# Staffpad - Ipad or Surface pro 7



## FrenchTubist

Hello Guys,

I just discovered the existence of Staffpad for a week ago and I love this idea to write my music with a pencil.

The question is simple, wich Tablet should I buy:
Ipad Pro 12.9 or Surface Pro 7?

I'm a Sibelius user with Noteperformer 3. I love the idea to have sibelius also on the surface (avid really? sibelius not on Ipad?) but I would like to know from the users the percentage of replacement of your notation program. Fully, 80 percent ? At least if all the compositional/arrangement process is done with SP, I would go for the Ipad because I have to admit that the screen and the user interface are quite exciting to use. But If it's less than 70percent, the use of sibelius on a Surface would improve also by a lot the user experience of my favorite notation program. So I'm quite lost and I can't choose. That's why I'm asking for a user's feedback and your opinion.

Thanks for any comment or tipp!

Peter

Ps: I'm a pc guy, it might be also something to consider.


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## Montisquirrel

I cant answer your question about how much percentage of replacement StaffPad did for me, because it is the first kind of software like this wich I use.

I got a Surface Pro 7 about 2 month ago and bought it only because of StaffPad in the first place. Like you, I am a PC guy and thats why I have not even thought about getting an iPad. The Surface Pro runs perfect and I can also use all the software which I use on my main Windows machine. I can also have StaffPad on my Surface and my PC, which you can't when you have an iPad and Win PC (because of the different stores).

Just dont get a cheap Surface Go or a Surface Pro 7 i3.
Get the best one. I have an Surface Pro 7, i7, 16GB, 265 GB SSD and I am very happy


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## FrenchTubist

Montisquirrel said:


> I cant answer your question about how much percentage of replacement StaffPad did for me, because it is the first kind of software like this wich I use.
> 
> I got a Surface Pro 7 about 2 month ago and bought it only because of StaffPad in the first place. Like you, I am a PC guy and thats why I have not even thought about getting an iPad. The Surface Pro runs perfect and I can also use all the software which I use on my main Windows machine. I can also have StaffPad on my Surface and my PC, which you can't when you have an iPad and Win PC (because of the different stores).
> 
> Just dont get a cheap Surface Go or a Surface Pro 7 i3.
> Get the best one. I have an Surface Pro 7, i7, 16GB, 265 GB SSD and I am very happy


Thanks for your reply !
May I ask you how is the feeling with the pen with surface? I tested the Ipad in an apple store and found it quite amazing but I never got the opportunity to test the surface...


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## Montisquirrel

FrenchTubist said:


> Thanks for your reply !
> May I ask you how is the feeling with the pen with surface? I tested the Ipad in an apple store and found it quite amazing but I never got the opportunity to test the surface...


I never had an iPad in my hands, so I can't compare these two, but I enjoy the Surface Pro 7 with the pen. I have to add that this is also my first tablet ever and I never had high end mobile phones, so this hardware feels awesome also because it is kind of new to me in general.

Not sure about the Covid-19 situation at your place, but if you have the opportunity to test a Surface Pro in a shop you should do that.

Also, some functions are a little bit different in the apple and win version of Staffpad. For example in Windows you can't erase with pressure. You need to erase with the back of the pen or with another extra button, but for me that is no problem at all.

The things we talk about are only tiny details. If these tiny details are very important for you, than you should dive deeper in comparing Surface and iPad. For myself, I have a pen, an tablet and I can write music on it, thats all I need. And I can also use my DAW (FL Studio) on this tablet and some games with my son.

You should think about other things you want to do with your Surface/iPad. And if there are other softwares you want to use on this new machine, you should go with the Surface Pro.


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## FrenchTubist

Thank you for the feedback.
As you, those gears are completely new for me. I never consired a tablet as an help for music writing before staffpad.
Unfortunately every stores are closed due the pandemic in germany, so I will buy one on amazon and try directly. I called the client service and I have the right to send back the tablet until 14 days after the delivery. It should be enough time to judge if it's fitting for me or not.

The tiny differences that you've mentioned don't make a major difference in my point view. It's more learning how to use the tools in your hand. 

Concerning the other usage, I'm working with Studio one 5 and there is for both platform a companion app for the mixer but with the surface I can also run S1 natively as it's a windows computer. So for a small (max 4 mics) recording session with an audio interface, it should also do the job. But the ipad has garageband for those kind of use. I would say one point for the surface but it's definitely not black and white... and also my focusrite 6i6 has to work with the ipad, which isn't sure at the moment.

A good battery for teaching is also required. My laptop is not anymore capcable to survive more than an hour and half which is gonna be a issue quickly when we'll go out and back at a normal life.


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## Montisquirrel

The battery is one of the weak points of the Surface, compared to other tablets, but it will last about 5-6 hours. I bought a good powerbank from the brand Anker (100€), which can load my Surface 2 times before I need to reload the powerbank. 

The good thing with the Surface Pro is that you will get full Windows 10 and no tablet/mobile Android or something like this. There are rumours about a new Surface Pro 8 coming this year, but for all your needs, the 7 will do. Just do yourself a favor and go with an i7, 16GB Ram and at least 256GB SSD. And also get a Typecover.

I am in Germany too, by the way


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## InstrEd

I have been looking at Tablets too for mainly to use Staffpad. Since you are a PC person I would go the Surface Pro route. Also maybe consider a 2n1 computer to replace your old laptop. What about a Lenovo Thinkbook 14s Yoga? It comes with an Active Pen and neat thing about this 2n1 is you can add another NVME hard drive.


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## jonathanparham

I have two surface pros a Three and a Five both at 8 gigs each. The Five can handle the addons with lots of polyphony, the Three cannot. Folks do seem pretty happy with the latest ipads. you could also check the facebook group as well on Staffpad


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## wcreed51

What CPU?


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## FrenchTubist

Montisquirrel said:


> The battery is one of the weak points of the Surface, compared to other tablets, but it will last about 5-6 hours. I bought a good powerbank from the brand Anker (100€), which can load my Surface 2 times before I need to reload the powerbank.
> 
> The good thing with the Surface Pro is that you will get full Windows 10 and no tablet/mobile Android or something like this. There are rumours about a new Surface Pro 8 coming this year, but for all your needs, the 7 will do. Just do yourself a favor and go with an i7, 16GB Ram and at least 256GB SSD. And also get a Typecover.
> 
> I am in Germany too, by the way


Thanks for the tipp for the powerbank... It's a good idea. 5 6 hours it's an improvement by a lot from a dead battery inside of my laptop.

I've ordered the surface pro 7 i7 16gb 256go today on amazon with a typecover. I've made a lot of reflection about how the surface will be good integrated in my studio and the surface was the easiest way with windows. But I will miss the screen of the Ipad. It's a killer but it my case there were no perfect solution.

@Montisquirrel Herzliche Grüße aus Karlsruhe!  (salutation from Karlsruhe)


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## FrenchTubist

InstrEd said:


> I have been looking at Tablets too for mainly to use Staffpad. Since you are a PC person I would go the Surface Pro route. Also maybe consider a 2n1 computer to replace your old laptop. What about a Lenovo Thinkbook 14s Yoga? It comes with an Active Pen and neat thing about this 2n1 is you can add another NVME hard drive.


I've thought also about this option but I found the surface more transportable in a bag and it's a real tablet. So it was better for me. And my Laptop is still enough good to stay at home. I will save some money after and buy a tower with a big huge processor to run run big sessions in my daw. But I will wait a year before that.


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## FrenchTubist

jonathanparham said:


> I have two surface pros a Three and a Five both at 8 gigs each. The Five can handle the addons with lots of polyphony, the Three cannot. Folks do seem pretty happy with the latest ipads. you could also check the facebook group as well on Staffpad


Thanks good info! With the seven, the spitfire libraries and the others should run without problem.
The surface pro 7+ get out for 2 days ago but it's only for the professional and the price (2700€) is not ok in my sense. At this price, buy a macbook pro. It's better...


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## mopsiflopsi

I've been wrestling with the same decision lately. Also a PC guy here, but the iPad is an attractive option since it would have uses for other members of my household. My question is, I guess, is there a feasible workflow if I have Staffpad on iOS but my workstation is PC? Is there some kind of web portal/cloud upload/download system via which the two can communicate?


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## Kanter

for one thing, you would require two staffpad licenses, since the PC version cannot be transferred to iOS and vice versa. I don't know whether the actual staffpad files generated by a win version would also open in iOS (and vice versa as well), but easy xml export/import does take the sting out of that question, to a point.


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## jonathanparham

mopsiflopsi said:


> I've been wrestling with the same decision lately. Also a PC guy here, but the iPad is an attractive option since it would have uses for other members of my household. My question is, I guess, is there a feasible workflow if I have Staffpad on iOS but my workstation is PC? Is there some kind of web portal/cloud upload/download system via which the two can communicate?


no if we're talking libraries. We're back to the 80s lol. I now have a PC, and Two surface pros. I can pull up my scores AND libraries on ANY machine. I also have four ipads. I cannot communicate the scores or libraries between them. I'm sure you could move midi or XML. But you need to buy the mac/pc version of the app and all the libraries.


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## mopsiflopsi

Alright, so I could export midi or xml out of the iPad, maybe email that to myself as an attachment, and open that in my DAW and go from there?


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## jonathanparham

mopsiflopsi said:


> Alright, so I could export midi or xml out of the iPad, maybe email that to myself as an attachment, and open that in my DAW and go from there?


Yes you can export either to your daw


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## wcreed51

The Cloud is your friend


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## FrenchTubist

mopsiflopsi said:


> I've been wrestling with the same decision lately. Also a PC guy here, but the iPad is an attractive option since it would have uses for other members of my household. My question is, I guess, is there a feasible workflow if I have Staffpad on iOS but my workstation is PC? Is there some kind of web portal/cloud upload/download system via which the two can communicate?


I can't speak about the ipad because I don't own one but I got the surface since a month ago now, I literally don't stop to use it. It has been a game changer in my work. Staffpad is not perfect but even if the recognition is sometime a little bit to slow or inaccurate, I'm still ten times faster as with the shortcuts and mouse combination with sibelius. Also the quality of the playback is a step higher in comparison with what Noteperformer offers. So from my side best buying in a decade !
The advantage of the surface as a PC guy is that you can easily transfer files from your PC to your tablet as it runs windows on both gears. Furthermore you can also use the tablet as a second screen natively with the wireless display function in windows. Helpful with a DAW.
Another point to consider is the integration of the surface inside of your workflow with a DAW. Studio One as a nice companion app with a lot shortcut and a mixer. I know that cubase has also something similar...
Thirdly Staffpad has changed the quality of my lessons especially with the social distancing. Now I can really teach harmony online !


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## Paul Jelfs

I really wish there was a Demo for Staff Pad - As i think that would push sales.

I have an Ipad pro, but not the large size suggested, and also a Windows Touch screen monitor on my PC -But that is 27" and have no idea how well it would work with either the smaller Ipad or the large PC screen.

If there was a demo I could find out and would buy it depending on the best fit.


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## wcreed51

Unless your PC screen supports active pen, it can't be used


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## Paul Jelfs

How do you check that in Windows ?


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## InstrEd

*"Pen & Windows Ink"*, under Devices, in the Settings app.

If you have a section for Pen & Windows Ink it will be listed under devices. If not you don't have active pen support and Staffpad will not work for you.


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## pizzarco

Paul Jelfs said:


> I really wish there was a Demo for Staff Pad - As i think that would push sales.
> 
> I have an Ipad pro, but not the large size suggested, and also a Windows Touch screen monitor on my PC -But that is 27" and have no idea how well it would work with either the smaller Ipad or the large PC screen.
> 
> If there was a demo I could find out and would buy it depending on the best fit.


Perhaps check both Windows and iOS App Store FAQs related to refunds. I know I have purchased from the iOS App Store, and been able to evaluate, then apply for a refund (there's a link on the receipt to Report a problem, and you can select refund, presumably not guaranteed, but it seems to work when I have done this within a day or so of purchase.)
I presume the Windows App Store has something similar (I cannot remember ever trying).


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## nilblo

I have Surface Pro 4 as well as iPad 12,9" I´m a PC guy. Paperlike screenprotector on both units but I prefer the iPad. It is running way cooler than the Surface. Other than that - no difference to me.. Neither one gets much use, I work mostly on a stationary PC with a 27" pen & touch screen.


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## PaulieDC

nilblo said:


> I have Surface Pro 4 as well as iPad 12,9" I´m a PC guy. Paperlike screenprotector on both units but I prefer the iPad. It is running way cooler than the Surface. Other than that - no difference to me.. Neither one gets much use, I work mostly on a stationary PC with a 27" pen & touch screen.


I was wondering if the iPad version is buggier since the developer stated years ago that an iPad version would be too complicated (or something along those lines), so it was intended to be Surface Only. But the iPad version is pretty much as stable as the Surface version?


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## nilblo

I´ve had zero problems with either platform. Handwriting recognition is the same on both platforms. I do prefer the iPad though, mainly due to the pen that feels better in my hand..


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## Peros

+1 for iPad, works smoother and prefer the pen feel as well - even thinking of getting the new iPad Pro which seems like a beast.


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## Braveheart

I have a Surface 3 (not pro) with 4 gb of ram and a Microsoft pen. Would I be able to use Staffpad smoothly with that configuration? Staffpad is on sale for a couple of days, but I'm afraid it won't be fluid enough and may be lagging.


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## Tronam

PaulieDC said:


> I was wondering if the iPad version is buggier since the developer stated years ago that an iPad version would be too complicated (or something along those lines), so it was intended to be Surface Only. But the iPad version is pretty much as stable as the Surface version?


I remember reading that too, but something must have changed since then because these days it seems like the developer primarily uses the iPad version in his tutorials and livestreams. I believe the upcoming audio-to-notation feature will also require the 2021 M1 iPad Pro for realtime performance due to its neural engine. Other versions will be a post-conversion. Whether this ultimately matters is questionable. Microsoft Surface has its own benefits.


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