Steinberg VST Sampler HALion 3 Operation Manual

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Content description 
						

							HALion15 – 222 Content description
Introduction
HALion is supplied on a DVD containing both the installation program 
and the sample content. The following sections describe the HALion 
content files. For a detailed description of how to install and handle 
HALion content, see page 164.
The HALion Sound Sets
On the HALion DVD you will find the HALion Content folder contain-
ing four HALion sound bank (.hsb) files. These contain the content 
files. The following table lists the sound banks and their content to 
provide a quick overview. Use the Browser page view in HALion to 
check the exact contents of each sound bank. You will find a detailed 
description of all sounds later in this chapter.
The following sound sets are supplied on the HALion DVD:
About third party content
On the DVD, you will also find the “HALion 3rd party Demo Content” 
folder. This contains demo content from different providers (ELab, 
Gary Garritan, Scarbee and Vienna Symphonic Library).
Also included in this folder is a demo version (PC only, limited trial pe-
riod of 15 days after installation) of Zero X Beat Quantizer 1.0. This 
application for slicing and quantizing audio samples uses the .zgr file 
format which can be imported into HALion.
File name Content
HALion 3 Sound Set 1.hsb Drums, Percussion, Bass
HALion 3 Sound Set 2.hsb Piano and Keyboards
HALion 3 Sound Set 3.hsb Pad, Synth, Lead and Oscillator Toolbox
HALion 3 Sound Set 4.hsb Strings, Brass, Choir, Guitar, pitched Percussion 
						

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System requirements
Apart from a system that meets the requirements of the host software 
and HALion, you only need a 6-channel (5.1) surround system and 
enough free RAM to play the surround sounds. Thanks to HALion’s 
streaming technology you can use the new surround content with a 
minimum of only 100 MB of free RAM (i.e. RAM available for sample 
content). If you experience any RAM related problems, try setting the 
Preload time in the Options page view of HALion to 2 seconds or less.
• Of course you can play all HALion surround content on a stereo system, 
at the obvious cost of loosing the outstanding surround experience.
Playing the surround content
To play the 5.1 content on a surround sound system, proceed as 
follows:
1.Copy the surround programs you find on the HALion DVD to your 
hard drive.
2.Set up your audio system so that the channel assignment of your host’s 
audio output looks like this: 1 Front Left, 2 Front Right, 3 Center, 4 LFE, 
5 Surround Left, 6 Surround Right. 
• There is a program called “Rolf Channel Checker” (part of the “HALion 3 
Sound Set 1.hsb” file) that plays a voice telling you which channel it 
should come from. Play it once to make sure channel assignments are 
correct – you wouldn’t like the sound of the front left speaker coming 
from the LFE.
3.If you use Cubase SX 2 or Nuendo 2, start the “HALion Surround 
Content” project. The channel and output assignments in this project 
have been set up so that HALion’s 5.1 signals are automatically 
routed to a 5.1 configured channel in the mixer.
4.In your host’s audio mixer, find the new, additional HALion surround 
channels and make sure they are routed to the correct output busses 
(normally FL/FR go to BUS 1, C/LFE to BUS 2, and SL/SR to BUS 3).
5.Set up a MIDI track to play HALion from a keyboard (preferred), or use 
the on-screen keyboard to play the sounds.
Enjoy the superb surround experience offered by HALion! 
						

							HALion15 – 224 Content description
HALion content structure
The programs and samples of the HALion content are provided by 
Wizoo and by eLAB. 
The large acoustic instruments come in three sizes each: XXL, MID 
and ECO. These versions differ in preload memory consumption, 
RAM demand and CPU load.
XXL
This is the full version giving you maximum sound quality and variations. 
In other words: if your system can handle it, use the XXL version for 
best quality sound. If system performance is an issue, try using the XXL 
versions only for prominent sounds that stand out in the arrangement.
MID
Only the big XXL instruments have MID versions. Here the number of 
samples is reduced by 40 % compared to the XXL version. The MID 
versions are most appropriate for accompaniment and chord tracks.
ECO
Compared to XXL the ECO versions sample numbers are reduced by 
65 %, where applicable the filter is bypassed for better performance. 
Use ECO versions for less prominent background tracks.
Compatibility
Obviously, the XXL versions are the most demanding in terms of mem-
ory, RAM and CPU requirements, while the ECO versions are a smaller 
burden on your system. While authenticity, number of samples and 
quality are different between XXL and ECO, all three versions are fully 
compatible, i.e. you can replace an XXL version with an ECO version at 
any time. The sound will retain its character, response and functionality.
On MacOS, all programs are color labelled according to their type: 
XXL, MID, Normal and ECO. Versions for 5-octave-keyboards also 
have a color of their own. Colors differ according to which colors you 
have assigned to the labels in the Finder. 
						

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• Please note that many of the content Programs use program effects. If 
you want to use several Programs simultaneously, you should load CPU-
intensive effects that can be used by several Programs (reverb, delay, 
modulation, etc.) into the global HALion send effects’ slots and not into 
the insert effects’ slots for the Program. You can then set the desired 
send effect amount separately for individual Programs (by adjusting the 
“Send Levels Prog.” parameter on the Global page view) or samples 
(Sound page view, Send FX parameter).
The content
The following files are included in the HALion sound banks (.hsb files) 
you find in the Content folder of the DVD:
Program  Name Description Mod Wheel                   
01 Drums & 
Percussion
01 Wizoo Big Gig 
Kit XXLCombination of Wizoo Studio Drums and Wizoo 
Latin Percussion Kits.
02 Round Robin 
Drum Kit XXLNatural drums with 7 sets of samples utilizing the 
HALion 3 “Round Robin” alternating feature. The 
7 sets of drums alternate each time a note is 
played or can be selected using the key switches 
located between C0-F#0.Pitch wheel fades 
from close mic to 
more room on 
kick and snare.
03 Wizoo Studio 
Drums XXLUniversally usable drum kit featuring up to 12 ve-
locity layers per instrument.
04 Wizoo Soul 
Kit XXLA deeper and heavier drum kit, especially suitable 
for dirty, processed applications.
05 Wizoo Reverb 
Kit XXLA combination of dry drums and wet reverb only 
signals. 
06 Drum n Bass 
Kit4 sets of drum’n’bass style drums spread in oc-
taves across a keyboard range of C1 to A#4.
07 Drum n Bass 
Reso KitAs in program 06 but with reso and filter velocity 
and phaser effect.
08  HipHop  Kit Comprehensive processed kit 808 style, up to 10 
layers per instrument. 
						

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09  Tekkno  Kit Comprehensive processed kit 909 style, up to 10 
layers per instrument.
10 Wizoo Latin 
Perc XXLFull GM latin percussion set with up to 8 velocity 
layers.
11 MegaTrigg 
Percussion XXLSustain pedal switches percussion samples.
12 Latin Perc 
Drums & WoodDrums and wooden elements from Wizoo Latin 
Perc XXL.
13 Latin Perc 
MetallicMetallic elements from Wizoo Latin Perc XXL.
14 Latin Perc 
ShakenShaken elements from Wizoo Latin Perc XXL.
02 Basses
01 Wizoo 6Str 
Bass Velo XXLKen Smith active electric finger bass with soft/
hard velocity switch.Vibrato
02 Wizoo 6Str 
Bass XVS XXLAs in program 01 with soft/hard/semi slide. Vibrato
03 Wizoo 6Str 
Bass XVH XXLAs in program 01 with soft/hard/harmonics. Vibrato
04 Wizoo 6Str 
Bass XTV XXLAs in program 01 with 
layer 1: harmonics soft (key split natural-artificial), 
layer 2: harmonics hard (key split natural-artificial), 
layer 3/4: soft/hard notes.Vibrato
05 Wizoo Bass 
MTg Hrm XXLAs in program 01 with soft/hard velocity 
switches.Switches to 
harmonics 
(MegaTrigg)
06 Wizoo Bass 
MTg Slds XXLAs in program 01 with soft/hard velocity 
switches. Switches to 
semitone slides 
(MegaTrig)
07 Acoustic Bass Fingered upright acoustic bass. Vibrato
08 Electric Pick 
BassElectric pick bass. Vibrato Program  Name Description Mod Wheel                    
						

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09 Electric Slap 
BassElectric slap bass. Vibrato
10 Fretless Bass Electric fretless bass. Vibrato
11 Jaco Bass Wide stereo chorus electric fretless bass. Vibrato
12 Minimoog Bass Straight no-frills Minimoog bass. Vibrato
13 OB8 Sawrub-
ber BassSubsonic Rubber-style bass. Vibrato
14 Nord Disco 
BazzVirtual analog percussive bass. Vibrato
15 Ultimoog Bass Detuned FM bass. Vibrato
16 Nord Mewk 
BassStraight analog bass with sub-oscillator two 
octaves below.Vibrato
03 Grand Pianos
01 Grand Piano 1 
+ Keys XXLOne layer excerpt from “The Grand” VSTi. In-
cludes mechanical hammer noises on key 
release.
02 Grand Piano 2 
+ Keys XXLFive velocity layer warm and gentle Grand Piano. 
Includes mechanical hammer noises on key 
release.
03 Grand Piano 1 
XXLOne layer excerpt from “The Grand” VSTi.
04 Grand Piano 2 
XXLFive velocity layer warm and gentle Grand Piano.
05 Gooseskin XXL Grand Piano 1 layered with a string pad. Closes pad filter
06 Sparkle XXL Gentle phasing Grand Piano 2 and pad layer. Closes pad filter
07 Bubbler XXL Gurgling Grand Piano 2 and pad layer. Opens pad filter
04 Keyboards
01 Suitcase 
ChorusJazzy, expensive sounding electric piano with 
chorus. 4 layer velocity switch. Program  Name Description Mod Wheel                    
						

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02 Suitcase 
AutopanStereo autopanning electric piano. 4 layer velocity 
switch.
03 Simple 
SuitcaseAs with program 01 but without chorus.
04 Suitcase MTg Velocity controls volume. Mod-wheel steps 
through the 4 
velocity layers 
(MegaTrigg)
05 Mark 1 Chorus Electric piano with rich harmonics and chorus, 
harder character than suitcase. 4 layer velo switch.
06 Mark1 
AutoWah With dynamic wah effect.
07 Simple Mark 1 As with program 05 but without chorus.
08 Mark1 MTg As with program 04.
09 DX 
PunchReedsArtificial FM version of a Rhodes piano. Vibrato
10 Clavinet D6 Funky clavinet.
11 Clavinet D6 
WahWith dynamic wah effect.
12 D6 Dynawow Dynamic wah effect created by filter velocity. Opens filter
13 B3 Rotor Slow-
Fast MWPercussive B3 organ with slow to fast rotary 
speaker effect.Slow-fast rotor
14 B3 Straight Percussive B3 organ without rotary speaker effect.
15 B3 Rotor Slow Percussive B3 organ with slow rotary speaker 
effect.
16 B3 Rotor Fast Percussive B3 organ with fast rotary speaker 
effect.
17 E Piano & B3 
Rotor CombiElectric piano and B3 with slow and fast rotary 
layer.Slow-fast rotor
18 Harpsichord Natural stereo harpsichord. Vibrato
19 Heaven Harp Percussive chorus arpeggio harpsichord. Vibrato Program  Name Description Mod Wheel                    
						

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05 Pitched 
Percussion
01 Vibraphone Warm vibraphone. Tremolo
02 Chorus Vibes Vibraphone with chorus effect. Tremolo
03 Dream Vibes  Washy soft, slow attacking vibes pad. Vibrato
04 Marimba Natural Marimba. Vibrato
05 Slap Marimba Marimba with loud bright reverse reverb slapback. Vibrato
06 Kalimba Natural Kalimba. Vibrato
07 Kaos Kalimba Kalimba with tempo synced echoes for making 
complex rhythmic phrases.Vibrato
08 Glockenspiel Bright Glockenspiel. Play in high register. Vibrato
09 Pretty Glocken Softer chorus Glockenspiel. Vibrato
10 Tipi Percussive metallic synth. Good for Arpeggios. Vibrato
06 Strings
01 Alternating 
Spiccato XXLFull range spiccato strings ensemble with up and 
down bowing utilizing the HALion 3 Alternating 
feature. The up and down bowing sets alternate 
each time a note is played or can be selected us-
ing the key switches located between C-1 & C#-1.Fades volume
02 Spiccato Up 
XXLFull range spiccato strings ensemble with up 
bowing.Fades volume
03 Spiccato Down 
XXLFull range spiccato strings ensemble with down 
bowing.Fades volume
04 Legato Strings Full range legato strings section. Vibrato
05 Tremolo Strings Full range tremolo strings section.  Fades volume
06 Pizz Strings Full range pizzicato strings section.  Fades volume
07 Legato-Trem-
olo Combi MWFade between legato and tremolo strings sections. Fades Legato-
Tremolo
08 Legato-Spic-
cato Combi MWSwitch between legato and spiccato strings 
sections.Switches Le-
gato-Spiccato Program  Name Description Mod Wheel                    
						

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09 Spiccato & Pizz 
Combi MWSwitch between legato and pizzicato strings 
sections.Switches Spic-
cato-Pizzicato
10 Legato & 
Spiccato LayerLayered legato and spiccato strings sections. Vibrato
11 Legato Pad Soft rich string pad with cutoff on mod wheel and 
velocity.Opens filter
07 Guitars
01 Wizoo Nylon 
Gtr Velo XXLVery rare and expensive handcrafted german clas-
sical Nylon Guitar with Soft/Hard velocity switch.Vibrato
02 Wizoo Nylon V 
Hrm XXLAs in program 01 with Soft/Hard/Harmonics 
velocity switches.Vibrato
03 Wizoo Nylon V 
Ham XXLAs in program 01 with Soft/Hard/Wholetone 
hammer velocity switches.Vibrato
04 Wizoo Nylon 
XTV XXLAs in program 01 with Harmonics/Soft/Hard/
Semitone slides velocity switches.Vibrato
05 Wizoo Nylon 
MTg Hrm XXLAs in program 01 with Soft/Hard/Semitone slides 
velocity switches. Switches to 
harmonics 
(MegaTrigg).
06 Wizoo Nylon 
MTg Slds XXLAs in program 01 with Soft/Hard/Wholetone 
hammer velocity switches. Switches semi-
tone slides 
(range 11-110) 
and whole tone 
hammers (range 
111-127) 
(MegaTrigg).
07 Steel String 
GuitarSteel string pick acoustic guitar. Vibrato
08 Steel Str Gtr+ 
HarmonicsSteel string pick acoustic guitar with switch to 
harmonics in high velocity.Vibrato
09 Steel Str Gtr 
Harmonics Steel string guitar harmonics. Vibrato
10 12 String 
Guitar12 string acoustic pick guitar. Vibrato Program  Name Description Mod Wheel