output), no knob is shown and the
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physical knob will do nothing. </td></tr>
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<tr><th>Pan Widths</th>
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<td><p>For tracks with 2 outputs, the display will show a knob
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indicating the pan width setting for the corresponding
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track/bus. The physical knob can be turned to adjust the
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width.
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</p>
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<p>
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Unlike many DAWs, Ardour's stereo panners have "width"
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parameter that defaults to 100%. You cannot change the pan
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direction/azimuth of a track with 100% width, but must first
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reduce the width in order to pan it. Similarly, a track panned
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anywhere other than dead center has limits on the maximum
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width setting. If these concepts are not familiar to you,
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please be aware than many DAWs use a "panner" that actually
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implement "balance" and not "panning", hence the difference.
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</p>
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>A Sends</th>
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<td>The display shows a knob indicating the gain level for the
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first send in that track. If the track has no send, no knob will
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be shown, and the physical knob for that track will do nothing.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>B Sends, C Sends, D Sends</th>
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<td>Like "A Sends", but for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sends of a
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track/bus respectively.
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</td></tr>
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</table>
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</p>
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<p>
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To change which tracks are shown while in global mix mode, use the
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left and right arrow/cursor keys just below and to the right of the
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display. Tracks and busses that are hidden in Ardour's GUI will also
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be hidden from display on the Push 2.
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</p>
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<p>
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To select a track/bus directly from the Push 2, press the
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corresponding button below the display. The track name will be
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highlighted, and the selection will change in Ardour's GUI as well
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(and also any other control surfaces).
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</p>
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<h3>Soloing and Muting in Global Mix mode</h3>
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<p>
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The Solo and Mute buttons to the left of the video display can be
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used to solo and mute tracks while in Global Mix mode. The operation
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will be applied to the <em>first</em> currently selected
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track(s).
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</p>
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<p>
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There are two indications that one or more tracks are soloed:
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<ol>
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<li>The solo button will blink red</li>
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<li>Track names will be prefixed by "*" if they are soloed, and
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"-" if they are muted due to soloing.</li>
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</ol>
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</p>
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<p>
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To cancel solo, either:
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<ul>
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<li>Select the soloed track(s) and press the solo button
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again</li>
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<li>Press and hold the solo button for more than 1 second</li>
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</ul>
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</p>
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<h2>Track Mix</h2>
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<p>Track Mix mode allows you to focus on a single track in more detail
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than is possible in Global Mix mode. To enter (or leave) Track Mix
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mode, press the "Mix" button.
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</p>
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<p>
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</p>
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<p>
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In Track Mix mode, various aspects of the state of the first
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selected track/bus will be displayed on the Push 2. Above the
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display, the first 4 knobs control track volume (gain), pan
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directiom/azimuth, pan width, and where appropriate, track input
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trim.
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</p>
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<p>
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Below the display, 7 buttons provide immediate control of mute,
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solo, rec-enable, monitoring (input or disk or automatic), solo
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isolate and solo safe state. When a a track is muted due to other
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track(s) soloing, the mute button will flash (to differentiate from
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its state when it is explicitly muted).
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</p>
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<p>
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The video display also shows meters for the track, which as in
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Global Mix mode, precisely match the meter type shown in Ardour's
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GUI. There are also two time displays showing the current playhead
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position in both musical (beats|bars|ticks) format, and as
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hours:minutes:seconds.
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</p>
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<p>
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To change which track is visible in Track Mix mode, use the
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left/right arrow/cursor keys just below and to the right of the
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video display.
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</p>
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<h2>Scale Selection</h2>
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<p>
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Press the Scale button to enter Scale mode. The display will look
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like this:
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</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="/images/push2-scale.png" alt="Track mix mode on Push2 screen">
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<figcaption>
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Track mix mode on Push2 screen
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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In the center, 37 scales are presented. Scroll through them by
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either using the cursor/arrow keys to the lower right of the
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display, or the knobs above the display. The scale will change
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dynamically as you scroll. You can also scroll in whole pages using
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the upper right and upper left buttons above the display (they will
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display "<" and ">" if scrolling is possible).
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</p>
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<p>
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To change the root note of the scale, press the corresponding button
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above or below the video display.The button will be lit to indicate
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your selection (and the text will be highlighted).
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</p>
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<p>
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By default, Ardour configures the Push 2 pads to use "in-key" mode,
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where all pads correspond to notes "in" the chosen scale. Notes
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corresponding to the root note, or the equivalent note in higher
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octaves, are highlighted with the color of the current target MIDI
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track.
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</p>
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<p>
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In
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"chromatic" mode, the pads correspond to a continuous sequence of
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notes starting with your selected root note. Pads corresponding to
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notes in the scale are illuminated; those corresponding to the root
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note are lit with the color the current target MIDI track. Other
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pads are left dark, but you can still play them.
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</p>
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<p>
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To switch between them, press button on the lower left of the video
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display; the text above it will display the current mode (though it
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is usually visually self-evident from the pad lighting pattern).
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</p>
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<p>
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To leave Scale mode, press the "Scale" button again. You may also
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use the upper left button above the display, though if you have
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scrolled left, it may require more than one press.
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</p>
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<h2>Specific Button/Knob Functions</h2>
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<p>
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In addition to the layouts described above, many (but not all) of
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the buttons and knobs around the edges of the Push 2 will carry out
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various functions related to their (illuminated) label. As of Ardour
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5.4, this includes:
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<table class="dl">
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<tr><th>Metronome (button and adjacent knob)</th>
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<td>
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Enables/disables the click (metronome). The knob directly above
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it will control the volume (gain) of the click.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Undo/Redo</th>
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<td>
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Undo or redo the previous editing operation.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Delete</th>
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<td>
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Deletes the currently selected region, or range, or
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note. Equivalent to using Ctrl/Cmd-x on the keyboard.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Quantize</th>
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<td>
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If a MIDI region is selected in Ardour, this will open the
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quantize dialog.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Duplicate</th>
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<td>
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Duplicates the current region or range selection.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Rec-Enable</th>
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<td>
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Enables and disables Ardour's global record enable state.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Play</th>
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<td>
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Starts and stops the transport. Press Shift-Play to return to
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the session start.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Add Track</th>
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<td>
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Opens Ardour's Add Track/Bus dialog.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Browse</th>
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<td>
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Open's Ardour's import dialog to select and audition existing
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audio and MIDI files.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Master</th>
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<td>
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Pressing this button jumps directly to Track Mix mode, with the
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master out bus displayed.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Cursor arrows</th>
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<td>
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These are used by some modes to navigate within the display (e.g
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Scale mode). In other modes, the up/down cursor arrows will
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scroll the GUI display up and down, while the left/right cursor
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arrows will generally scroll within the Push 2 display itself.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Repeat</th>
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<td>
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Enables/disables loop playback. This will follow Ardour's "loop
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is mode" preference, just like the loop button in the Ardour
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GUI.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Octave buttons</th>
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<td>
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These shift the root note of the current pad scale up or down by
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1 octave.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Page buttons</th>
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<td>
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These scroll Ardour's editor display left and right along the
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timeline.
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</td></tr>
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<tr><th>Master (top right) knob</th>
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<td>
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This knob controls the gain/volume of Ardour's main output. If
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the session has a monitor section.
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</td></tr>
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</table>
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</p>
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