Dark jam with the Ableton Push 3 Standalone and Novation AFX Station

video upload by Jay Hosking

"A live synthesizer jam performed entirely on hardware.

This is the fourth track I've made specifically for the Push 3, and the first where I've used Ableton Live to make the entirety of the song. Some of Live 12's new features, like the generative sequencer tools, can be a fun way to get quickly inspired. I still miss many aspects of Reason when working in Live, but it's fun to change things up.

Kudos to the amazing Novation AFX Station. This synth has a fantastic panel, is a great size (not too big, not too small), two levels of drive/distortion, two filter options, great either clean or gritty, excellent resonance on the filter, etc. The more I use it, the more I love it. It's been around for 11 years, and there are more expensive mono synths, but I'd reach for this one before most for something dark and interesting.

I'm either 40 or 50 percent through this particular album/set and really happy with the music so far. The Push 3 really allows me to create songs in a way that no other setup has allowed. And while there are many features I wish it had (especially more on the side of performance), I'm finding myself happier and happier thinking of it as my live-set device. Can't wait to take these songs on the road.

Ableton Push 3 — most sounds, effects, and performance
Novation AFX Station — mono synth melody/lead thing

Performed and recorded live, with EQ, compression, and limiting on the master.

https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com"