Maybe this question is better asked on the Bandlab forum is there is such a thing, but I thought I would throw it out here in case anybody has some advice.  I have several different equipment setups for doing recording in the field.  All of these are hardware based, ranging from zoom recorders to full Behringer X32 consoles.  That is all fine, but it means I can only record if I have planned in advance to do so, because I don't normally carry that stuff with me.
 
There are times when it would be nice to make a decent stereo recording, when the need arises unexpectedly.  In my car, I generally keep a Microsoft Surface 3 (which is one of the Surface products that can run regular Windows apps.)  And I also keep in my car a small Behringer battery-powered PA.  That PA is of no use in recording, but in the bag with that amp I have a Behringer Ultralink ULM202USB, which is two wireless dynamic microphones and a USB dongle.  They work with that amp seamlessly.  But you can also plug the USB dongle into a PC or Mac to have those microphones available to PC software.  That all works and the sound quality is actually pretty good considering these are basically $50 dynamics connecting over wireless.
 
It occurred to me that if I installed a lightweight recording app on my Surface, I would be able to do a stereo recording any time I have my car with me.  I definitely don't want to install anything as bulky as SONAR or Reaper on my Surface.  It probably wouldn't even fit.  So I tested this arrangement using Audacity on a Windows 10 desktop and that worked very well.
 
I was getting ready to install Audacity on the Surface and then did a face plant.  Why am I thinking about Audacity when Bandlab ought to work and eventually have a connection back to SONAR?  Am I missing something?  Here are my questions:
 

1. It looks like there is a Bandlab app that works with Windows 10.  Does anybody know a reason why this wouldn't work with a Surface 3?  Does Bandlab absolutely require a mouse, or could I get by with touch?  I do have a Surface pen if necessary.
2. My Surface isn't connected to a network most of the time.  Will the Bandlab app work offline if there is no network available?

 
 

Oh, and a bonus question: Does anybody have any observations about how lightweight the Windows Bandlab app is?

Sonar Platinum works just fine on that Surface 3! I have one myself!
 
R

eikelbijter
Sonar Platinum works just fine on that Surface 3! I have one myself!

That's good to know.  But I think I'd rather have a much more lightweight recording app because I will probably use this recording mode infrequently

For off the cuff field recording, I use an android phone and external Sony android phone stereo mic which lives in my pocket at all times the Field Recorder App. Sonar works well with MS Surface apparently, but I heard that Surface isn't good - don't know if that's true as I haven't tried it. I imagine Bandlab will keep Sonar's Surface integration - it would be pretty dumb not too.

I decided to go ahead and install the Bandlab Windows app. 
 
Well ...
 
I don't think there is one.  They say Bandlab works on all your devices, but evidently there are only special apps for Android and iPad.  It seems for all other platforms, you have to use the Chrome browser.  And that requires you to be online.
 
So much for Bandlab as the solution to this problem.  It would have been cool to be able to record into a Bandlab app on the Surface , then later connect to WiFi for those tracks to sync to the cloud, and then have them show up in SONAR when I get home.
 
If something sounds too good to be true ...

There is a small Windows "metro" app called Recording Studio Pro for $8 that looks like it will do what I need.  There is a free version, but you cannot export WAV files.  You can poke around on the filesystem and find the WAV fragments.  I haven't found a way to set the mic sensitivity level, but I assume there must be a way to do that.
 
I'm probably just as well off with Audacity.

Is there some reason you don't want to use your Zoom recorder? I have a Tascam handheld that I don't use as much as I expected to, but when I do the quality is shockingly good, and the thing would transport easier than any PC -- even a Surface.

Larry Jones
Is there some reason you don't want to use your Zoom recorder? I have a Tascam handheld that I don't use as much as I expected to, but when I do the quality is shockingly good, and the thing would transport easier than any PC -- even a Surface.

Mainly because I am anal about inventorying my equipment.  I use the Zoom recorders quite a lot -- I have an H6 and a Q8.  They are terrific.  But I don't keep them in my car.  They have a specific storage location so I always know where to find them when I need them for a job.
 
I keep the Surface in my car all the time as my office on the road.
 
I guess I could buy another field recorder and leave it in the car.  A Zoom H1n is about $100.

On this computer, I have a portable install of REAPER and it is only 59.3mb in size, almost 20mb of that is the themes folder, (I have put 4 or 5 extra themes in there), so I'd guess it would be down to about 40 or so mb without those extra themes.
 
I also have a basic install of SONAR X1 LE (I installed only the core program, audio FX, and templates, for audio recording only), it is only 117mb, plus another 8mb for the Cakewalk Content folder.
 
Audacity Portable from Portable Apps dot com is 63.2mb.
 
That Microsoft Recording Studio Pro app says it's estimated size is over 500mb.