MuseScore engraving work well with Microsoft Surface?
Hi, I have gathered bits and pieces across different discussions dating back several years, but I would love someone to confirm: does MuseScore have full engraving capabilities with a Microsoft Surface? Which models? I need a lightweight tablet/laptop that I can travel with but I use MuseScore every day for work, so it has to be compatible and to be able to export to XML. Not opposed to another tablet/laptop thing (Lenovo?) but it just has to be able to handle MuseScore engraving and to open PDFs.
Thank you!
Comments
Musescore does not open pdfs.
In reply to Musescore does not open pdfs. by Asher S.
Sorry I wasn't clear - I meant I need the device to be able to open PDFs. I know Chromebooks dont, that's why I put that in there.
I have MU4 on a Surface Go. It does everything That the software does on any other platform. Why wouldn't it? Of course you want one that matches the needed specs. Or at least close.
In reply to I have MU4 on a Surface Go… by bobjp
Awesome! So you are saying as long as it is a Window's operating system it should be fine?
In reply to Awesome! So you are saying… by Joy664
As I understand it Chromebooks will open a PDF. Either in the onboard "View" app or by downloading Acrobat (just like Windows).
Some of the Surface models come in "S" mode. Which is a stripped down version of Windows. It is worth putting it in full Windows. S mode only works with app from the Microsoft Store.
In reply to As I understand it… by bobjp
Thank you!
In reply to Thank you! by Joy664
And what I mean is that there is a built in procedure to change out of S mode.
Yes. I have replaced my traditional laptop with a Surface pro 2 months ago and MuseScore (3.6.2, I haven't tried 4) works perfectly. Note that editing a score without the physical keyboard connected is doable, but a bit tedious.
In reply to Yes. I have replaced my… by frfancha
Thank you!
I have a Surface Pro 7+ and its my one and only computer. Musescore, Staffpad, Ableton Live, etc. does everything i need.
Revisiting this because I got discouraged at Best Buy... I was literally just about to purchase this laptop and the employee helping me told me not to because it only has an i5 processer and that will make it too slow? I wanted to see what other people who actually use this say? I literally just need to be able to open email, pdf's, MuseScore 3, and MuseScore 4. I have a decent personal laptop that is a 17 inch screen, so a little less portable.
If you don't want to follow the link it is the Microsoft Go 3, 8gb memory
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/microsoft-surface-laptop-go-3-12-4-touch-s…
In reply to Revisiting this because I… by Joy664
Go is a laptop, not the surface pro
8GB memory is low specs these days I wouldn't recommend buying that
In reply to Go is a laptop, not the… by frfancha
I don't see the point to buy a Microsoft laptop, there are better options.
The surface pro is another story, there the offer of Microsoft is pretty unique
In reply to Revisiting this because I… by Joy664
MS3 works no problem on my 12 year old, intel dual-core, 4GB RAM PC but MS4 struggles only a bit so I would've thought that a modern i5 processesor would have no trouble with MS4, (especially with 16 GB RAM), so maybe you don't really need to buy a more expensive processor.
Hopefully other i5/i7 users can give some feedback here.
In reply to MS3 works no problem on my… by yonah_ag
" I literally just need to be able to open email, pdf's, MuseScore 3, and MuseScore 4."
MU4 requires more power than the other things on this list. The listed minimum specs are important. But there are also various computer settings that are important.
In reply to " I literally just need to… by bobjp
This is the info from the MS4 download page but it doesn't mention processor type or speed, only the number of cores:
My old PC has 4 GB RAM, 2 cores and a mechanical hard disk so it clearly did well to run MS4 at all.
In reply to This is the info from the… by yonah_ag
You just never know. I have an old desktop with a dual core, 4 GB ram and an SSD that won't run Muse sounds. And an old laptop with an i5, 8 GB ram and an SSD that only studders after I stop playback. Playback itself is good. My computer with an i3 is a bit less happy. My newer i7 with all the recommended specs works fine. Some people with high specs still have problems. It's just a matter of finding the right settings.
In reply to You just never know. I have… by bobjp
Actually, I take some of that back. Just for fun I dug out that old (12 to 15 years old) desk top. It has a core 2 duo cpu, an addon nvidia gpu, 4 GB ram an even older Sound Blaster audio card, and a more recent SSD. I updated MU4 and all Muse Sounds. I was prepared for the worst. Actually, I was surprised. I loaded a 16 staff score with some very loud parts and all instruments playing. Playback was good. There was some stuttering after stopping playback. Some very slight delay on clicking a note. But all and all much better than I expected. Every system is different.
In reply to Actually, I take some of… by bobjp
>There was some stuttering after stopping playback.
I use an old windows ten computer which crashed recently with a power outage. I powered it back up, reinstalled everything, and muse sounds worked 10+ times better than before. I changed the buffer size to make up for the rest of the clipping-like noise and lag. Now, nearly every time I edit a note or stop playback, I hear that note irritatingly repeated back to me. lol
In reply to >There was some stuttering… by Asher S.
Turn off the reverb in the mixer. That seems to help.
Thank you all so much for your input! It really helps to get different perspectives :)