Steinberg Halion 5 Manual

							101
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe Voice Control Section
The Unison/Glide Tab
The Unison/Glide tab has the following parameters:
Unison
Unison allows you to trigger multiple voices simultaneously with each note you play. 
When you activate the Unison option, the following parameters become available:
Glide
You can use the Glide parameter to bend the pitch between notes that follow each 
other. You achieve the best results in Mono mode.
When you activate the Glide option, the following parameters become available:
Note-off EnvThe level of the note-off sample is controlled by the amplitude 
envelope of the note-off sample: The note-off sample is played 
back with the level that its amplitude envelope has at the moment 
when the note-off sample is triggered.
Note-on VelThe level of the note-off sample is controlled by the incoming 
MIDI note-on velocity.
Note-off VelThe level of the note-off sample is controlled by the incoming 
MIDI note-off velocity.
Current AmplitudeThe level of the note-off sample is controlled by the current 
amplitude of the associated note-on sample.
RandomThe level of the release sample is controlled by a random value. 
Use the Amount control to set the depth of the random value.
Option Description
OptionDescription
VoicesThis determines the number of voices that are triggered 
simultaneously (max. 8).
DetuneUse this parameter to detune the pitch of each unison voice in 
cents. This produces a fatter sound.
PanUse this parameter to spread the unison voices across the stereo 
panorama. The higher the value, the broader the stereo image.
DelayWith this parameter you can introduce a small random delay for each 
unison voice. With a value of 0
 %, all unison voices are triggered at 
the same time. Values from 1
 % to 100 % add a random delay to each 
unison voice. The higher the value, the more random the delay. This is 
especially useful to avoid comb filter effects with two or more slightly 
detuned samples, which can occur if you play them back at exactly 
the same time.
OptionDescription
TimeThis specifies the time needed to bend the pitch from one note to 
the other.
SyncActivate this option to synchronize the delay time to the host tempo. 
Select a note value from the pop-up menu. To change the selected 
note value to a triplet, activate the “T” button.
ModeHere, you can specify whether the glide time is constant and 
independent from the note interval (Constant Time) or if the time 
changes with the note interval (Constant Speed). When Constant 
Speed is selected, larger intervals result in longer glide times. 
						

							102
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe Pitch Section
ÖIf you use Cutoff, Amplitude and Pan Key Follow, the corresponding parameters also 
change with the Glide effect.
Glide Groups
You can assign zones to Glide Groups. This way, the glide effect can be set 
independently for the zones. This allows you to set up zones with overlapping Key 
Range and different settings of Glide Time, for example.
Use Start Range
If a new note plays in a different zone with a different sample assigned, the new 
sample is used to glide to the new pitch. Depending on the sample, this can produce 
an unnatural attack. To avoid this, activate “Use Start Range”. When this is activated, 
the sample does not start from the beginning, but from the position you set with the 
Sample Start Range parameter.
The Pitch Section
On the Pitch section for synth and sample zones, you can make settings for tuning 
and pitch modulation. The following parameters are available:
Pitchbend
Here, you can set the range of the pitch modulation that is applied when you move the 
pitchbend wheel.
Octave
Here, you can adjust the pitch in octave steps. 
Coarse
Here, you can adjust the pitch in semitone steps.
Fine
This parameter allows you to fine-tune the pitch in cents (hundredths of a semitone).
Env Amnt (Envelope Amount)
This parameter determines how much the pitch is affected by the pitch envelope.
CurveYou can select one of three curve types to define the glide behavior: 
With the Linear curve, the pitch glides at continuous speed from the 
start to the end pitch. With the Exponential curve, the pitch starts 
gliding at higher speed and decelerates towards the end pitch. This 
behavior is similar to the natural pitch glide produced by a singer. 
With the Quantized curve, the pitch glides in semitones from the 
start to the end pitch.
FingeredActivate this parameter to glide the pitch only between notes that 
are played legato.
Option Description 
						

							103
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe Oscillator Section
Random
This parameter allows you to randomly offset the pitch with each played note. Higher 
values cause stronger variations. At a setting of 100
 %, the random offsets can vary 
from -6 to +6 semitones.
Key Follow
Here, you can adjust the pitch modulation by MIDI note number. Set this parameter to 
positive values in order to raise the pitch the higher you play. Use negative values to 
lower the pitch the higher you play. At a setting of +100
 %, the pitch follows the 
played note exactly.
Center Key
This specifies the MIDI note that is used as the central position for the Key Follow 
function. 
The Oscillator Section
The Oscillator section for synth zones offers six sound sources: three main oscillators, 
the sub oscillator, the ring modulation, and the noise generator. To create interesting 
electronic spectra, you can mix any of these sound sources. The resulting signal is 
sent to the Filter and Amplifier sections for further sound shaping.
The three main oscillators (OSC 1, OSC 2, and OSC 3) offer different wave shapes 
and algorithms.
•To activate an oscillator, click its On/Off button.
Multi-Oscillator Mode
For the three main synth oscillators, you can activate the Multi-Oscillator mode. This 
mode allows you to create a richer sound by producing up to 8 oscillators 
simultaneously. The effect is similar to the Unison mode for the zone, but it requires 
less performance.
•To activate Multi-Oscillator mode, activate the MOsc button.
!To save processing power, deactivate any oscillator functions that are not needed. 
						

							104
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe Oscillator Section
When Multi-Oscillator mode is activated, you can click the edit button to show the 
corresponding parameters.
The following parameters are available:
Editing the Parameters in the Modulation Matrix
When Multi-Oscillator Mode is active for an oscillator, you can modulate the 
corresponding parameters in the modulation matrix.
1.In the modulation matrix, open the Modulation Destinations pop-up menu.
2.On the Synth submenu, select the destination that you want to edit.
3.Set up the Modulation Source and Depth parameters.
OSC 1/2/3 Type
The Oscillator Type defines the basic sound character of the oscillator. The pop-up 
menu lists the waveforms (Sine, Triangle, Saw, or Square), followed by the algorithm 
(PWM, Sync, CM or XOR). The combination of waveform and algorithm controls the 
sound of the oscillator.
•To select an oscillator type, click the icon that indicates the wave shape for OSC1, 
OSC2, or OSC3 and select the wave shape and algorithm you want to use from 
the pop-up menu.
ParameterDescription
Number of 
OscillatorsDetermines the number of oscillators that play back simultaneously. 
You can also set fractions of numbers. For example, with a setting of 
2.5, you hear two oscillators at full level and a third one at half level.
Oscillator DetuneDetunes the oscillators.
Stereo SpreadNarrows or widens the stereo panorama. With a setting of 0 %, you 
create a mono signal, and with 100
 %, you create a stereo signal. 
						

							105
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe Oscillator Section
The following algorithms are available:
ÖExcept for PWM, all algorithms support the Sine, Triangle, Saw, and Square wave 
shapes. PWM supports Square wave only.
ÖThe waveform parameters for OSC1, OSC2, and OSC3 can be assigned as 
modulation destinations in the modulation matrix.
OSC 1/2/3 Waveform
The waveform parameter allows you to modify the sound of the oscillator algorithm. Its 
effect depends on the selected oscillator type.
OSC 1/2/3 Octave (Oct)
Here, you can adjust the pitch in octave steps. 
OSC 1/2/3 Coarse (Crs)
Here, you can adjust the pitch in semitone steps. 
OSC 1/2/3 Fine
This parameter allows you to fine-tune the pitch in steps of cents (hundredths of a 
semitone).
OSC 1/2/3 Level
This adjusts the output level of the oscillator.
ÖThe waveform, pitch and level of oscillator 1, 2, and 3 can be modulated separately in 
the modulation matrix.
AlgorithmDescription
PWM
(Pulse Width 
Modulation)
PWM is only supported by the square waveform. The Waveform 
parameter sets the ratio between the high and low value of the square 
wave. A setting of 50
 % produces a pure square wave. With settings 
below or above 50
 % the oscillator produces rectangular waves.
SyncThis algorithm provides different hard-sync oscillators, where each is 
a combination of a master and slave oscillator. The wave shape of the 
slave oscillator (Sine, Triangle, Saw, or Square) is reset with each full 
wave cycle of the master oscillator. This means that a single oscillator 
can produce a rich sync-sound without using other oscillators as 
slave or master. The Waveform parameter adjusts the pitch of the 
slave oscillator, producing the typical sync sound.
CM
(Cross  
Modulation)
This algorithm provides a combination of two oscillators where a 
master oscillator is modulating the pitch of a slave oscillator (Sine, 
Triangle, Saw, or Square) at the rate of the audio sample. The 
Waveform parameter adjusts the pitch ratio between slave and 
master oscillator, resulting in a sound close to frequency modulation.
XOR
(Exclusive or)
This algorithm compares two square waveforms with an XOR 
operation. Depending on the outcome of the XOR operation, the 
waveform shape of a third oscillator (Sine, Triangle, Saw or Square) is 
reset. The Waveform parameter adjusts the pitch ratio of the square 
oscillators resulting in a sound close to ring modulation of the third 
oscillator. 
						

							106
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe Oscillator Section
Sub Oscillator (SUB)
The pitch of the sub oscillator is always one octave below the overall pitch of the synth 
zone. If you modulate the pitch of the synth zone, the pitch of the sub oscillator 
follows.
•To activate and deactivate the sub oscillator, click its On/Off button.
The following parameters are available:
Ring Modulation (RING)
Ring modulation produces sums and differences between the frequencies of two 
signals.
•To activate ring modulation, click the On/Off button.
The following parameters are available:
Noise
The Noise parameter is used for non-pitched sounds. In addition to standard white 
and pink noise, there are also band-pass filtered versions of white and pink noise.
•To activate the noise generator, click its On/Off button.
The following parameters are available:
ÖSub level, ring modulation level, and noise level can be modulated separately in the 
modulation matrix (see “The Modulation Matrix Section” on page 129).
ParameterDescription
Sub Oscillator 
TypeHere, you can select the wave shape of the sub oscillator. You can 
choose between Sine, Triangle, Saw, Square, Pulse Wide, and 
Pulse Narrow.
Sub Oscillator 
LevelThis adjusts the output level of the sub oscillator. 
Parameter Description
Ring Modulation 
Source 1/2This allows you to select the sources to be ring modulated. You 
can select OSC1 or Sub as Source 1, and OSC2 or OSC3 as 
Source 2.
Ring Modulation 
LevelThis adjusts the output level of the ring modulation. 
ParameterDescription
Noise TypeHere, you can select the sound color of the noise. You can choose 
between White, Pink, White BPF (BPF = band-pass filtered), and 
Pink BPF.
Noise LevelThis adjusts the output level of the noise generator.  
						

							107
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe Sample Oscillator Section
The Sample Oscillator Section
The sample oscillator controls various playback parameters, as well as loop 
parameters. 
Playback Mode 
The following playback modes are available:
In One Shot and Reverse One Shot mode, the zones ignore any MIDI Note Off 
messages. All envelopes and LFOs play until their sustain is reached and then remain 
on this level for as long as the sample plays back. Any release segments of the 
envelopes and LFOs are not played. However, if you activate One Shot mode in the 
Envelope section, the release nodes of the envelopes are included in the playback.
Fixed Pitch
When a sample zone is triggered by a MIDI note other than the one defined by the 
Root Key setting, the sample is normally pitched accordingly. When Fixed Pitch is 
activated, the relation between played note and root key is disregarded and all keys 
play the sample just like it was recorded. 
ÖYou can still apply the usual pitch modulations in the Pitch section and set the sample 
to follow the keyboard according to the “Key Follow Root Key” setting.
Preload
HALion provides two different ways of working with sample data. A sample can either 
be loaded completely into RAM or it can be streamed from the hard disk. However, 
when samples are streamed, HALion needs to preload a portion of these samples to 
be able to play a voice without having to search for the sample data first. The size of 
OptionDescription
NormalThe sample is played back from the beginning to the end. If any loops 
are defined, they are played according to their loop settings.
ReverseThe sample is played backwards, ignoring any loop settings.
One ShotThe sample is played back from the beginning to the end, ignoring any 
loop settings.
Reverse  
One Shot
The sample is played back from the end to the beginning, ignoring any 
loop settings. 
						

							108
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorOrgan Oscillator Section
this preload buffer can be set in the Options editor. The Preload setting enables you 
to adapt this buffer size for individual sample zones by setting a multiplier from 1 to 16. 
Increasing the buffer size can be useful if a sample can be transposed in a wide range 
and HALion needs to read out the sample data faster, for example.
If you set Preload to its maximum, HALion preloads the complete sample. This option 
is useful for smaller samples.
Quality
When samples are not played with their original pitch or tempo, HALion calculates the 
transposed versions in real time using algorithms that require different CPU 
performance depending on the Quality setting.
Changing the quality mode is particularly noticeable in the high frequencies. The 
higher the setting, the better the suppression of artifacts. For samples with little high-
frequency content, you can use the Standard option. For programs that use different 
samples for every key (no resampling is necessary), you should always use the 
Standard option to save computing power. 
Sample Start Range
The “Sample Start Range” parameter allows you to determine the range for sample 
start offset modulation. When “Sample Start” is selected as a modulation destination 
in the modulation matrix, the “Sample Start Range” parameter controls the range, that 
means, the sample portion that is affected by the start offset modulation. If this 
parameter is set to zero, no sample start modulation is performed.
For example, if note-on velocity is used to modulate the sample start parameter, a high 
key velocity starts playback later in the sample, and the range of this modulation is 
determined by the Range Start parameter.
The Loop Controls
The other options in the Sample Oscillator section are identical with the loop options 
on the Loop tab of the Sample editor, see 
“Creating Loops” on page 152.
Organ Oscillator Section
Organ zones produce the sound of classic drawbar organs with up to nine drawbars. 
Each drawbar controls the level of a harmonic. The drawbars are named after the 
length of church organ pipes, ranging from 16' to 1'. 16' is the lowest and 1' the 
highest harmonic. You can mix the harmonics using the drawbars to create different 
classic organ timbres.
Accessing the Organ Oscillator
To access the Organ oscillator, create a zone, open it in the Zone editor and select 
“Organ” on the Zone Type pop-up menu. 
						

							109
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorOrgan Oscillator Section
Parameters
Manual
Activates the nine drawbars for the manual.
Pedal
Activates the two drawbars for the bass pedals.
Drawbars 16' to 1'
The faders control the level of the corresponding drawbar.
Using Percussion Envelopes
The Voice Control section of the Organ Oscillator has a dedicated percussion 
envelope to emulate the percussion of vintage organs. The Percussion envelope 
works in addition to the amplifier envelope. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Load a second organ zone.
2.Click the Percussion button to activate the percussion envelope.
3.Adjust the Length parameter.
This parameter controls the decay of the percussion. For example, set this to 
500
 ms for short percussion and to 1000 ms for long percussion.
4.On the Trigger pop-up menu, select “First Note” if you want to use monophonic 
triggering of the percussion, or “Each Note” for polyphonic triggering.
ÖFor the typical percussion sound of an organ, use only the drawbars 4' or 2 2/3'.
Zone Parameters
The parameters in the Voice Control section, the Pitch Section, the Amplifier section, 
and the Envelope section are the same as for regular synth and sample zones, see 
“The Voice Control Section” on page 99, “The Pitch Section” on page 102, “The 
Amplifier Section” on page 117, and “The Envelope Section” on page 119. 
						

							110
Editing Zones in the Sound EditorThe AudioWarp Section
The AudioWarp Section
In the AudioWarp section, you can apply time stretching and formant shifting to your 
audio.
Mode
On the Mode pop-up menu, you select the mode that is used for the AudioWarp 
functions.
The following options are available:
Time Stretching
•Click the On button to activate or deactivate time stretching.
When this button is activated, you can play back a sample at a different pitch than the 
root key without changing its tempo and length.
In Music mode, transposition is limited to the range between -24 and +24 semitones 
around the root key of the sample. When you play notes outside this limit, the highest, 
or lowest, note is used, respectively. The same applies for pitch modulation. Settings 
outside the -24 to +24 semitones limit lead to clipping in the modulation.
Sync Mode
The Sync modes are used to match the playback speed of the sample to the tempo of 
the host application. The following options are available on the pop-up menu:
OptionDescription
OffDeactivates the AudioWarp section.
SoloOffers parameters for time stretching and formant shifting. This mode is 
suitable for solo instruments and vocals. It is highly efficient and 
supports polyphonic playback.
MusicOffers parameters for time stretching. This mode is suitable for complex 
material like drum loops and samples with mixed music. It uses 
considerably more CPU time than Solo mode. Therefore, it is 
recommended for monophonic playback. Note that the more the 
sample is stretched, the higher the CPU load.
Music mode can only be used with mono and stereo samples. If you 
process multi-channel samples, only the left and right channels are 
stretched. The remaining channels are turned off. 
OptionDescription
OffThe playback speed is specified manually, in percent.