Steinberg HALion Sonic

Steinberg HALion Sonic is Steinberg’s premier VST workstation that breaks new ground in terms of performance, versatility and ease of use.

Over a thousand instrument sounds created by top sound experts at Yamaha and Steinberg offer a staggering array of first class synths, hybrid and acoustic instruments, covering almost any conceivable style. HALion Sonic is the long-anticipated successor to the highly acclaimed Hypersonic 2 workstation, and allows you to work more productively than ever before.

Exclusive and comprehensive content, an intuitive interface for seamless handling and the sheer endless possibilities of creating entirely new landscapes deliver truly unlimited sonic dimensions.

Steinberg HALion Sonic's audio and synth engine builds on Steinberg’s upcoming cutting-edge VST3-based HALion 4 sampler. Four different modes guarantee phenomenal sonic variety: high performance disk-streaming sample playback, dedicated sliced-loop mode, special drum mode and finally a complete and fully editable virtual analog synthesis engine. All four modes include unique morphing filters which seamlessly blend between up to four of the 24 different filter types.

Virtually unlimited polyphony provides enough creative headroom to max out the Multi Program Rack with up to 16 individual programs sounding at the same time. Each program is made of up to four different complex sound layers and features its own effects rack with up to four insert slots fuelled by one of 16 effect types, including gems like REVerence or the exceptional sounding rotary cabinet emulation.

Steinberg HALion Sonic redefines quality and variety for workstation instruments with its 1,000 instrument sounds across 12 GB of custom-recorded samples. Created by the Yamaha sound design team behind Yamaha’s legendary MOTIF synthesisers, this world-class library with up to 18 articulations per instrument covers an enormous range of styles, all the way from finest detailed acoustic instruments to legendary synthesisers, club sounds and soundscapes, from ultra-realistic acoustic drum kits to the latest hip-hop loops.

All included sounds with articulations feature real-time control and support for Steinberg’s VST Expression, delivering easy articulation editing in Cubase 5. The massive library also includes over 1,500 patterns for the FlexPhrase module that drives beats, arpeggios and complex tonal phrases, plus automatic articulation switching. And should you covet more content, HALion Sonic supports expansion packs for even more creative power.

Steinberg HALion Sonic Features:

• Easy-to-use production workstation
• Over 1000 instrument sounds
• Powerful audio engine based on Steinberg’s HALion 4 sampler
• Multi Program Rack with up to 16 individual programs and up to 16 stereo outputs
• Integrated MediaBay sound management system
• Each program can hold up to 4 layers for quick sound combinations
• Four different specialised engine modes:
  • Disk-streaming sample playback
  • Dedicated sliced-loop mode
  • Special drum mode
  • Virtual analog synthesis engine
• Unique morphing filters
• Wide range of virtual effects
• FlexPhrase module for driving beats, arpeggios and complex tonal phrases
• VST Expression support for smart editing of articulations right inside Cubase 5
• Virtually unlimited polyphony per instance and sophisticated voice management
• Dedicated player view
• Eight quick controls
• Rapid building of keyboard or layer splits
• Standalone version included
• Expansion pack support
• Cross-platform supporting VST3, VST2.4 and AU hosts (Mac OS X)

Minimum System Requirements:

Mac: Mac OS X 10.5 and Mac OS X 10.6; Intel Core Duo 2.0 GHz processor; 2GB RAM; 12GB of free HD space; Display resolution of 1024 x 800 recommended; Core Audio compatible audio hardware; DVD-ROM with dual-layer support.

Windows: Windows XP with SP2 (32-bit only), Windows Vista* and Windows 7*; Pentium/Athlon 2.0 GHz dual core mobile or dual core 2.0 GHz processor 2 GB RAM Approx. 12 GB free of HD space; Display resolution 1280 x 1024 recommended; Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware (ASIO recommended for low-latency performance); DVD-ROM drive with dual-layer support. (*64-bit version natively supports 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7.)

Both Platforms: USB component port for USB- eLicenser/Steinberg Key (license management); USB-eLicenser/Steinberg Key is required (not included); Internet connection for license activation; For using as plug-in, VST2, VST3 or AU compatible host is required.