Steinberg VST Workstation Halion Sonic Operation Manual

51
HALion Sonic
Filter
The filter section offers setting s to adjust the tone color of 
the Expression.
Filter On
Use this to activate the filter. Expressions without filter use 
less CPU cycles. Therefore, you should only activate this if 
your sound really needs a filter. The controls of the section 
turn dark when deactivated.
Filter shape
You can select from 23 different filter shapes. By select -
ing the filter shape you determine which frequencies will 
b

e affected. The letters and numbers...

52
HALion Sonic
Filter Env Modifiers
This section offers parameters to modify the filter enve-
lope of the Expression. You can offset the Attack, Decay, 
Sustain and Release of the filter envelope. In addition, you 
can also adjust the level velocity of the filter envelope.
Env Amnt
Env Amnt is short for Envelope Amount. Use this parame-
ter to adjust the Cutoff modulation from the Filter Enve-
lope. The control range is from -100% to +100%. Setting 
negative values inverts the direction of the...

53
HALion Sonic
Sustain
Use this to offset the Sustain level of the amplifier enve -
lope. The control range is from -100% to +100%. Positive 
values increase and negative values decrease the Sustain 
le

vel.
Release
Use this to offset the Release time of the amplifier enve -
lope. The control range is from -100% to +100%. Positive 
values decrease and negative
  values increase the Release 
time.
Expression Maps
Using Expression Maps
For more realistic performances, many instrument layers 
use key...

54
HALion Sonic
To transpose the internal key switches:
1.Set the mode to Key Switch.
2.Enter the MIDI note you want the expression to be re-
assigned to.
ÖThe MIDI notes you use for key switches do not trigger 
samples anymore. They trigger the internal key switch in
-
stead. Therefore, you cannot use them for normal playing 
anymore.
MIDI Controller mode
The MIDI Controller mode allows you to define a MIDI 
controller that remotely switches between the internal key 
switches. The defined MIDI...

55
HALion Sonic
• To save a new preset, click the floppy disk button. A file 
dialog opens where you can name and save your preset 
file.
Ö Presets ca
 n only be saved and loaded for phrases not 
for sliced loops.
FlexPhraser with phrases
Programs as well as synth,  sample, instrument or drum 
layers provide a FlexPhraser that comes with the following 
features:
Active
Click the Active button at the upper left to switch the 
phrase on and off.
Loading FlexPhrases
The FlexPhrases are sorted by the type of...

56
HALion Sonic
Key mode
This option defines if the order of the notes, as you played 
them chronically on the keyboa rd, affects the playback of 
the phrase.
You can select one of the following options:
Option Description
Sort The notes play in the order  of
  the selected pattern. The 
chronological order does not have an influence.
As Played The notes play in the chronological order as you played 
them on the keyboa

rd.
Direct The phrase itself does not output any note events.
  In-
stead, it outputs...

57
HALion Sonic
Play Range
You can use the Play Range parameters to determine 
which keys and velocities trigger the phrase playback.
Low Key
This defines the lowest key on which the phrase is trig -
gered. The range extends from C-2 to G8.
High Key
This defines the highest key on which the phrase is trig -
gered. The range extends from C-2 to G8.
Low Vel
This defines the lowest velocity on which the phrase is 
triggered. The range extends from 0 to 127.
High Vel
This defines the highest velocity on...

58
HALion Sonic
ÖIn addition, you can set the Restart mode to “Sync to 
Host” (see below for details). This aligns the loop with the 
beats and measures of your host application.
Tempo
When Sync is deactivated, use the Tempo control to set 
the internal playback speed of the loop. The playback 
speed of the loop is specified in Beats per Minute (BPM). 
In addition, Tempo Scale gives you further control over the 
playback speed. The Tempo control is inactive when Sync 
is activated.
Tempo Scale
This...

59
HALion Sonic
Trigger
Click this to shuffle the playing order again. Please note 
that the Pattern number changes with this.
Pattern
To predictably recall a certain random pattern, you can en -
ter the Pattern number. If you recall a loop with a certain 
Dept
 h and Pattern, it always sounds the same.
Exporting the loop sequence
The FlexPhraser of loop layers allows you to export the 
loop sequence as a MIDI part for your host sequencer.
To export the loop sequence:
1.Drag the 
 icon that looks lik e a...

60
HALion Sonic
•Keys with nothing assigned are disabled and are dis-
played in grey.
•In case of a loop layer, the pitched part of the keyboard 
is displayed in orange.
•Hidden parts of the keyboard can be accessed with the 
scroll bar to the lower of the keyboard.
•Clicking a key plays and selects the respective drum in-
strument or loop slice.
ÖThe Key Map is used for indication and selection only. 
The mapping of the drum instruments and loop slices can
-
not be changed.
Editing drum instruments or...