Hey guys,
I wanted to ask: is a Surface good for Ableton/FL Studio?
I’m really into the design of that computer, and I love the fact that it combines a laptop and a tablet…
I found some from 2019/2020 with 16GB RAM for less than an M1 MacBook, but I don’t want to make a mistake.
What do you think?
I like my tracks with many sfx and plugins, as of now I’m not recording any ext. instruments but I hope to get back to guitars anytime soon
Sorry M1 Macbook for the win, this is coming from Windows guys. The Surface is nice, I own pretty much every iteration through the years.
As a laptop it sucks, you need to prop it on a stable surface to use it, you can try using it like a laptop on the knees but it’s not very good or comfortable or stable.
If you’re using it as a tablet, it’s not very good too. I always ended up in laptop mode. I use tablet mode to just read stuff and browse casually. But you really need a stylus to get better hands on control, or mouse.
I do like the Surface saying that, and it will run FL and Ableton, But the only biggest positive is probably the price is cheaper. However, I would save up and get m1 myself. Because I’m sure the 8GB version will feel and perform better than a 16GB Surface.
Again, Windows guy here and I’m not a fan of Apple myself, but sometimes you got to recognise game.
I have a 8GB Surface Pro Book 2. I used to do it all using it and it was fine. BUT, once i started to get more serious with more plugins, especially automation!!!, i had to switch.
The workaround of this is that you can just bounce each track to audio and keep working. But, once you start using automation, you will most likely be frustrated again. (Probably depends how many and how complicated your automations are though).
So if you are going to be using a lot of plugins especially the ones with CPU demand, this is not for you. You will quickly dump it.
Right now, i have my MPC Software installed on it and i like to use it as a tablet to work on drum patterns and sometimes for a very basic musical idea to save.
Maybe the new Surface is much better? I don’t know.
I still use Windows laptops though.
definitely check out the Molten channel, this clip is from a while back but he keeps up with what the surface can do and is quite engaging and helpful if you send him a message
I have a surface pro 7 (i5, 8gb ram) for work that I’d hoped to do some light noodling with. I found it was really underpowered and sluggish even for pretty basic tasks, while it also ran unpleasantly warm/hot to the touch.
It’s an okay machine for Ableton Lite-caliber uses, and Bitwig has some very cool touch control features designed for surface, too. But the Surface’s touch screen is noticeably less responsive than an iPad, and I still find myself looking for a real use for it in the studio. I’ve found it a really hard device to recommend over a similarly spec’ed iPad or MacBook Air.
I have a Surface Pro 4 with an i7 CPU and 16GB. It’s clearly nowhere near what an equivalent spec laptop would be and if I were in the market for one now I’d just get a regular laptop. As I already have it, however, it is my main portable computer and I find it really useful for the pre-production part of making tracks. I won’t use it for the final mix downs which require a gang of Universal Audio etc stuff, but for coming up with ideas that I can easily move across to my desktop I’m really enjoying it. I use it primarily with M4L and stock devices rather than external VSTs and as a result it has been instrumental in making me appreciate how great both of these are
Had one and hated it. Constant system updates and issues with connecting hardware. Touchscreen was horrible for producing.
It had no redeeming features apart was light to carry about.
Getting a Wacom pen totally changed my experience of using it, I should add. Fucking love that thing
If I ever buy another laptop. (For music)
It will be a mac.
Decades of windows and I just got sick of it. Got an ipad for work a few years ago and holy shit. It just works. Thats important.
iPad is great, I totally agree ! However don’t get why they don’t just merge Mac and IPad to get a surface like thing.
Obviously Money
Edit: AFAIK Latest IPad and Latest Mac share the same chip
I have a i5 surface pro from 2019 that still just keeps on chugging along. It is not very powerful but I knew that when I bought it.
It runs bitwig and reaper fine so I can make some music on the move.
But I have a stationary more powerful machine in the studio as well.
I would not buy a surface and expect a powerful machine. But I really love mine as it is so portable and silent(fanless)
Here is an example i just did for those interested. I am using one of the Kits come with MPC Software . I had to keep it under 10 megabyte to upload it here. This is as clean and informative as it gets…
You displayed the biggest issue with the Surface in tablet mode, you really need a stylus as none of these programs are created with touch in mind. You might as well just get a laptop end of the day. Surface in general is great concept, but awful execution. The Surface Duo is a prime example of this, great idea but awful product and software.
I don’t make music using it in this format. I just demoed it for anyone interested in what I am doing with it. Or what can be done. It’s portable, light, cheap and has a very large screen.
You can also just tap the pads on the screen with your finger. They are large enough that a regular sized human won’t make too many mistakes. I didn’t do that in the video again i had to keep it under 10 MB to upload here.
Thank you for your answer, what are you using now?
Thank you for the video! I don’t intend to use it as a tablet for music making mostly, but to use it as a tablet as an iPad substitute, so a bigger phone
I don’t know how to explain this good but now I’d carry iPad and a mac while with that or something like that I’d carry both in one thing
2019 means surface 6?
Sorry I am not understanding the names and dates correctly
After years with an Apple Intel I would want to try something new.
I keep hearing nice reviews on the M Chip series but it’s not so affordable.
Also, even if my knowledge is limited I don’t think that a 8GB M1 would be enough, but for sure some one who has one would tell us.
This post is also made because after seeing M1 16GB at average price of 650 and a second hand 16GB surface at 500 I was confused
I genuinely believe that you get more mileage out of a 8gb M1 than a 16gb intel surface. I will always prefer a Windows machine since I grew up and use them day to day. However, it’s always nice to try something new , but I feel the honey moon period will be short. Throw us the specs off your current Mac, and the Surface just so we can know. But also the battery life is awesome too on the M1s, coupled with being still access to powerful on the go. On Windows you probably have to set the power profile on laptop to high performance, guarantee you won’t have much more than couple of hours on that
Yes, it is a Surface pro6.
I missed to put that 6 in there in my previous post.
