Steinberg VST Sampler HALion 3 Operation Manual

							HALionEffect parameters 12 – 191
Gate
Simple gate effect.
Distortion effects
Distortion effects are best used as insert effects. The following effects 
can be found in this category:
Distortion
Hard clipping distortion.
Overdrive
Softer distortion with a gradual onset.
Parameter Description
Output Output level trim.
Thresh Gate threshold.
Range Level reduction when gate closed.
Attack Attack time.
Release Release time.
Parameter Description
Mix Wet/dry mix.
Drive Distortion amount.
Bias Distortion character. Adjusts the balance between even and odd 
harmonics.
Output Output level trim.
Tone Distortion tone.
Parameter Description
Mix Wet/dry mix.
Drive Overdrive amount. 
						

							HALion12 – 192 Effect parameters
Bit Reduction
Digital “Lo Fi” quality degradation.
Amp Simulator
Amplifier modelling effect.
Bias Overdrive character. Adjusts the balance between even and odd 
harmonics.
Output Output level trim.
Parameter Description
Mix Wet/dry mix.
Rate Simulated sample rate.
Depth Sample bit depth.
Slew Rate Maximum rate of change of output waveform, for a soft, wooly 
distortion.
Mode Linear or Companding. Sets whether the bit depth is fixed or de-
pends on the signal level.
Parameter Description
Mix Wet/dry mix.
Model Type of amplifier model. Drastically changes the tone character.
Drive Overdrive amount.
Feedback Feedback amount (result depends on input signal).
Treble  Treble boost – optionally in or out of phase for different tones.
Mode Mono/Stereo operation. Mono saves CPU, and in some cases 
sounds more solid. Parameter Description 
						

							HALionEffect parameters 12 – 193
Modulate L/R
This effect features three modes of signal distortion, where one side 
of a stereo signal is used to modulate the other.
Parameter Description
Mix Wet/dry mix.
Mode • Ring Mod: Ring modulation.
• Env Mod: Signal level of right channel is modulated by level of 
left channel.
• Duck: Signal level of right channel is reduced when level of left 
channel increases.
Smooth Smoothing of modulation.
Drive Level trim.
Thru Sets which input signal(s) are used as the dry signal for the Mix 
control. 
						

							HALion12 – 194 Effect parameters 
						

							13
Automation, MIDI controllers
and navigation controls 
						

							HALion13 – 196 Automation, MIDI controllers and navigation controls
Introduction
This chapter describes how to automate HALion parameters within 
Cubase SX, and how to assign MIDI controllers and HALion key com-
mands.
Recording dynamic control settings
Proceed as follows to record dynamic control settings within the 
HALion window onto a Cubase SX track:
1.In Cubase, open the Preferences dialog on the MIDI Filter page and 
switch off the “Sysex” filter.
In Cubase SX, this filter is activated by default. By deactivating it, you enable Cubase 
SX to record SysEx data.
❐If in doubt, please read the document “System Exclusive Handling”. It 
can be found on the Cubase SX Program CD and contains detailed infor-
mation on recording and editing SysEx data.
2.Create a separate empty MIDI track for the automation data that you 
wish to record. 
This way, if something goes wrong, you can simply delete the automation data and try 
again.
3.Set the output of the track so that it sends to the desired HALion 
channel.
4.Open the HALion window and make sure that the correct sound and 
channel are selected for automation and recording.
5.Press the Record button in Cubase SX to start recording. 
Dynamically change the control settings as desired.
6.Stop recording and rewind. Then start playback.
The controls in the HALion window should now dynamically move and reflect the 
settings you have made. 
						

							HALionAutomation, MIDI controllers and navigation controls 13 – 197
Exporting HALion tracks to audio files
You can export one or more HALion MIDI tracks to an audio file, e. g. to 
save processor resources. To do this, solo all tracks that you wish to ex-
port (or mute all the other tracks) and select “Audio Mixdown…” from 
the Export submenu on the File menu. A detailed description of the ex-
port process for audio files can be found in the Cubase SX Operation 
Manual. 
						

							HALion13 – 198 Automation, MIDI controllers and navigation controls
Using MIDI controllers
You can use MIDI controller data to completely control HALion, e.g. from 
an external MIDI hardware control unit or a MIDI Master keyboard. The 
“Receive MIDI CC” option must be selected in the Options page view, 
where you can also reassign Controllers (see page 177). You can also 
graphically or numerically create MIDI Controller data in an editor (e.g. 
the List Editor in Cubase SX or Nuendo). The following table shows you 
the default MIDI controller assignments:
HALion Control Controller
Fine tune (Cent) 90
Glide 05
Octave 28
Semitone 31
Sample Volume 20
12/24 dB Low pass 21
Filter Cutoff 74
Resonance 71
Filter Envelope Amount 80
Filter Envelope Attack 83
Filter Envelope Decay 89
Filter Envelope Sustain 85
Filter Envelope Release 82
Amp Amount 70
Amp Envelope Attack 73
Amp Envelope Decay 79
Amp Envelope Sustain 75
Amp Envelope Release 72
Filter Velocity Amount 15
Amp Velocity Amount 19
Spread 44 
						

							HALionAutomation, MIDI controllers and navigation controls 13 – 199
HALion keyboard commands
Key commands can be freely edited in the Key Commands dialog de-
scribed on page 200.
❐When using HALion as a VST Instrument in Cubase or Nuendo, make sure 
the option “PlugIns receive key commands” in the Preferences dialog is 
activated. Otherwise, HALion will not receive any key commands. If you 
use HALion in another host application, there may be a similar option – re-
fer to your host application’s documentation.
Some of the main (default) key commands are as follows:
The Key Commands dialog lists all default key commands.
Key Page View Function
[F6] all Opens the Global page view.
[F7] all Opens the Keyzone page view.
[F8] all Opens the Loop page view.
[F9] all Opens the Sound page view.
[Shift]-[F10] all Opens the Sound page view with the 
Modulation view selected.
[Shift]-[F9] all Opens the Sound page view with the 
Envelope view selected.
[Shift]-[F12] all Opens the Sound page view with the FX 
view selected.
[F10] all Opens the Browser page view.
[F11] all Opens the Options page view.
[F12] all Opens the Macro page view.
Right-click (Win) [Ctrl]-
click (Mac) top of the 
HALion control panelall Global Commands pop-up menu.
[Shift]-[Alt]-[A] all Key activates sample on/off (also indicated 
by the KA icon to the left of the keyboard). 
						

							HALion13 – 200 Automation, MIDI controllers and navigation controls
Setting up Key Commands
The following is a description of how you set up key commands and 
save them as presets for easy access.
Adding or modifying a key command
In the Key Commands dialog you will find all main HALion functions, 
arranged in a hierarchical way. Command categories are represented 
by a number of folders, each containing various items and functions. 
When you open a category folder by clicking the plus-sign beside it, 
the items and functions it contains are displayed with the currently as-
signed key commands.
To add a key command, proceed as follows:
1.Open the dialog by clicking “Edit Key Commands…” in the Options 
page view.
2.Use the list in the Commands column to navigate to the desired 
category.