- Halion symphonic orchestra review how to#
- Halion symphonic orchestra review Patch#
- Halion symphonic orchestra review plus#
Much like the Absolute 4 bundle itself, this article will have to take the “a mile wide and a foot deep” approach, as there is so much content here that it would take far too long to dive into it all in detail. But regardless of how many sample libraries and synths you own, you’ll likely find a gem or two in here that you regularly depend on.Ībsolute 4 Bundle sells for $499.99 from Steinberg Thoughts There are a ton of instruments in here, and while many of them don’t go very deep as far as detail, they are all useful in ways that could save you when you find yourself needing an instrument that your more focused libraries don’t cover. This package is a jack-of-all-trades, and a great starter pack to get your production career or hobby started. Jump to the Demos of Absolute 4 Bundle by SteinbergĪbsolute 4 is Steinberg’s ultimate package – a massive bundle of sample libraries and synths, generally all powered by Steinberg’s own Groove Agent and HALion engines. Jump to the Videos of Absolute 4 Bundle by Steinberg
Halion symphonic orchestra review how to#
Just remember that you'll have to spend some time learning how to use it: HSO's interface may be simple enough (its menu system nonwithstanding), but it won't sound like a real orchestra unless you make it do so.Absolute 4 is an absolutely massive (that’s right) massive collection of instruments that lets you hit the ground running in nearly any genre you can dream of. It sounds great, and the inclusion of the HALion RAMSave technology and Eco mode means that you can configure HSO according to the power of your computer. Ultimately, however, HSO is a worthy, high-performance application and should certainly be considered if you're serious about your orchestrating, though we'd still like to see that harp added in a future update. It would take days to try all of the HSO patches out, and to tell the truth, some of them sound very similar anyway. What's more - and though it might seem strange to say - it sometimes feels like you have too much choice.
A system that recalled where you last were and had an 'up' button would be more practical in many cases.
Halion symphonic orchestra review Patch#
The instrument menu system could benefit from a little bit of attention - it actually includes categories that aren't featured in HSO, such as 'Synth lead', which just seems sloppy.Īlso, if you want to audition all of the 16-bit violin patches that use cross-switching, for example (there are 43 of them!), you can narrow things down by selecting Strings/Violins in the Category panel, but you still have to scroll down 54 folders to locate the next patch you want to hear. As with all orchestral, string and horn plug-ins, though, you do need to have some understanding of the instruments that HSO emulates - their strengths and their limitations - if you want to manipulate their virtual counterparts in a realistic and convincing manner. This oversight aside, it's clear that Steinberg have put a considerable amount of thought into creating an orchestral package that doesn't place too many demands on its users. The only major omission is a harp - an instrument that's surely as relevant to any orchestra as some of the percussion that HSO includes. Its samples were clearly meticulously recorded, and we found no fault with any of the patches (16- or 24-bit) when we started playing around with them. You can't fail to be impressed when you first hear what HSO can do. The thinking here is that the pitchbend control is self-centering, so can be easily used for performing diminuendos as well as crescendos.
Halion symphonic orchestra review plus#
Velocity Plus Pitchbend patches are similar, though with these, the pitchbend is used to control volume and therefore isn't available for pitch manipulation. If you use a Velocity patch, meanwhile, the velocity level is used to determine which layer is used. Xswitch patches are suitable for less powerful systems, as they use layer-switching rather than crossfading, so only one stereo sample is used at a time. Needless to say, these patches place the most demands on system resources, and they're also the most expressive. If you load an Xfade patch, you can use a continuous controller (like your modulation wheel) to fade between up to four stereo layers. This being the case, HSO features up to four different versions of each patch, and each of these is controlled in a different way. String, woodwind and brass instruments all use either bow or air pressure to control the envelope and timbre of a note (players also make subtle finger and lip movements), but MIDI keyboards only offer velocity-sensitive keys, and perhaps aftertouch. If you select Brass, then Trumpet, for example, you're left with only four banks, though each one does contain more than 20 variations.Īs you may be aware, creating authentic orchestral parts on a MIDI keyboard can be rather difficult. There are more than 150 banks on offer, so it's good that you can focus your browsing by narrowing down the categories in the appropriately named Category pane.
0 kommentar(er)
