Surface Book experiences with Bitwig?

[lehtiniemi]

Hi!

I'm looking to buy Surface Book, but was wondering if you guys have some experiences about using it, both good and bad. Especially the form factor. I'm especially interested about this in terms of Surface Book vs Surface Pro. I know there's at least one video review that ponders this specific problem and one problem it mentions is the lack of proper stand in Surface Book, wobbling etc.

How has it worked for you, SB owners?

[lehtiniemi]

Blah, ordered Surface Pro 4 because of the kickstand and built-in ports, probably more suitable for music.

[EsmileZ]

My surfacebook dream ended reaching 3k €

[lehtiniemi]

Mine also ended at it not coming to Finland...

[jwise]

Removed

[Sound And Found]

I have the surface pro 4. It's fun. Really.

[modalmodule]

Running it on a Surface Book. Honestly love it. I had an SP3 that was stolen, and my two complaints with it were screen size and one usb, so when I saw the announcement for the Surface Book I was all about it. Sure it's not AS portable, but still a super thin laptop, and the bonus of bigger screen, extra usb, and WAY MORE BATTERY LIFE made it worthwhile, not to mention I opted for dGpu and video editing is fantastic. I personally use it in "presentation mode" (screen flipped around) all the time and it's actually quite stable unless you're literally stabbing the screen with the pen. The best part for me is, the touch instrument in Bitwig has sooo much range with this screen size!
Here's a clip of me using it to play a string patch. https://youtu.be/pjBQ0I__X_I

[clif321]

Ditto to the last commenter. So far it's been fantastic with Bitwig (also Sonar) and high CPU plugins like Diva. I also use it in "presentation" mode when I don't need the physical keyboard and works great, but it's also great to have the laptop form factor when I want it. In terms of power, storage, and connectivity (Skylake i7, 16gb ram, 1tb SSD, USB3, mini HDMI) it's miles ahead of my last laptop, which was still pretty good in its day (2010 Sony VAIO), and I hope it lasts me as long as that one did.

[deeflash]

hey guys,

I've got a Surface Pro 4 i7 8gb ram and 256 GB ssd. Have you guys done any tweaks to the power settings or anything to get it running solid in Bitwig? I am just starting out on Bitwig, long time ableton user, but want to make sure I get some solid performance out of Bitwig like I expect in my "other DAW".

BTW my last laptop was a Sony Vaio from around 2010 as well.

[lehtiniemi]

Thanks for the comments, cool to hear!

I purchased Surface Pro for testing and I like the concept but I'm returning it and ordering Surface Book tomorrow. The screen size really matters, I think Surface Pro 4 is a bit too small.

[Echoes in the Attic]

I'm using Bitwig on a Vaio Canvas Z which is really fun (and a quad core processor so about 2x as fast as the surface 4 or surface book) and also has 2 usb ports and full sd card slot. However I am very curious what they will do with the second generation surface book. I like the screen size, the full SD card slot and extra usb, but I would like a surface that has the same size screen as the surface book and those extra ports, but with the same stand and cover of the surface pro.

But I have to say, Bitwig touch screen is good fun. The touch keyboard is lots of fun, especially with Falcon and the MPE script!

[lehtiniemi]

Returned the Surface Pro and purchasd Surface book. What a machine. Whoa, such good design.

For others choosing between these two, these were my biggest pros for Surface Book:
-Display size. It's about an inch bigger, just the right size. Surface Pro just seemed too small, almost in every app I felt things are cramped or too small. Especially if you write much like I do.
-Keyboard (and built quality, sturdyness). I just didn't get used to the Surface pro type cover. It was always hanging or in the way, didn't like setting the stand each time. When I took Surface book out of the package, the difference was like night and day. I was simply blown by the design of it. You've also maybe read the reviews but the Surface book tablet part is REALLY light. Although I'll probably be using Bitwig with keyboard attached but still. The built quality is very nice. Well designed and sturdy. Also surprisingly heavy as whole, but the tablet feels like cartboard light like my friend said when she held it. I can't believe it's the whole computer. Very happy about the choice and this new tool. And the Bitwig touch instruments (play-mode) is so cool when used with synths. Like a new world opening up, when coming from traditional midi-keyboard. Suddenly the synth parameters matter and you can play them.

These aren't all Bitwig related things but rather just for someone considering between these two. I'd say biggest things (the design aside) are the display size - either you need bigger size or don't and this won't change in time. Second comes the keyboard attachment: a solid laptop is just more convenient to open than a type cover. Again, for my use. Someone might prefer the Surface pro stand mechanism for live use.

[sisarii]

A dual core i7 for 3k euros? Lol. My studio buddy has one and it chokes when doing mildly complex things. Its just a sketchpad, if you are serious about producing then you need a desktop.

It works nice for what it does though. Lets hope next years surface book will have some more horse power for the money..

[lehtiniemi]

Yea I wouldn't take it for my main computer. I have desktop for serious stuff. Like you said. A sketchpad!

[lehtiniemi]

Yea I wouldn't take it for my sole main compute I guess. I have desktop for heavier stuff and plugins. But my main computer doesn't have touch things. So I see Surface Book more like an instrument, die things I can't do in my desktop. I'm looking for way of routing the touch instrument output to desktop but currently MPE doesn't go though the External instrument device. But like I wrote, it's really creative second computer for mobile use! I really like it.