Steinberg HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST SISet Operation Manual

							3
Editing 
						

							12
Editing
Introduction
All programs of the HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST 
Sound Instrument Set come with their own dedicated Edit 
page. This page gives you access to all available parame
-
ters. The most important ones can be set directly from the 
Main page. Some additional settings can be found on the 
Options page.
The Main page
For easy editing, the layers of the HALion Symphonic Or-
chestra VST Sound Instrument Set have a special set of 
controls. In the list at the top left, you will see the available 
expressions of the layer. Typically, an expression is a cer
-
tain playing style of the instrument. In the lower window 
section, you will find the Voice & Pitch and the Amplifier 
settings. 
The Expressions section
The Expressions list has four columns: On, Expression, 
Sw, and Mute.
•To load an expression, click the On button. Note that 
you can use this option to reduce the amount of used 
RAM by turning off individual expressions. You cannot 
switch to an expression that has not been loaded before.
•The Expression column displays the name of the ex-
pression.
•The Sw (Key Switch) column provides you with different 
controls depending on the selected key switch mode (see 
below). By default, you see the internal key switch that is 
assigned to the expression.
•If you click the button in the Mute column, the expres-
sion will not play back. Click the button again to make the 
expression audible again.
Key switch modes
The expression key switches of the HALion Symphonic 
Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set are set to rather low 
keys to maximize the playable range. They cannot be 
changed internally.
However, in some cases you need to shift the key 
switches into another keyboard range to get access to 
them. You may also want to select the expression using a 
MIDI controller. You can do this by switching to one of the 
alternative key switch modes “Remapped” or “Controller”.
ÖThe internal key switch assignments are unaffected by 
the selected key switch mode and will therefore always 
work. The last key switch that is received always has prior
-
ity.
To define which key switch mode you want to use, pro-
ceed as follows:
1.Open the Options pop-up menu by clicking the trian-
gle at the top right of the Expression section, above the 
scrollbar.
2.Select the desired mode.
The following modes are available:
Key Switch
The Key Switch mode uses the internal key switch assign-
ments. The key switches are displayed in the list.
Remapped
The Remapped mode allows you to transpose the fixed, 
internal key switch assignments into the playable range of 
your MIDI keyboard. Each expression displays the MIDI 
note of the internal key switch and a MIDI note for re-as
-
signing the key switch next to its name. The MIDI note of 
the internal key switch is for indication only and cannot be 
edited. 
						

							13
Editing
To transpose the internal key switches, proceed as fol-
lows:
1.Set the mode to Remapped.
2.Enter the MIDI note you want the expression to be re-
assigned to.
ÖThe MIDI notes you use for key switches cannot be 
used to trigger samples anymore.
Controller
The Controller mode allows you to define a MIDI controller 
that remotely controls the internal key switches. The de
-
fined MIDI controller switches only between the active ex-
pressions.
To assign a MIDI controller, proceed as follows:
1.Set the mode to Controller.
2.Open the Options pop-up menu again and select 
“Learn CC”.
3.Use the desired hardware controller.
In addition to the key switch modes, the Options menu 
contains the following options:
Temporary KS Mode
When you activate this option, other expressions than the 
default expression only become active for the time the 
corresponding key switch is held. This allows you to 
“throw in” notes with other expressions by pressing a key 
switch and return automatically to the default expression 
when releasing this key switch.
Default Expression
This submenu allows you to set the default expression for 
the Temporary KS Mode and the expression that will be 
active after loading the program or layer.
The Voice & Pitch section
This section gives you access to the tuning of the expres-
sion. With these parameters, you can adjust the tuning in 
steps of octaves, semitones, and cents.
The following parameters are available:
• Octave (-4 to +4 octaves)
• Coarse (-12 to +12 semitones)
• Fine (-100 to + 100 cents)
The Expression Mode and Expression Controller options
The layers of the HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST 
Sound Instrument Set consist of several velocity sublayers 
to capture the full dynamic range of the instruments. 
These sublayers can be accessed by sending different ve
-
locity values or a specific MIDI controller. 
The expression mode allows you to specify whether the 
sublayers are switched (abrupt change between sublay
-
ers) or  crossfaded (blending between sublayers).
The Expression Mode and Expression Controller settings 
can be combined as follows:
Mode Description
Switch + 
VelocityIn this mode, only velocity controls expression. Techni-cally the velocity value selects the corresponding layer, 
i. e. high velocities play fortissimo layers. While this is not the way instruments are used normally, 
keyboard players who have been using orchestra 
sounds from samplers or other keyboards are used to 
this way of playing orchestra sounds.
Note that in this mode there is no way of continuous ex-pression control.
Fade + 
VelocityIn this mode, only velocity controls expression. How-ever, there are velocity regions where two layers are 
played and crossfaded to create a smoother transition.
Fade + MIDI 
ControllerIn this mode, you can blend through the different layers 
(e. g. from pianissimo to fortissimo) using a specific 
MIDI controller. This gives the most authentic sound 
and behavior. However, it also puts the highest load on 
CPU and hard disk because all layers have to be played 
at the same time – audible or not. This means that in 
the violin programs, for example, up to four stereo 
voices are played for each note.
Switch + MIDI 
ControllerIn this mode, the expression controller switches from 
layer to layer rather than blending them into each other. 
Volume, however, is controlled continuously. 
The disadvantage of audible transitions yields an un-beatable advantage: Only one stereo voice per note is 
used, so these programs can be used on slower sys-tems. 
						

							14
Editing
The Amplifier section
The Amplifier section gives you access to the level and 
pan settings of the expression. Since all samples have 
been recorded in stereo, you can also adjust the stereo 
width before placing it in the stereo panorama. Further
-
more you can adjust the attack and release times of the 
amplifier envelopes individually.
Level
With the Level parameter, you adjust the loudness of the 
expression. The control range is from -
 to +12dB.
Pan
With the Pan parameter, you specify the position of the 
expression in the stereo panorama. The control range is 
from L100 to R100.
Width
The Width parameter allows you control the width of the 
stereo image of the samples. The control range is from 
0
 % to +100 %.
Attack
Use this parameter to offset the attack time of the amplifier 
envelope. The control range is from -100
 % to +100 %. 
Positive values decrease and negative values increase the 
attack time.
Decay
Use this parameter to offset the decay time of the amplifier 
envelope. The control range is from -100
 % to +100 %. 
Positive values decrease and negative values increase the 
Decay time.
The Options Page
The Options page is shown if you click the Options button 
at the top right.
The MIDI Controller pop-up menus
On the Options page, you can define globally how to con-
trol the two available aspects of a program. These aspects 
are Expression and Espressivo. You can control them us
-
ing a MIDI controller, Velocity or a Note Expression con-
troller. These sources can be sent through an individual 
curve to create the desired behavior.
To assign a controller, proceed as follows:
1.Open the pop-up menu for the Expression or Expres-
sivo aspect.
2.Select a MIDI controller, a Note Expression controller, 
or Velocity.
ÖWhen a program does not use the Expressivo aspect, 
no controller is assigned. Assigning a controller after
-
wards will not have any effect.
The curve editor
The curve editor allows you to transform the incoming 
controller data, for example, from linear to exponential or 
logarithmic behavior. You can set up individual curves for 
each controller assignment.
The curve editor displays the settings of the currently se-
lected controller.
∞ 
						

							15
Editing
•To adjust the settings of a controller, click the Curve 
button to the right of the aspect you want to edit.
The curve editor offers different curve shapes which you 
can select by clicking the desired curve button on the 
right. To set up your own curve, click the custom curve 
button (the button at the bottom of the left button column).
When the Custom preset is selected, you can edit the 
curve graphically with the mouse:
•Double-click in the editor to insert a new node. 
•Double-click on a node to delete it.
•Drag the nodes to the desired positions to adjust the 
basic shape of the curve.
•Drag the lines between the nodes up or down to 
change the curvature.
Managing custom curves
When editing the custom curve, an additional preset man-
agement line is available below the curve editor. Here you 
can load, save, and delete your own custom curves.
•To load a preset, click the preset selector and select the 
desired preset from the pop-up menu.
•To save your custom curve as a preset, click the disk 
icon to the right of the preset selector.
•To delete the currently loaded custom curve, click the 
trash icon.
The Pitch Bend option
The Pitch Bend parameters allow you to define how much 
the pitchbend wheel on your keyboard can bend the orig
-
inal pitch. You can define the range independently for the 
Up and Down direction (-48 to + 24 semitones).
The Alternation Enable Key
Many of the programs in the HALion Symphonic Orches-
tra VST Sound Instrument Set work with alternating layers, 
for example to realize alternating bow up and bow down 
directions. This option is by default assigned to a specific 
key, so that you can easily enable and disable it while play
-
ing. This key is shown in red on the keyboard.
•You can modify the key assignment by clicking in the 
“Enable Alternation Key” value field and then playing the 
note. Alternatively, you can type in the desired note num
-
ber or name.
ÖFor programs that do not contain alternating layers, 
the “Enable Alternation Key” parameter is not available. 
						

							4
Default key switches 
						

							17
Default key switches
Key switch assignments
All the programs in the HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set are set up to share the same key 
switches for the same type of expression. However, in some cases there are exceptions from that rule. The table shows 
the key switch assignment for the different instrument groups.
KeyStrings tuttiStrings soloWoodwindBrassPerc
A-1trill whole notetrill whole notetrill whole notelegato (Default)
A#-1spicc/staccspicc/staccstaccstacc
B-1trill half notetrill half notetrill half note
C0tremolo/trem accenttremolo/trem accentCresc-decresCresc-decresrolls
C#0pizz tightpizzicatoaccentaccent
D0ornament HTornament HT
D#0pizz looseCresc-decresdiminuendo
E0ornament WTornament WT
F0esspressivolong (not fast)
F#0legato (Default)long fast (Default)legato (Default)Default
G0short down
G#0short alt on/off
A0portamento dnshort up
A#0portamento oct
B0portamento up