Steinberg Halion Sonic 2 Manual
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11 Introduction HALion Sonic Overview The HALion Sonic interface follows a fixed size single-window concept and is subdivided into several sections: •The Multi Program Rack on the left. See “The Multi Program Rack” on page 15. •The Edit display with the Load, Edit, MIDI, Mix, Effects, Multi, and Options pages on the right. See the chapter “Editing” on page 25. •The Performance section with the trigger pads, quick controls, performance controllers, and sphere control at the bottom of the application window. See “The Performance Section” on page 166. •The Plug-in functions section at the top of the application window. See “The Plug-in Functions Section” on page 179. •The toolbars above the Edit display. See “The Toolbars” on page 181. •If you are using the standalone version of HALion Sonic, you will find a number of specific functions in an extra section at the top of the application window. See “The Controls in the Standalone Functions Section” on page 187. Performance controllers Plug-in functions Standalone functions Multi Program Rack Toolbars Trigger pads Sphere Edit display Quick controls
12 Introduction About Programs, Layers, Multis, Macro Pages, and Presets HALion Sonic provides two view options: the full-size editor view and the smaller player view. •Click the “p” button in the small toolbar below the Steinberg logo to switch to the player view. In the player view, only the plug-in functions, trigger pads, Quick Controls, and the performance controllers are visible. The button now reads “e” – clicking it restores the editor view. Player view Integrated in HALion Sonic is the MediaBay, a feature of many Steinberg products. The MediaBay allows you to find and manage all sounds quickly. The MediaBay are available on the Load page and in the Load dialogs for layers, programs and multis, see “Managing Files via the MediaBay” on page 19. When opening HALion Sonic for the first time, a program with several layers is already loaded. You can use a MIDI keyboard connected to your computer or the HALion Sonic on-screen keyboard to play a few notes, and explore the different pages of the Edit display. About Programs, Layers, Multis, Macro Pages, and Presets Programs A HALion Sonic program is a complex instrument or sound that combines up to four so-called layers. Often, a program contains a single layer that already comes with all necessary components such as the synthesis part or insert effects. This is because a layer already is a complete sound structure on its own, see below. The program adds the possibility of combining different layers to build up even more complex sounds or to create combinations of sounds you want to load as a unit. A typical example would be a bass/piano split sound or a piano/string layer sound. Because of the various layer types that come with HALion Sonic, these combinations can do a lot more. For example, think of combining a pulsating synthesizer sequence with a sliced loop completed by a bass on the lower keys and so on. Finally add some effects to individual layers or to the whole program and you will get a unique sound experience. You will find that the options are endless. Multis HALion Sonic is a multitimbral plug-in that can load up to 16 sounds (or programs), and combine them. This combination is called a “multi program”, or multi for short. You can use multis, for example, to layer several programs or to create split sounds by setting several programs to the same MIDI input channel. However, the most common usage is to create sound sets with different instruments set to individual MIDI channels.
13 Introduction About Programs, Layers, Multis, Macro Pages, and Presets Layers Programs are combinations of up to four layers. HALion Sonic provides five different layer types. You can choose between synth, sample, instrument, drums, and sliced loop layers. Each layer type is based on an individual sound architecture and has a dedicated editor. Synth and Sample Layers For synth and sample layers, you get access to a synthesizer editor with components such as a highly flexible filter section, powerful multi-stage envelopes, LFOs, a step modulator, and a modulation matrix. These layer types differ in their basic sound source. While a synth layer provides an oscillator section with three main oscillators, namely a sub oscillator, a noise generator, and a ring modulation stage, the sample layer loads a specific multi-sample instead. Drum Layers The drum layers load a multi-sampled drum set, where you can individually adjust the most important parameters for each drum instrument. Each drum instrument can be set to a specific pan position or an individual output, or it can be filtered, reversed, and so on. Loop Layers Loop layers load a sliced loop, which is a combination of a loop-specific MIDI phrase and the individual slices mapped across the keyboard. You can either play the original loop, a transposed version of it, or trigger single slices manually. Each slice can be modified with the same parameters as the drum instruments. Instrument Layers Instrument layers contain several multi-samples of an instrument that can be parts of single sounds or different articulations. These sublayers are called “expressions”. You can modify expression parameters. By switching off an expression, you can shorten the load time of a sound. Presets You can save and load all types of sounds as presets, i. e., there can be multi, program, and layer presets. Content Files and Folder Structure HALion Sonic is supplied with a huge amount of ready-to-use sound content. This content, made up of hundreds of multis, programs, and layers, is write-protected. This means that you can edit files while they are loaded in HALion Sonic, but you cannot overwrite the factory content files themselves to make your changes permanent. To save any edits to the factory content, you must save the files under a new name and to a predefined location. These files have the name extension “.vstpreset”, and are referred to as “user content”. You can categorize and search for them in the same way as with the factory content. The user content is saved in a predefined folder structure on your hard disk (the exact path depends on your operating system), but you can create subfolders within this structure, to facilitate moving or exchanging content (see “Creating Subfolders for User-Defined Multis” on page 18).
14 Introduction About Programs, Layers, Multis, Macro Pages, and Presets VST Sound Instrument Sets and Macro Pages VST Sound Instrument Sets from Steinberg provide additional content for VST instruments based on the HALion technology. They come with their own Edit pages, called Macro pages, that feature a customized look and a collection of controls that match the functions of the VST Sound Instrument Set. When you edit a program or layer of a certain VST Sound Instrument Set, the accompanying Macro page opens. For details on the functions and controls of a particular Macro page, please read the documentation that comes with the corresponding VST Sound Instrument Set. Missing Content There may be situations in which a content file becomes unavailable. The reason can be a closed encrypted partition or a detached removable hard drive, for example. In these cases, you will be prompted that a specific VST Sound Library cannot be found. To access the content again, proceed as follows: 1.Click Ignore. HALion Sonic is loaded, containing the content that could be found. 2.Quit HALion Sonic. 3.Reattach the removable hard drive or reopen the encrypted partition. 4.Launch HALion Sonic. If content files are missing for another reason (e. g. if you moved them onto another hard drive after installation, or if you have added a hard drive, thereby “shifting” the partitions), proceed as follows: 1.In the window with the message regarding the missing VST Sound Library, click Locate. file dialog opens, allowing you to choose a different file location. 2.Browse to the directory where the content is located. 3.Select the file and click Open. All content files in this location become available. •Click Remove if you do not want HALion Sonic to search for a particular file in the future. ÖYou can activate the “Do not ask again” option if you want to ignore or remove all missing files at once.
15 Managing Your Sounds Introduction This chapter describes the basic functions of the Multi Program Rack and how to manage sounds with it. Furthermore, the Load page with the MediaBay is explained, and how to set up a multi chain via the Multi page. The Multi Program Rack The Multi Program Rack provides 16 slots, so that you can load up to 16 programs simultaneously. This is where you load programs, and create and manage your multi programs. The Multi Program Rack is linked to the various pages of the Edit display: When the Edit page is open and you click individual slots in the Multi Program Rack, you can see the settings for each loaded program (see “Editing” on page 25). Additional slot parameters such as level, pan, MIDI channel, etc. can be found on the MIDI and Mix pages (see “The MIDI Page” on page 128 and “The Mix Page” on page 129). There are several ways to load programs and layers into the Multi Program Rack: •You can load programs and layers directly via the Multi Program Rack (see “Managing Programs via the Slot Context Menu” on page 16). •On the Load page, you can use the HALion Sonic MediaBay to load programs and layers (see “Managing Files via the MediaBay” on page 19). •You can use the program slot in the plug-in functions section to load a program (see “The Plug-in Functions Section” on page 179). Loading Programs Programs and layers can be dragged from the following locations to the Multi Program Rack: - MediaBay of HALion, HALion Sonic or a Steinberg DAW - Explorer (Win) or Finder (Mac) Alternatively you can use the “Load Program” button at the right of the slot to load a new program. The following applies: ÖPrograms containing lots of sample data may take some time to load. ÖWhen you click in an empty slot, the Load Program window is automatically opened. Replacing Programs You can replace the program in a slot by dragging another program or layer onto this slot. Load Program Mute slot Solo slot MIDI activity indicator
16 Managing Your SoundsThe Multi Program Rack Loading Layers into Slots If you load a layer into a slot, HALion Sonic creates a new program. Managing Programs via the Slot Context Menu The slot context menu provides additional functions for managing programs. The following options are available: ÖYou can also cut, copy, and paste programs from one instance of HALion Sonic to another. Renaming Programs You can rename a program via the context menu. ÖTo make the program with its new name available in the MediaBay, you must save it. Slot Controls MIDI Activity Indicator The slot number not only serves as a label but also indicates incoming MIDI data by lighting up. Solo Activate the Solo button of a slot in order to hear only the corresponding program. Several slots can be soloed at the same time. Mute Activate the Mute button to turn off playback of the program. OptionDescription Load ProgramsThis option opens the “Load Program” dialog. Double-click a program or layer to load it into this slot. Save ProgramThis option saves the program. Please note that factory content cannot be overwritten. Instead, the “Save Program” dialog is opened and you can save the edited program under a new name. Save Program As…This option opens the “Save Program” dialog where you can save the edited program under a new name. Save All Programs…This option opens the “Save Programs” dialog where you can save all programs as VST preset. Remove ProgramSelect this option to remove the program from the slot. Init ProgramSelect this option to load the Init program. This contains a neutral synth layer. Revert to Last Saved ProgramSelect this option to discard any changes made to the program in the slot. Cut ProgramSelect this option to copy the program and remove it from the slot. Copy ProgramSelect this option to copy the program without removing it. Paste ProgramSelect this option to paste the copied program into the slot. If the slot already contains a program, it is replaced. Rename ProgramSelect this option to enter a new name. Reset SlotSelect this option to reset the slot to the default values. Reset All SlotsSelect this option to reset all slots to the default values.
17 Managing Your SoundsManaging Multis Managing Multis Multis can load multiple sounds or programs and combine them. You can use multis, for example, to layer several programs or to create split sounds by setting several programs to the same MIDI input channel. However, the most common usage is to create sound sets with different instruments set to individual MIDI channels. A multi-program contains all plug-in parameters. When using HALion Sonic as a plug- in in Cubase or Nuendo, these multis are listed in the Preset Management pop-up menu of the host application. You can drag multis and programs from the Cubase or Nuendo MediaBay to a slot in HALion Sonic. When using HALion Sonic as a plug-in in a different host application, you can use either the preset functionality from the host application, or the multi management features provided by HALion Sonic. Loading Multis •Open the Load page to show the MediaBay and double-click a multi, or drag and drop a multi onto the multi slot. •Click the “Load Multi-Program” button in the multi slot to open the “Load Multi- Program” dialog, and double-click a multi or select it and click OK. Loading Multis in a Host Application When using HALion Sonic as a plug-in in Cubase or Nuendo, you will find the multis listed on the Preset Management pop-up menu of the host application. You can drag multis and programs from the Cubase or Nuendo MediaBay to a slot in HALion Sonic. When using HALion Sonic as a plug-in in a different host application, you can use either the host’s preset functionality, or the multi management features provided by HALion Sonic. Removing Multis •To remove all programs of the current multi, click the “Remove All Programs” button on the toolbar of the Slot Rack. This also resets all slot parameters. However, AUX and Master effects are not removed. Clearing the Plug-in Instance To reset the entire HALion Sonic instance to an empty state, right-click the Multi Loader and select “Clear Plug-in Instance” from the context menu. Save Multi-ProgramRemove Multi-Program Load Multi-Program
18 Managing Your SoundsManaging Multis Saving Multis To save a multi, proceed as follows: 1.Click the “Save Multi-Program” button. 2.Enter the name of the multi. 3.Assign any attributes you require and click OK. If the entered name already exists, the “Make Unique Name” option adds a number suffix to the name of the new multi. If you enter a name that already exists in this location, a dialog opens asking you if you want to overwrite the existing file. If not, click Cancel to modify the name before saving, or click “Make Unique Name” to add a number suffix (-01,-02, …) to the new multi’s name. Saving a Multi as Default To specify a default multi to be loaded with each new HALion Sonic instance, right- click the Multi Loader and select “Save as Default” from the context menu. Creating Subfolders for User-Defined Multis You can create subfolders inside the user preset folder to organize presets. •To create a new folder, click the “Create New Folder” icon at the top left of the “Save Multi-Program” dialog. Navigating Through the Folder Hierarchy You can move through the folder hierarchy using the three navigation buttons at the top left of the dialog. They allow you to navigate to the previous or next browse location, or browse the containing folder. Editing Attributes In the “New Preset Tags” section on the right of the “Save Multi-Program” dialog you can edit the attribute values that are assigned to the preset. 1.To edit an attribute, click on a value field, and enter the new name or value. 2.Click OK to save the preset. For further information about attributes, see “Editing Preset Attributes” on page 22.
19 Managing Your SoundsManaging Files via the MediaBay Managing Files via the MediaBay On the Load page in the Edit display, you will find the MediaBay. It gives you access to all HALion Sonic presets such as multis, programs, and layers. The Load page with the integrated MediaBay is divided into two sections. In the top section you can define which kind of sounds you want to look for. The lower section presents the corresponding results list. You can drag the divider at the top of the results list to adjust the size of the two sections. Loading Programs Into Slots To load a program into one of the slots of the Multi Program Rack, you have the following possibilities: •Select the slot into which you want to load the program and double-click the program in the results list. •Drag the program from the results list and drop it to a slot. •Right-click the program and select “Load Program into selected Slot” from the context menu. ÖWhen you reopen the Load Program window via a slot that already has a program loaded into it, the Category and Sub Category filters will automatically be set to match those of the current program. This makes it easy to exchange sounds with similar ones, without having to readjust the search filter settings. Of course, you can still modify your search or reset it completely to see all available programs. Importing Presets You can import existing program presets from any file location using the Explorer (Win) or Finder (Mac). To import presets, proceed as follows: 1.Select the preset in the Explorer/Finder. 2.Drag it to the MediaBay. The imported presets are copied to your user folder. Deleting Presets •To delete a user preset, right-click it and select “Delete”. Factory presets cannot be deleted.
20 Managing Your SoundsManaging Files via the MediaBay Applying Filters Category Filter You can filter the results list based on up to four filter criteria using the configurable attribute columns. Standard attributes are Category, Sub Category, Style, and Character. By clicking on specific values in the columns, you define the filter. Only the files that match the selected values are displayed in the results list. Select more values from other columns to refine the filter. •To select different filter criteria, click the column header, and select a different attribute from the submenu. Instrument Set Filter To select a particular instrument set for your search, proceed as follows: 1.Click in the Instrument Set field at the top of the MediaBay section to open the Instrument Set selector. All installed instrument sets are listed. 2.Select an instrument set. •To search sounds across all installed instrument sets, select “All Instrument Sets”. Using the Results List The results list shows all files that have been found according to the category filter. View Filters The toolbar of the results list has three filter buttons to define which preset types are displayed. Presets can be multis, programs, and layers. To show a preset, activate the corresponding icon. In the results list, the corresponding icon is shown to the left of the preset name. Columns The columns of the results list show all the attribute values for the presets that match the filters that you set up in the top section. You can reorder the columns in the results list by dragging the table headers to another position. Furthermore, you can use the column headers to change the sorting of the list entries. The triangle in the column header shows the sorting direction. Setting Up the Result Columns You can select which attribute columns are displayed, by clicking the “Set up Result Columns” button on the toolbar of the results list. The attributes that you choose are added at the right of the list. MultiProgramLayer