Steinberg Halion Sonic 2 Manual

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The Performance SectionThe Quick Controls
To set the behavior on the control itself, proceed as follows:
1.Right-click the control on which you want to set the behavior.
2.Select the behavior you want to use from the menu.
To set the behavior on the quick control page, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the quick control page of the respective program or layer. 
2.From the list to the left, select the quick control you want to edit.
3.In the Parameter section to the right, click in the Mode pop-up menu and select the 
behavior.
Setting the Minimum/Maximum Range
You can set the minimum and maximum range for each assignment separately. This 
way, you have much better control over the parameter change.
To set the minimum range on the control itself, proceed as follows:
1.Set the parameter to the minimum value.
2.Right-click the control.
3.Select Set Minimum from the menu.
To set the maximum range on the control itself, proceed as follows:
1.Set the parameter to the maximum value.
2.Right-click the control.
3.Select Set Maximum from the menu.
To set the minimum/maximum range on the quick control page, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the quick control page of the respective program or layer.
2.To the left of the section, select the quick control you want to edit.
3.To the right of the section, use the outer left and right text controls below each 
assignment to set the minimum and maximum ranges. Alternatively, you can use 
the blue handles on the curve display to the right to edit the minimum and 
maximum range graphically.
When setting the minimum/maximum range, the following applies:
•To invert the quick control, for example, so the quick control opens instead of 
closing, set the minimum above the maximum value.
•Quick controls in Absolute mode have a control range from 0 % to +100 %.
•Quick controls in Relative mode have an extended control range from -100 % to 
+100
 %. This is needed to cover the full range of bipolar controls. For example, 
you can remotely turn the pan parameter from fully left to fully right by setting the 
range from 0
 % to +100 %. A setting of 0 % to + 50 % would end at the Center 
position in this example.
OptionDescription
AbsoluteThis remotely controls the parameter values continuously. Parameter 
changes will be overwritten.
RelativeThis remotely controls the parameter values continuously. Parameter 
changes can still be heard.
Switch AbsoluteThis will switch between the minimum and maximum value. Parameter 
changes will be overwritten.
Switch RelativeThis will switch between the minimum and maximum value. Parameter 
changes can still be heard. 
						

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The Performance SectionThe Quick Controls
•To achieve a unipolar behavior of quick control in Relative mode, set the range 
from 0
 % to +100 % (or -100 %).
Trimming the Range
The Trim Range function allows you to optimize the quick control range depending on 
the current parameter value.
To trim the range on the quick control page, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the quick control page of the respective program or layer.
2.Right-click the assignment entry.
3.Select “Trim Range”.
4.The minimum and maximum is set automatically.
ÖAs soon as you change the original parameter in the editor section again, the Trim 
Range function has to be reapplied to guarantee the best control range.
About the Neutral Setting
If you adjust the range of a quick control assignment, the resulting sound can change, 
for example, if the assignment uses the “Switch” or “Switch Relative” mode. If you 
adjust the range of a quick control that has only one assignment that uses Absolute or 
Relative mode, HALion Sonic adjusts the setting automatically so that the sound does 
not change. If you assign multiple parameters to the same quick control, HALion 
Sonic sets the range of the added quick control assignment so that the sound does 
not change.
However, if a quick control has multiple assignments and you change the range of one 
or more assignments, the neutral setting cannot be set automatically. In this case, 
adjust the ranges, and then open the context menu for a particular assignment and 
select “Set Quick Control to Neutral Setting”.
Adjusting the Curvature
You can adjust the curvature of each assignment separately. The curvature describes 
the characteristic how the assigned parameters are changed. The characteristic can 
be anything between logarithmic, linear and exponential.
ÖThe curvature can only be adjusted on the quick control page.
To adjust the curvature of an assignment, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the quick control page of the respective program or layer.
2.To the left of the section, select the quick control you want to edit.
3.To the right of the section, use the text control in the middle below each 
assignment to set the Curve parameter. Positive values of curve change the 
curvature towards logarithmic and negative values towards exponential behavior. 
Alternatively, you can edit the Curve parameter graphically in the curve display to 
the right by dragging the curvature up and down. Dragging up adjusts the 
curvature towards logarithmic, dragging down towards exponential behavior. 
						

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The Performance SectionThe Quick Controls
Bypassing Quick Controls
To hear a sound without quick control assignments, you can bypass them temporarily. 
You can bypass all quick control assignments belonging to the same program or layer, 
all assignments on one quick control, or just a single quick control assignment.
To bypass the quick control assignments of a program or layer, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the left of the quick controls, and select the program or layer for which you 
want to bypass the quick control assignments.
2.Go to the right of the quick controls, and click the Bypass button to turn off 
temporarily the quick control assignments of the selected program or layer.
Click the Bypass button again to turn the quick control assignments back on.
To bypass all assignment on one quick control, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the quick control page of the respective program or layer.
2.Go to the left of the section, select the quick control you want to bypass.
3.Go to the top right of the section and click the Bypass button to turn the quick 
control assignments of the selected quick control off temporarily.
Click the Bypass button again to turn the quick control assignments back on.
To bypass a single quick control assignment, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the quick control page of the respective program or layer.
2.Go to the left of the section, select the quick control that contains the assignment 
you want to bypass.
3.Go to the lower left of the respective assignment, and click the Bypass button to 
turn off temporarily the quick control assignment.
Click the Bypass button again to turn the quick control assignments back on.
Transferring the Layer Quick Control Assignments to the Program
•To transfer all quick control assignments of a layer to a program, right-click the 
layer in the Program Tree and select “Forward All Assignments to Program” from 
the context menu.
Assigning Quick Controls in the Modulation Matrix
In addition to assigning the quick controls directly to controls, you can also assign a 
quick control as Source or Modifier in the modulation matrix. This way, you can 
combine the quick control with other modulation sources.
To assign a quick control as Source or Modifier in the modulation matrix, proceed as 
follows:
1.Open the respective layer editor and go to the modulation matrix.
2.From the pop-up menu of the Source or Modifier column, open the quick control 
submenu.
The submenu lists the quick controls of the layer.
3.Select a quick control from the submenu. 
						

							174
The Performance SectionThe Trigger Pads
The Trigger Pads
You can use HALion Sonic’s trigger pads to remotely trigger single notes or whole 
chords and for switching between variations, for example for the FlexPhraser. Many of 
the programs that come with HALion Sonic make use of the trigger pads:
•Blue pads have single notes or whole chords assigned.
•The line above the pad turns orange when the pad switches between FlexPhraser 
variations. 
•To trigger a pad with your mouse, simply click the corresponding pad.
Assigning Trigger Notes to Pads
You can assign a MIDI note to a pad and trigger the pad by playing this note.
To define the note, proceed as follows:
1.Right-click the pad.
2.From the menu, select “Assign Trigger Note”.
3.From the submenus, select the octave and note you want to assign.
or
1.Right-click the pad.
2.From the context menu, select “Learn Trigger Note”.
3.Play the note on your MIDI keyboard or click the note on the virtual keyboard.
The name of the MIDI note you assigned as trigger note is displayed in the top left 
corner of the pad.
ÖKeys that serve as trigger notes light up in blue on the virtual keyboard. These keys no 
longer play sounds, they trigger the corresponding pads instead.
To remove a trigger note from a pad, proceed as follows:
1.Right-click the pad.
2.From the context menu, select “Forget Trigger Note”.
Using Default Trigger Note Settings
By default, the assigned trigger notes are stored with each program to allow for 
maximum flexibility. However, you may want to keep a fixed set of trigger notes to 
reflect an existing hardware setup.
To be able to use default trigger note settings, you have to save them first:
•To specify a global set of trigger notes, set the trigger notes for all pads, right-click 
a pad, and from the context menu, select “Save Trigger Notes as Default”.
Now you can activate the “Use Default Trigger Notes” option:
•Right-click a pad and select “Use Default Trigger Notes” or click the 
corresponding button to the left of the pads.
Changing programs or multi-programs does not change the trigger notes 
anymore.
When you deactivate this option, the trigger notes that were saved with the multi are 
used. 
						

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The Performance SectionThe Trigger Pads
Naming a Pad
To indicate the functionality of a pad, you can enter a name. Proceed as follows:
1.Right-click the pad, and from the context menu, select “Rename Pad”.
2.Enter the name.
For example KeySw1, KeySw2, …, Amin7, Gmaj.
3.Press [Enter] on your computer keyboard to confirm the name.
Triggering Chords or Single Notes
To trigger a chord or a single note with a pad, you first need to define the chord or 
note:
1.Right-click the pad.
2.From the context menu, select “Snapshot Chord”.
The pad starts blinking to indicate it is in learn mode.
3.Play a chord (as single notes or all notes at once) or a single note.
You can also click the corresponding keys on the HALion Sonic keyboard. 
Selecting a key again removes the note from the chord. The keys belonging to the 
chord are highlighted on the HALion Sonic keyboard.
4.To accept the chord or note, click the pad that is still blinking.
5.The pad’s blue color indicates that a chord or note has been assigned.
Triggering the pad now plays the chord or note.
•You can also drag chord events from the chord track of your Steinberg DAW onto 
a trigger pad. This will transfer the corresponding MIDI notes to the pad.
If you drag a chord event onto the Performance keyboard first, the corresponding 
chord is played back. This is useful to verify whether you selected the correct 
chord. For further information, see the Operation Manual of the DAW.
ÖTo use the pads for switching between expressions, activate “Snapshot Chord” and 
play the respective key switch.
ÖIf you define a chord that also contains a key switch, you can trigger the chord with a 
specific instrument expression.
ÖIf you add keys to a chord that work as trigger notes as well, they will trigger the 
underlying MIDI note instead of the trigger note.
To clear the chord or note from a pad, proceed as follows:
1.Right-click the trigger pad.
2.Select “Clear Chord”.
Switching Between Variations
You can switch between variations using the trigger pads. Variations are available for 
the FlexPhraser and the B-Box, for example. To switch between variations, proceed as 
follows:
1.Right-click the trigger pad that you want to use for switching to the selected 
variation.
2.From the menu, select “Snapshot Variations”.
The line above the pad turns orange to indicate that a variation snapshot has been 
assigned. 
						

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The Performance SectionThe Trigger Pads
3.When you trigger the pad, it switches to the variations that were selected when 
you made the snapshot. 
For FlexPhraser variations, this includes the FlexPhrasers of all four layers and the 
program.
ÖThe trigger pad stores which variations were selected when you made the snapshot. 
This allows you to change settings of variations even after you made the snapshot.
ÖWhen layers are replaced or added, you must create a new variation snapshot. 
Otherwise, the trigger pads will not switch the variations for these particular layers.
To clear the FlexPhraser snapshot:
1.Right-click the respective trigger pad.
2.Select “Clear FlexPhrasers”.
Bypassing the Pads Section
You can bypass the whole pads section. This deactivates any functionality you 
assigned to the trigger pads.
•To bypass the pads section, press the Bypass Pads button to the right of the 
trigger pads.
The bypass button lights up to indicate that the trigger pads have been 
deactivated.
Using Pad Presets
Presets for the trigger pads can be loaded and saved using the controls in the top left 
of the pads section.
•To load a preset, click the down arrow button and select the preset from the pop-
up menu.
•To delete the selected preset from your system, click the trash icon.
You will be asked to confirm the deletion.
•To save a new preset, click the disk icon. A file dialog opens where you can name 
and save your preset file.
ÖPad presets save trigger notes and chord snapshots, but not FlexPhraser snapshots. 
This way, you can exchange trigger notes and chords by loading presets without 
loosing your FlexPhraser snapshots. 
						

							177
Note Expression
Introduction
Cubase’s Note Expression technology is essential for creating realistic instrument 
performances. Note Expression allows you to create automated modulations for each 
note. In general, HALion Sonic supports Note Expression for volume, pan and tuning. 
This means that for any of HALion Sonic‘s programs you can automate these 
parameters in Cubase per note. But, HALion Sonic can do more. In programs that 
give you access to the modulation matrix, you can assign up to eight so-called Note 
Expression controllers to any available modulation destination. These work in addition 
to the preassigned pitch, pan and level modulations. When the Note Expression 
controller is assigned, naming it makes it available in Cubase.
ÖThe eight Note Expression controllers of a program are shared by all layers. This 
means that the Note Expression controller data affects all four layers simultaneously. 
Depending on how the Note Expression controllers have been set up, each layer 
might react differently.
ÖWhen you use HALion Sonic with older versions of Cubase or other host applications 
that do not support Note Expression, you still get access to the Note Expression 
editor page and you can see Note Expression controllers in the modulation matrix. 
However, they will not have any influence on the program.
The Note Expression Editor
Go to the Edit page and select the Program tab. In the lower half of the page, click 
“NoteExp” to open the Note Expression editor. 
The editor shows the eight Note Expression controllers on the left (“NE1” to “NE8”) 
and the assigned modulation destinations on the right. This gives you a quick overview 
of how Note Expression controllers are routed in the modulation matrix and what their 
influence on the sound will be. Note that one Note Expression controller can be 
assigned to several destinations.
Naming Note Expression Controllers
You can name Note Expression controllers by their function, to know what they do at 
a glance. By default, a Note Expression controller is given the name of the modulation 
destination it was assigned to first. After this, any further assignments will not change 
the name. However, you can rename the Note Expression controller at any time.
To rename a Note Expression controller, proceed as follows:
1.Go to the NoteExp page.
2.In the section to the left, select the Note Expression controller you want to rename.
3.Click in the name column of the selected Note Expression controller and enter the 
new name.
Press [Enter] to confirm the name. You can cancel the operation by pressing [Esc]. 
						

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Note ExpressionIntroduction
Bypassing the Note Expression Controller
The bypass switch of each Note Expression modulation row allows you to switch off 
the effect of the Note Expression controller.
ÖThe bypass switch is linked to the modulation bypass switch in the corresponding 
modulation assignment of the modulation matrix.
Changing the Modulation Depth
The depth slider adjusts the intensity of the Note Expression modulation. This allows 
you to change the modulation without having to go to the modulation matrix first.
ÖThe slider is linked to the depth slider of the corresponding modulation assignment in 
the modulation matrix.
Editing the Note Expression Modulation Assignment
Click the “e” button to jump directly to the first modulation assignment of the 
respective Note Expression controller in the modulation matrix. 
						

							179
Global Functions and Settings
Introduction
This chapter describes global settings and functions of the program.
The Plug-in Functions Section
At the top of the HALion Sonic window you find the plug-in functions section. The 
plug-in functions section gives you access to global functions, affecting both the 
currently loaded programs, and the general working of the plug-in. The section is 
divided into three smaller sections: program slot section, master section and 
performance displays.
The Program Slot Section
This section includes a program slot, and shows the main parameters of the program 
loaded in the slot. This slot is a copy of the slot that is currently selected in the Multi 
Program Rack. You can adjust settings such as level, pan, output bus, MIDI channel 
and polyphony. Furthermore, you can use the program slot to load programs and to 
mute/solo them.
Slot Selector
The slot number not only serves as a label but also allows you to select the slot you 
would like to have displayed.
Proceed as follows:
1.Click the slot number to open a context menu.
2.Select the slot.
To make slot selection easier, programs already loaded are displayed in the context 
menu with their name.
Slot Functions
The slot provided in the Plug-in functions section can be used to load programs and 
layers, just like the slots of the Multi Program Rack (see 
“Loading Programs” on page 
15).
MIDI Activity Indicator
The MIDI icon indicates incoming MIDI data by blinking.
Solo
Enable the Solo button of the slot in order to hear only this program. 
						

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Global Functions and SettingsThe Plug-in Functions Section
Mute
Enable the Mute button to turn off this program. The program remains loaded and can 
therefore be turned on again smoothly.
Level
Use the level fader to adjust the output level of the slot.
Pan
Use the pan fader to adjust the position of the slot in the stereo panorama.
Output
Use the output selector to define the output destination of the slot signal. By default 
all signals are sent to the Main output.
Polyphony
This parameter allows you set the number of keys you can play simultaneously. Keep 
in mind that one key can trigger several layers. Check the Performance Meter to see 
how many voices are triggered by your playing.
Program Icon
The program icon on the left shows to which sound category the program belongs. It 
cannot be assigned freely but depends on the category and sub category tagged in 
the MediaBay. If no category is set, a default icon will be shown.
The Master Section
The Master section can be used to set the plug-in volume and tuning.
Master Volume
Use the Main Volume slider to adjust the overall volume of HALion Sonic.
Master Tune
You can set the Master Tune slider within a range from 415.3 Hz to 466.2 Hz, which 
equals -100
 cents to +100 cents. The default value is 440 Hz.
The Performance Displays
To the right in the plug-in functions section, you find meters and text displays that 
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 red 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 red overload indicator lights up, the hard disk is not supplying 
data fast enough. In such a case, adjust the Disk vs. RAM slider on the Options page 
towards RAM. You can also decrease the Max Voices setting on the Options page.