Steinberg Halion 3 Manual
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Introduction Window Overview 11•If you are using the standalone version of HALion Sonic, you find a number of specific functions in an extra section at the top of the application window. View Options You have two view options: the full-size editor view and the smaller player view. In the player view, only the plug-in functions, the trigger pads, the quick controls, and the performance controllers are visible. •Click the p button in the toolbar above the edit display to switch between the views. When the player view is active, the button changes to e, indicating that clicking again lets you return to the editor view.
Common Editing Methods 12 Dials and Sliders Dials and sliders can be unidirectional or bidirectional. Unidirectional values, for example level values, start at a minimum value and go up to the maximum. Bidirectional controls start from the middle position and go to the left for negative and to the right for positive values. Most of the editing methods are the same for dials and sliders. •To adjust a value, click a dial or a fader and drag up and down, or use the mouse wheel. If you press Alt when clicking a dial, a small fader appears, allowing you to set the parameter. •To make fine adjustments, press Shift and move the dial or use the mouse wheel. •To restore the default value for a parameter, press Ctrl/Cmd and click on the control. Buttons On/Off Buttons These buttons have two states: on and off. If you move the mouse over an On/Off button, it changes its appearance to show that you can click it. Push Buttons Push buttons trigger an action and then go back to their inactive state. These buttons open menus or file dialogs. Value Fields To set a value, you have the following possibilities: •Double-click in a value field, enter a new value, and press Enter. If the entered value exceeds the parameter range, it is automatically set to the maximum or the minimum value, respectively. •Click in the value field and drag up or down. •Position the mouse over a value field and use the mouse wheel. •Click the up/down triangles next to the field.
Common Editing Methods Using Key Commands 13•To set the parameter to its default value, Ctrl/Cmd-click the value field. •To use a fader to adjust the value, Alt-click a value field. •To enter musical values, such as key ranges or the root key, with your MIDI keyboard, double-click the value field, press a key on your MIDI keyboard, and press Return. •To navigate to the next parameter, press Tab. To jump backwards to the previous parameter, press Shift-Tab. If no parameter is selected inside the focused view, pressing Tab always jumps to the first parameter. Using Key Commands The commands are arranged in a hierarchical folder structure on the left. When you open a category folder, the items and functions are displayed with any currently assigned key commands. •To set up a key command, select the function in the list, enter the key command in the Type in Key field and click the Assign button to the right of the field. If this key command is already used for another function, this is displayed in the field below. •To delete a key command, select the function in the list, select the key command in the Keys list and click the Delete button. •To search for a specific function, enter its name in the search field at the top of the dialog and click the search button. NOTE You can set up several key commands for the same function. Presets HALion Sonic offers two types of presets: section/module presets and VST presets. Section and module presets store and recall the setup of a specific component on the HALion Sonic panel. VST presets contain all information necessary to restore the complete state of the plug-in. During setup, the factory presets are installed in a dedicated folder and a user folder is created for your own presets. The handling of presets is the same throughout the program. NOTE Factory presets are write-protected, but may be overwritten when a software update is executed. Presets in your user folder are never changed by the software update. For more information on VST presets, see the Operation Manual of your Steinberg DAW. Handling Section and Module Presets The preset controls can be found throughout the program. The handling is always the same. •To save a preset, click Save .
Common Editing Methods Presets 14NOTE You cannot overwrite factory presets. If you want to save changes made to a factory preset, save the preset under a new name or in a new location. •To load a preset, click the arrow icon and select a preset from the list. •To delete a preset, click Delete . NOTE Factory presets cannot be deleted. Handling VST Presets Loading VST Presets PROCEDURE 1.In the header of the plug-in panel, click the Preset Management button next to the preset name field and select Load Preset. 2.Do one of the following: •Select a preset to load it. •Double-click a preset to load it and close the preset loader. Saving VST Presets PROCEDURE •In the header of the plug-in panel, click the Preset Management button next to the preset name field and select Save Preset.
Global Functions and Settings 15 Plug-in Functions Section The plug-in functions section at the top of the window gives you access to global functions that affect both the currently loaded programs, and the general working of the plug-in. The plug-in functions section contains the multi slot section, the program slot section, the master section, and the performance displays. Program Slot Section This section contains a copy of the slot that is selected in the multi program rack, as well as the main parameters of the program. The slot parameters are the same as in the multi program rack. In addition, the following parameters are available: Slot Number The number of the active slot. You can switch to another slot by clicking the slot number and selecting an entry from the list. NOTE Only slots that contain programs are available on the list. Load Icon Click the Load icon to the right of the slot to open the program loader. Double- click a program to load it. MIDI Activity Indicator The MIDI symbol starts blinking when incoming MIDI data is detected. Level Adjusts the output level of the slot. Pan Adjusts the position of the slot in the stereo panorama. Output On the output selector, you define the output destination of the slot signal.
Global Functions and Settings Plug-in Functions Section 16Polyphony Sets the number of keys that can be played simultaneously. NOTE One key can trigger several layers. On the performance meter, you can see how many voices are triggered by your playing. Program Icon The program icon indicates the sound category to which the program belongs. It depends on the category and subcategory tags that are specified for a program in the MediaBay. Master Section The master section can be used to set volume and tuning of the plug-in. Master Volume Adjusts the overall volume of the plug-in. Master Tune You can set the Master Tune slider from 415.3 Hz to 466.2 Hz, which equals -100 cents to +100 cents. Performance Displays The meters and text displays indicate the system load of the plug-in. CPU This meter shows the processor load during playback. The more voices you play, the higher the processor load. If the overload indicator lights up, reduce the Max Voices setting on the Options page. Disk This meter shows the hard disk transfer load during the streaming of samples or when loading presets. If the overload indicator lights up, the hard disk is not supplying data fast enough. In such a case, open the Options page and adjust the Disk vs. RAM slider towards RAM or decrease the Max Voices setting. Polyphony This display indicates the number of samples that are currently played back, to help you trace performance problems. For example, if you have to reduce the Max Voices setting on the Options page, you can verify your settings by monitoring the number of samples that are currently playing. Memory This display indicates the overall amount of RAM that is currently used by the plug-in and the loaded programs. The number refers to the streaming buffer and the preloaded samples. The MEM display helps you trace performance problems. For example, if you need to free up memory for other applications, you can adjust
Global Functions and Settings Plug-in Name and Steinberg Logo 17the Disk vs. RAM slider on the Options page toward Disk. You can verify your settings by monitoring the MEM display. Plug-in Name and Steinberg Logo To get information regarding the version and build number of the plug-in, click the plug- in logo. This opens the About box. To close the About box, click it or press Esc on your computer keyboard. If you click the Steinberg logo in the top right corner of the plug-in interface, a pop-up menu opens. Select one of the options to navigate to Steinberg web pages containing information on software updates, troubleshooting, etc. Toolbar The toolbar below the plug-in functions section contains controls for loading multi-programs on the left, the buttons to switch between the different pages, and various useful global functions. Global insert, AUX, and FlexPhraser buttons Use these buttons to switch off all insert effects, AUX effects, and FlexPhrasers for the whole plug-in at once. You can use this to compare sounds with and without effects or to use a preset without the FlexPhrasers, for example. Lock button If this button is activated, loading another program or layer does not overwrite the current FlexPhraser and trigger pad settings. MIDI Reset Click this button to stop playback and reset all MIDI controllers to their default values. Undo/Redo To undo or redo a single operation, click the Undo or Redo buttons. To undo or redo multiple operations, click the arrow next to the button to open the history and select the step to which you want to return. Editor/Player This button toggles between the two views: the full-size editor view (e) and the smaller player view (p). Performance Controls The performance controls are located in the lower part of the window.
Global Functions and Settings Quick Controls 18Wheel Controls To the left of the internal keyboard, the pitchbend wheel and the modulation wheel are located. The modulation wheel is hardwired to MIDI controller #1, which is normally used as a source in the modulation matrix, but can be used as a quick control as well. Keyboard The virtual 88-note keyboard can be used to trigger MIDI notes. By clicking the keys at different vertical positions you can control the note-on velocity. Furthermore, the keyboard displays keys that are not used to trigger notes but act as key switches. The Shift Keyboard buttons to the left and right of the keyboard shift the keyboard range by octaves. This allows you to display key switches that are located on lower keys, for example. Sphere Control The sphere is a two-dimensional control. It allows you to adjust two parameters simultaneously, by dragging the mouse horizontally (Sphere H) and vertically (Sphere V). Typically, two parameters that belong together are assigned to the sphere, such as cutoff and resonance. If parameters are assigned to Sphere H and Sphere V, triangles for indicating the horizontal and vertical axis are available. You can reset the sphere to the center position using the corresponding options on the context menu. •If Center Horizontal and/or Center Vertical are activated, the sphere returns to the corresponding center position as soon as you release the mouse button. Quick Controls Quick controls allow you to remote-control any parameter inside the program. For each program and layer, eight quick controls are available. Furthermore, Sphere H, Sphere V, and the modulation wheel can also serve as quick controls. If a layer contains zones, these zones are also affected by the quick controls of the layer. •To switch between the quick controls of the program and the layers, use the buttons to the left of the potentiometer controls. Value Tooltips If you use quick controls, the following situations can happen:
Global Functions and Settings Quick Controls 19•The actual value of a parameter and the value that is displayed in its value field differ. •A button on the user interface is deactivated but the corresponding parameter is active. For example, this can happen if the quick control introduces an offset or if a button is controlled by a quick control. Therefore, parameters that are assigned to a quick control show a value tooltip. This value tooltip indicates the resulting parameter value and the name of the assigned quick control. Value tooltips can be activated or deactivated on the Options page. RELATED LINKS Global Section on page 29 Accessing Quick Controls PROCEDURE 1.Select the program that you want to edit in the multi program rack. 2.Use the buttons to the left of the quick controls to select whether you want to access the quick controls for the program or for one of the layers. The quick controls change to the settings of the program or the selected layer. Assigning Quick Controls PROCEDURE 1.In the editor for a program, a layer, or an insert effect, right-click the control to which you want to assign a quick control. NOTE •Parameters of a layer can only be assigned to the quick controls of this layer. •If you want to assign the parameters of a layer to the quick controls of a program, you must first assign the parameter to a quick control of the layer, and then assign the quick control of the layer to a quick control of the program. 2.On the Assign Quick Control submenu, select the quick control that you want to assign. RESULT The assignment is created. NOTE You can also assign a quick control as modulation source or modulation modifier in the modulation matrix. This allows you to combine the quick control with other modulation sources.
Global Functions and Settings Quick Controls 20RELATED LINKS Modulation Matrix Parameters on page 67 Setting the Minimum/Maximum Range You can set the minimum and maximum range for each assignment separately. This gives you better control over the parameter change. •Right-click a control and define the range using the Set Minimum and Set Maximum commands. •In the Quick Control Assignments editor, enter the values in the Minimum Value and Maximum Value fields or click and drag the handles in the curve display. Trimming the Range The Trim Range function allows you to automatically set the best quick control range, depending on the current parameter value. PROCEDURE •In the Quick Control Assignments editor, right-click the assignment in the list on the right. •To trim the range of a single assignment, select Trim Range. •To trim the range of all quick controls, select Trim Range of All Quick Controls. RESULT The minimum and maximum values are set automatically. NOTE If you change the original parameter, you have to apply the Trim Range function again to guarantee the best control range. Setting the Default Range PROCEDURE •In the Quick Control Assignments editor, right-click the assignment on the right. •To set the default range of a single assignment, select Set Default Range. •To set the default range of all quick controls, select Set Default Range of All Quick Controls. RESULT The quick controls are set to their maximum possible range. NOTE If you change the original parameter, you must apply the Set Default Range function again to guarantee the best control range.