[Musikmesse] Steinberg HALion Sonic VST3

HALion Sonic combines a 12GB sample library produced by Steinberg and Yamaha with a synthesis engine to offer synths, hybrid and acoustic instruments for composers, producers, musicians and sound designers in various production settings. The successor to Steinberg’s Hypersonic, HALion Sonic is said to retain its ease-of-use while offering expanded sound generation possibilities.

The underlying sound engine features four different modes designed to offer an array of sound production tools. The disk streaming engine recreates acoustic instruments, while a dedicated sliced-loop mode offers a beat and rhythm production toolkit. A special drum mode includes what’s needed to produce drum tracks while the editable virtual analogue synthesis section offers sound generation possibilities. Each of the 16 simultaneously loadable instruments features up to four complex sound ‘layers’ as well as its own four-way FX rack, including top quality FX such as the REVerence convolution reverb from Cubase 5.

Spanning over 1000 instruments across 12GB, the included library is the result of cooperation between Steinberg and the Yamaha sound design team behind the MOTIF series. Up to 20 articulations per instrument are designed to provide depth and expressiveness for a range of instruments and styles, while support for Steinberg’s VST Expression technology is designed to allow Cubase owners control of HALion Sonic articulations within Cubase. HALion Sonic also includes the FlexPhrase module, driving beats, arpeggios and complex musical phrases including automatic switching of articulations.

Pricing & Availability
HALion Sonic will be available in Q3 2010 for PC and Mac, and will cost €249/£212.
(Suggested Retail Price. Prices may be subject to regional variations)