Looking for powerful 2in1 or touchscreen laptop

[Sebastiantheseeker]

Many cores, high ghz

Neither are a guarantee for good performance.

Rather check out benchmarks.

Yes I do that also... but there is a reason I want many cores because I know of a program optimized to use them... pluginguru unify

[Sebastiantheseeker]

Here is also a faceboook User Group thatbposts Videos about their use of an iPad all the time... https://m.facebook.com/groups/251022967 ... ef=m_notif

[BONES]

You need to join the group to see anything and I don't do Facebook. I tried having a look at their Dischord group but you have to be a member of that, too.

Lol android tablets are useless, but iPads are amazing... I’m surprised you are not aware.

I've never had an Android tablet and I am unaware of iPads being any more useful because you can't install proper applications on them. My Windows tablets run/ran the same software as my laptop (and office workstation) so they are actually useful. iPads and Android tablets run little toy apps that don't do anything. The music you've produced is good but I could probably do the same in FL Studio on my phone if I wanted to.

Could you perform it live from your iPad? I've only ever seen people using iPads on stage to control another computer or hardware instrument. The system is too closed and there is no continuity. I can start a song in Studio One on my 8" Windows tablet, using the same VST plugins I use on my other computers, save the file to a USB thumb drive (or to the cloud if there's wi-fi) and work on it in Studio One on my laptop when I get home. It's utterly seamless. But the thing is I don't do that because if I have to carry the tablet, I might as well just take my laptop. As I said, at least my old tablet could fit in my pocket, so there was a point to taking it over the laptop but with the Lenovo I still have, there just isn't. I should have kept the other one and got rid of the one I kept but I didn't, because I'm an idiot, and now nobody makes 8" Windows tablets any more (presumably because Windows 10 is absolutely useless on a small tablet).

Here is my favorite and most used app. Nothing like it is available on a pc/Mac: it’s all through my recordings: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oHwSshPi-i8

From that video it seems the epitome of what I mean. It's a toy to play with and it doesn't do anything you couldn't do on a standard synth keyboard with pitch-bend and mod wheels. HERE, for example, is a song I recorded live at home more than 30 years ago and the "lead" guitar part - more prominent in the back half of the song - was something I played from either my Korg M1 or my shiny new ASR-10 (I can't specifically remember which).

This app is also a midi controller, so is the reason I run both computer and iPad.

Yeah, it reminds me of my Roli Lightpad Blocks or an Erae Touch, but with a hard surface. It's probably pretty cost-effective for that compared to the specialised controllers (I've spent about US$500 on Roli Blocks and another US$400 on a Seaboard).

iPad is now my main instrument. I also play bass, percussion, sing etc. because of my fondness for the iPad, this is why I Long for a laptop with a touchscreen in the first place.

I pretty much never use touch on my laptop, I always have a mouse with me. I'm not someone who just plays around with stuff, I need to have something concrete to do or I feel like I am wasting my time.

[Sebastiantheseeker]

I understand where you are coming from, yet I think that some of what you think about iPad is outdated. I see your workflow and I am no longer urging you to adopt an iPad, as it will add a lot of redundancy for a lot of learning and you don’t use touchscreen so much (I thought it was not that way for you.)

As for geoshred there is a lot of things that you can do on it that are not easily possible and/or very uncommon on a regular keyboard or a hard surface. I can bend two notes differently, and I often bend a fourth interval into a third or diminished (it is even possible to bend one note up Andy one down at the same time, and in accordance with your touch, very expressive. And I can bend 5 notes differently if I want) the only thing that the hardware has on the screen is a sense of pressure. Oh believe me, there is plenty plenty of stuff that geoshred does that nothing else will. Basically I can play it like a true lap steel, with all the expressiveness of it too. When I capture a solo, I do not go back and add volume, effects, or expressiveness. It is all captured live.

The iPad apps were toys 10 years ago, but even now there are apps that are exact replicas (but touchscreen) of vsts and fully featured and just as powerful, often at a fraction of the price.

Here is an example of a very powerful synth that is not a toy on the iPad, and it is made by a very well respected hardware maker, Moog. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8aeO_FOlTIQ

There are also full fledged daws on iPad like Cubasis.

Also I have performed live using the iPad as an instrument (like a touchscreen keyboard... geoshred) and also as a performance and playback tool (not merely a play backing track tool but as a full fledged live clip launcher, I.e. Novation launchpad app.) you wouldn’t catch me fiddling around with a mouse during a live performance.

As for closed system, this is a valid argument but also a matter of perspective. In a way, the pc/Mac is a closed system that doesn’t work with my main workflow, Th iPad. Same argument, different vantage point. However I will not be limited by such close mindedness. There are plenty of workarounds, and I use them (some programs like even share presets between iPad and Mac.) the simplest workaround is that if I make something on the iPad (often since I am often on the NYC subway for hours) then I can export it as a wav or stem into my pc/Mac for further processing... and vice versa. Plus there are all kinds of protocols that may be passed back and forth between both including live connections in midi and Osc. It is not as closed as you might think.

I do understand you maybe not wanting to explore further for your own use, as it is an extra lot of work and favors an interface that is secondary to you (touch.) However the iPad is far from a toy, and android is so far behind iPad that unless your phone is an iPhone, you won’t be duplicating what I produced on your phone without years worth of work. Even then, iPad has many apps that are not also on iPhone, and the iPhone screen is not conducive to many apps. I have way too large of hands and not good enough seeing to use an iPhone other than a mere midi controller for my setup.

I am not saying iPad is any better than of/Mac, just that it is different, and most certainly not worse. That is an outdated notion.

The touch interface is a key difference. I was keen on that as a tactile string player myself, and the iPad was the perfect medium to bridge the tactility of an instrument with the complexity and options of complex hardware like interfaces, like a daw does. I do much prefer the use of a touchscreen over a mouse a million times, but this is only a matter of preference. There is no accounting for taste, so there is no judgment of your differing preference. Keyboard players and guitarists play the same chords with different interfaces. Who is to say one is better than the other? Yet there are things to be done on one and not the other. To me the geoshred app is the best instrument somewhere between a keyboard and stringed instrument.

I have decided to embrace both (at the cost of a perpetually empty pocket lol) but to me it’s worth it, and it definitely amps up my creativity.

I hope your UX482 serves you well. Please report back when you have it set up.

[BONES]

As for geoshred there is a lot of things that you can do on it that are not easily possible and/or very uncommon on a regular keyboard or a hard surface. I can bend two notes differently, and I often bend a fourth interval into a third or diminished (it is even possible to bend one note up Andy one down at the same time, and in accordance with your touch, very expressive. And I can bend 5 notes differently if I want) the only thing that the hardware has on the screen is a sense of pressure. Oh believe me, there is plenty plenty of stuff that geoshred does that nothing else will. Basically I can play it like a true lap steel, with all the expressiveness of it too.

Clearly you've not seen a Roli Seaboard in action. What you're describing is what you get from any decent MPE controller. This is a pretty decent demo -

The iPad apps were toys 10 years ago, but even now there are apps that are exact replicas (but touchscreen) of vsts and fully featured and just as powerful, often at a fraction of the price.

But that's what makes it a toy - it's a replica and it won't work inside my DAW.

Here is an example of a very powerful synth that is not a toy on the iPad, and it is made by a very well respected hardware maker, Moog. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8aeO_FOlTIQ

You clearly don't know what I think of Moog stuff and nothing I heard skipping through that video was going to change my mind. Again, what's the point of it if I can't integrate it into my broader workflow?

There are also full fledged daws on iPad like Cubasis.

That's a cut-down, stripped out version of a DAW with no VST support. Again, it's a good example of what I mean and the iPad itself creates too many limitations, thanks to it's almost complete lack of connectivity. My laptop has the USB ports so I can plug my audio I/O device, my Roli controllers and a second controller in without having to futz about with a hub or adapters or anything like that. I used to use a Surface Pro but it's single USB port became too big a limitation.

Also I have performed live using the iPad as an instrument (like a touchscreen keyboard... geoshred) and also as a performance and playback tool (not merely a play backing track tool but as a full fledged live clip launcher, I.e. Novation launchpad app.) you wouldn’t catch me fiddling around with a mouse during a live performance.

On stage I only use the mouse to load the next song. I do not touch the computer during a song, that's what my controllers are for.

As for closed system, this is a valid argument but also a matter of perspective. In a way, the pc/Mac is a closed system that doesn’t work with my main workflow, Th iPad.

That's only because Apple have chosen to wall you off from the wider world, so they can milk you of more money. You made the choice to be cut off and in terms of who is worse off for it, it should be fairly obvious.

the simplest workaround is that if I make something on the iPad (often since I am often on the NYC subway for hours) then I can export it as a wav or stem into my pc/Mac for further processing... and vice versa.

That's just bad workflow because it creates a point from which you cannot go back. I don't even Freeze tracks when I'm working, it's too much hassle if I want to make changes down the line.

Plus there are all kinds of protocols that may be passed back and forth between both including live connections in midi and Osc. It is not as closed as you might think.

If you can't save a project in one thing and open it in the other, then it is exactly as closed as I think it is. It's as much hassle as I have to go through when I want to take a song from our old host, Orion, and get it working in Studio One so we can play it live.

However the iPad is far from a toy, and android is so far behind iPad that unless your phone is an iPhone, you won’t be duplicating what I produced on your phone without years worth of work.

Maybe you missed the point where I said you can get FL Studio for Android? Yes, it's a cut-down version but I imagine it's capable enough and it has good integration with the real version (as I imagine Cubasis does). But, as I said, Android is a joke and I hate it. I use full-featured Windows 8 on my tablet(s), which means it runs exactly the same software as my laptop and workstation. I never need to render stems or make any other compromises, beyond the tablet's modest CPU, just because I want to work on the go. But I still don't do it because my laptop is 100% as portable as my tablet.

I am not saying iPad is any better than of/Mac, just that it is different, and most certainly not worse.

Of course it's worse. It is less powerful, it has a small screen, limited software choices and incredibly limited connectivity.

I do much prefer the use of a touchscreen over a mouse a million times, but this is only a matter of preference.

The problem with touch interfaces is that they are, out of necessity, dumbed down. You just can't get all the controls of a full DAW, or even a more complex softsynth, to work in a touchscreen environment. For that you need an accurate pointing device. Touch is like finger-painting where a mouse is more akin to painting with a brush.

To me the geoshred app is the best instrument somewhere between a keyboard and stringed instrument.

Have your tried a Linnstrument? It's a LOT more expensive than an iPad but, from my limited understanding of guitars, it is also about as close as you'll get to a guitar in a MIDI controller.

I hope your UX482 serves you well. Please report back when you have it set up.

I don't expect it to be any different to my UX481, other than being a bit faster. Where I expect the biggest improvement is with the better graphics card, which is why I am buying it, but that won't affect how any of my music software works. 3D pushes my computers much harder than music does.

[Sebastiantheseeker]

I have played a roli seaboard and i hate it. I hate the feel of it. I am also not fond of keyboard setups and that as another reason i like geoshred. I am a string player, not a keyboard player.

Cubasis is a full fledged daw. While it might not handle your vsts, it uses apps instead which take the place. I will say it again... your perspective is valid, but i don't have to share it. You can call an ipad worse, but that doesn’t mean that it is. It’s just different.

To say that you cant do on an ipad what you can do on a pc is just ignorant. Its simply not true. The truth is that you DON’T WANT TO. That’s fine with me. There is a differnece.

You not wanting to use a usb adapter with a tablet is also just a preference. Given the size of the ipad, i am willing to put up with an extension to deal with ins and outs. You clearly are not. That’s fine with me.

I hate apple’s closed system as much as you. I really do like my ipad, while still hating apple. They did some things right and other things i disagree with. With a little effort there are workarounds. I again am not saying this to try to convince you to try it. I am pointing out that it is not worse, just different. I respect your taste. Dont look down so harshly on mine.

I made the choice to be cut off? Now that is laughable. I said i use a pc also. I said i also use real instruments. Who is the one here who has cut themselves off. Hint: It’s not me. I’m just saying. Come on now. You are entitled to your opinion, but don't look down on me. (You aren't my parent.)

Of course its NOT worse... its just about as powerful... the small screen is a plus for me... and connectivity is a non issue (for me.) I've found my workarounds. (Of course if you get a $5000 machine it will be more powerful, but this isn’t a pissing contest. If its powerful enough to run all the things i want then it is plenty powerful.) I don't know yet, but i wonder if the ux482 is going to be able to handle similar things to what i do on the ipad? Any earlier tablets would definitely not. I guess i will find out later this year.

I am currently working with a pc laptop that is only a few years old and with decent specs. I paid 3 times more for it than the ipad i am typing on right now, and this ipad will blow its doors off as far as processing power.

So what it basically comes down to is that i prefer this interface and you prefer yours. Thats fine with me. Neither is better because the person (and their preference) is more important than the equipment, and always will be. That goes along with what being an artist is. If you disagree then that’s your problem buddy, not mine lol

I do agree that android is pretty much a joke when it comes to music production. It is a toy, and was where the ipad was 8-10 years ago. Maybe it will mature, but to keep costs down, i doubt it.

As far as fingers being like finger painting and a mouse like a brush, well that is just perspective. Your instument of choice is a mouse. I am able to do much more with finger touch and it probably has to do with me playing a bass for 20+ years. What you say about the mouse vs a touchscreen i see in the exact reverse way. Thats fine with me. You have mastered your instrument and i have mastered mine. Who is going to expect us to switch instruments and roles? Not me. Anything i said previously was just a suggestion, not a judgment on your preference. We are all adults here, so lets keep it this way.

I actually play a guitar, a bass version and have for twenty years. The linnstrument is no better than an ipad and costs a lot more and does less. Dont tell me the linnstrument is better for a guitar sim. Remember that i play a real one. The seaboard sucks ass. Thats my opinion. You can print it.

[BONES]

I have played a roli seaboard and i hate it. I hate the feel of it. I am also not fond of keyboard setups and that as another reason i like geoshred. I am a string player, not a keyboard player.

I'm the opposite, I love the feel of the Roli stuff and I have never so much as picked up a guitar in my life.

Cubasis is a full fledged daw. While it might not handle your vsts, it uses apps instead which take the place. I will say it again... your perspective is valid, but i don't have to share it. You can call an ipad worse, but that doesn’t mean that it is. It’s just different.

it's worse for the reasons I stated, mostly the limited connectivity. On stage we have so much stuff connected to my laptop, most of it drawing power from the lappie's battery, too. In fact, that's one thing that worries me a bit with the UX482 - it uses one of the USB-C ports for power, which effectively takes it out of play. I'll have to find a way around it, probably by going to a BlueTooth mouse.

To say that you cant do on an ipad what you can do on a pc is just ignorant. Its simply not true.

I can't run Studio One, I can't run bx_oberhausen (or anything even nearly as good), I can't run any of the instruments I use every day.

You not wanting to use a usb adapter with a tablet is also just a preference.

No, it's not, it's about streamlining everything so we can get on and off stage quickly and with a minimum of fuss and the fewest possible points of failure we can manage. So one laptop, one I/O device and the absolute minimum of peripherals, which is currently my Roli controllers (with redundancies), my bandmate's drum pads and my Uno Pro (hardware synth). If it's a local gig, we might take his Moog Subsequent 37 and my Waldorf Rocket but when we play overseas, it's what fits in carry-on luggage only.

Given the size of the ipad, i am willing to put up with an extension to deal with ins and outs. You clearly are not. That’s fine with me.

It's more that you are willing to work across two largely incompatible devices and I am very definitely not. As above, I am all about simplicity, finding one thing that can do everything I want or need to do.

I really do like my ipad, while still hating apple.

I'm the same with Microsoft. They have screwed me over several times and I hate them with a passion but I still think Windows is the only viable option for pretty much everything and, until Win11, I thought it was miles ahead of the alternatives in its own right. But Win11 is just another little reminder that I can't trust Microsoft at all.

I made the choice to be cut off? Now that is laughable. I said i use a pc also.

To me that simply proves that iPads are useless (or maybe you could say that it's proof PCs are, I suppose, but you'd be wrong).

i wonder if the ux482 is going to be able to handle similar things to what i do on the ipad?

Is that a joke? An 11th gen Core i7 runs rings around Apple's M1 chip. And how much RAM do they put in iPads these days? 4GB?

I am currently working with a pc laptop that is only a few years old and with decent specs. I paid 3 times more for it than the ipad i am typing on right now, and this ipad will blow its doors off as far as processing power.

Moore's Law says that if the laptop is 3 years old, then a new one will be 4x more powerful. That's just the way it goes. My new one is only one generation newer than my current one but I expect it to be at least one-third more powerful.

I do agree that android is pretty much a joke when it comes to music production.

I just noticed that Cubasis is also available for Android, so you need to be careful how much you bag Android. But all the reasons you might give why Android is bad would also apply to why iPads are bad in comparison to a proper computer environment. I just hate Android because it's a shit OS that's just not designed to be useful for anything but data gathering for Google.

I am able to do much more with finger touch and it probably has to do with me playing a bass for 20+ years.

It's not about what you can do, it's about how the GUIs are designed. Compare, for example, Korg's Gadgets for iOS with their VSTi for proper computers.

What you say about the mouse vs a touchscreen i see in the exact reverse way. Thats fine with me. You have mastered your instrument and i have mastered mine.

I think that's the big difference between you and me. I don't see my self as a musician at all and I don't particularly enjoy playing an instrument. To me they are all just means to an end. I'm a performer, a songwriter and a producer, in that order. To me, an instrument is just something I need as a performer, like a prop in a play. In fact, I choose instruments as much on how they will look on stage as anything else. I let the laptop play 90% of the music when we perform, I just play something simple and maybe do the occasional really basic solo.

Dont tell me the linnstrument is better for a guitar sim.

I wasn't. As I said it was from my limited perspective. But a lot of guitarists around here who have Linnstruments would disagree with you (which is where I got my perspective from). I just look at them and know that I wouldn't use one if you gave it to me. Interestingly, though, I will probably play our next gigs with just a couple of Lightpad Blocks, mostly because I can and because they aren't serious musical instruments, and yet...

[Sebastiantheseeker]

I am thinking about checking one of these out...

https://www.lattepanda.com/blog-3240.html

https://www.lattepanda.com/products/lat ... vated.html

[BONES]

Core M3 is a fairly low power mobile processor that Intel stopped making a few years ago. I doubt it would be anywhere near powerful enough for your needs. Cool concept, though.

[Sebastiantheseeker]

Yes I saw that. It would probably just be better to get an old surface.

[BONES]

Yeah, at least you'll get a better processor.

[Lift-off]

It seems Asus has been ahead of the curve lately, what they're proposing with some of their products is incredible and definitely makes you wonder how you could integrate some of these tools in your workflow. Maybe some day you won't even need an external MIDI controler anymore, everything will be built-in in the laptop already. I'm not even sure if it could still be considered a laptop at this point though Do you think Apple should take notes ? *touchbar*

[BONES]

Asus were willing to throw a few things at the wall and see what stuck and where they've ended up is with something unique and incredibly valuable across a lot of use cases. I honestly can't see myself being happy if I ever have to go back to something more anodyne, the advantages go far beyond my initial expectations.

[Sebastiantheseeker]

Asus were willing to throw a few things at the wall and see what stuck and where they've ended up is with something unique and incredibly valuable across a lot of use cases. I honestly can't see myself being happy if I ever have to go back to something more anodyne, the advantages go far beyond my initial expectations.

Did you get your ux482 yet?

[BONES]

Yeah. It is so similar to my old one that it's easy to forget it's not the same machine. But it will be another few days before I've got everything installed and it's ready for use. It takes so long to install all the plugins. I decided this time around that Id only install the things I actually use but it still takes so freakin' long.