Is Halion 6 any good?

[Examigan]

Here is a review with a good deal of info on HALion 6:
https://soundbytesmag.net/review-halion-6-steinberg/

[Examigan]

Cyber Weeks announced on their site.
Save up to 50%
https://www.steinberg.net/promotion/

[Weasel-Boy]

For all the complaints about the ui, there is no mention of the fact that it is modular. You can hide the bits you don't want and show the bits you do. You can save different layouts for different work flows, eg, sound design, patch browsing, etc. It's not perfect, but it helps.

Valid point… but for the first time user, it’s yet another UI related feature that does not reveal itself in an obvious fashion when the program is initially launched.

Discovery doesn’t take place until at least a cursory manual read. Typically, novice users bump into this feature by accident or after viewing an online tutorial.

So sure, streamlining the HALion 6 workflow view exists, but in a paradoxically “advanced feature” fashion. I think HALion would be a far more popular program if it got a serious UI overhaul focused on improving the user experience. Considering the complexity of the program, I don’t envy anyone tasked with that assignment.

[PAK]

It's an ok price with 50% off. Though you might be better going with HALion Sonic if you'll mostly use presets. Usability wise HALion's GUI is flexible, but ultimately (to me) feels very "clunky", even with the benefit of a 4k display. It's to the degree that I doubt many users will go in-depth even if they're aware of what it can do, and I agree it needs some sort of overhaul. Plus much of what HALion does, raw sound wise, is replicated in various other bits of Steinberg software anyway (Retrologue *is* the HALion VA engine simplified, for example.)

I've moved to UVI Falcon myself, and prefer it in about every regard. IMO UVI's content libraries are also superior if sample libraries are ever part of your considerations.

The other thing is, afaik, HALion hasn't had a grace period announced. So know that you're buying into a defunct copy protection system, which is being abandoned, and where you will be required to pay for the new version which uses the new system. Further, the new system is a "life-time of the service" key, exactly like Roland Cloud. It has much more in common with a rental system, where Steinberg will only ever grant you temporary time-limited keys, and where they're using weasel words to claim it's a true perpetual key when, in fact, they really mean it's perpetual "for the lifetime of the service". If they take down or change it, so old versions can't access their server, both your ability to use what you paid for, and to access the data it creates, dies. Wise to think before you go down that path..

[MegaPixel]

It's an ok price with 50% off. Though you might be better going with HALion Sonic if you'll mostly use presets.

I've moved to UVI Falcon myself, and prefer it in about every regard. IMO UVI's content libraries are also superior if sample libraries are ever part of your considerations.

defunct copy protection system. Wise to think before you go down that path..

Yes, I think I will give it a skip, maybe in a year or 2 of black fridays / summer sales from now, I will see if it improves. But I too will stick with UVI Falcon, I orientate to the technical side of things so instruments like this don't bother me much, I like to go down the rabbit hole. But halion just feels, early 2000s and steinbergs UI's/GUI's have always been pretty bad, IMO... But at lesat they don't look like stuff from the 90s like melda...

I'm considering Total Studio 3.5 Max now...
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/ts3/

Although there's a lot of content in it I don't care for, there is a lot of content which I think could be quite useful... But it's a fair old chunk out of the wallet... I might just buy a few smaller vsts and be done with the sales till next year. I got a demo of Eventide's Generate installed at the moment and it's quite nice, lacking in a lot of things like a decent preset browser where you can like a preset etc but it's not bad, I really don't think it's worth the price however.

[omac]

Deleted because I found the answer to my question.

[PAK]

I might just buy a few smaller vsts and be done with the sales till next year. I got a demo of Eventide's Generate installed at the moment and it's quite nice, lacking in a lot of things like a decent preset browser where you can like a preset etc but it's not bad, I really don't think it's worth the price however.

Yeah.. Apparently $69 is the new $29 at Eventide, in terms of sales prices. With such "upwards" trends I'm not sure how common better deals will be in future. Not cheap being woke, I guess.

Re: Great deals on smaller things.. Some crackin' deals on over at Plogue just now, if that way inclined..

[MegaPixel]

I might just buy a few smaller vsts and be done with the sales till next year. I got a demo of Eventide's Generate installed at the moment and it's quite nice, lacking in a lot of things like a decent preset browser where you can like a preset etc but it's not bad, I really don't think it's worth the price however.

Yeah.. Apparently $69 is the new $29 at Eventide, in terms of sales prices. With such "upwards" trends I'm not sure how common better deals will be in future. Not cheap being woke, I guess.

Re: Great deals on smaller things.. Some crackin' deals on over at Plogue just now, if that way inclined..

RE: Plogue
Interesting.

RE: Mega Bundle Deals
I've seen a 2 or 3 of them so far where the whole catalogue is on sale. eg
https://soundspear.com/product/black-friday

Speaking of prices, I been getting countless emails for sample libraries and deals this year, black november by f***... I decided to check out some one or two for some vocals, so went from ADSR, BalckOcto, and about 5 others. All with virtually the same content and those with matching products, some are selling them for "NOW DOWN FROM $600 to $49" and then on the other site its down from $50 to $20. And then for other products they do the switcharoo. In the end, I just spam flagged the whole lot of them, bloody con artists... lol

Another thing I try to avoid is buying computer hardware from Amazon in November and till about 2 or 3 weeks after black friday. The prices of everything gradually go up till black friday then they drop to just higher than what they were 3 months prior or to what they once were, just now they are on sale... SSDs (EVOs) usually rise by about 100 to 200 and then drop back to nearly the their original price. Amazon is turning into Overclockers, a good catalogue to view stuff and read some fake reviews, buy you always look elsewhere and usually find it 1/2 or 1/4 the price.

[PAK]

DOWN FROM $600 to $49" and then on the other site its down from $50 to $20. And then for other products they do the switcharoo. In the end, I just spam flagged the whole lot of them, bloody con artists... lol

With guys like that I doubt it's even their own sample content sometimes.. likely just swiped from elsewhere

Another thing I try to avoid is buying computer hardware from Amazon in November and till about 2 or 3 weeks after black friday. The prices of everything gradually go up till black friday then they drop to just higher than what they were 3 months prior or to what they once were, just now they are on sale...

Hehehe. Yeah, good ol' fake sales. I assume you know camelcamelcamel. It price tracks Amazon in various countries, so you can (at least) see when you're actually getting a good price, vs what they claim.

[Gadget Fiend]

I have already bought into the HALion "Pro" line. But if I was to do it all over again, I would probably purchase HALion Sonic instead. I think the real value of HALion is the factory library. It's like a Motif on steroids. I mean that it a good way. It has these great bread and butter sounds that are WAY better than the sounds that come with any of the top of the line workstation keyboards.

But there is not a lot of third party library support. And HALion "Pro" is DEEP if you want to create your own sounds. However, its VA engine sounds really good so you can get a lot of mileage out of that.

[LoveEnigma18]

I have already bought into the HALion "Pro" line. But if I was to do it all over again, I would probably purchase HALion Sonic instead. I think the real value of HALion is the factory library. It's like a Motif on steroids. I mean that it a good way. It has these great bread and butter sounds that are WAY better than the sounds that come with any of the top of the line workstation keyboards.

But there is not a lot of third party library support. And HALion "Pro" is DEEP if you want to create your own sounds. However, its VA engine sounds really good so you can get a lot of mileage out of that.

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, HALion Sonic is not on sale right now. Fortunately, I can crossgrade to HALion 6 since I have Kontakt. The price is $140.

The question is do I need it. Also, is there a difference in the way the factory library is accessed between the two versions? I mean while the price is not a factory right now, I wonder if HALion 6 is more complicated to just use the sounds as is. I am not interested in sampling or deeper aspects, but your comment on factory library made me curious to think about HALion.

[PAK]

I wonder if HALion 6 is more complicated to just use the sounds as is.

Not really, and it doesn't matter anyway - because the HALion license allows the usage of HALion Sonic. So, if the interface is too "busy" for you, you can use the simpler Sonic one.

Note this type of license share, between versions, could possibly stop being the case when things move to their new "lifetime of the service" 30 day license system. I suspect those sorts of details are yet to be finalized.

[LoveEnigma18]

I wonder if HALion 6 is more complicated to just use the sounds as is.

Not really, and it doesn't matter anyway - because the HALion license allows the usage of HALion Sonic. So, if the interface is too "busy" for you, you can use the simpler Sonic one.

Note this type of license share, between versions, could possibly stop being the case when things move to their new "lifetime of the service" 30 day license system. I suspect those sorts of details are yet to be finalized.

Thanks for the suggestion. A few follow-up quesitions please:

1. Is there any link that mentioned about the license sharing you mention? Not seeing it mentioned on the website but I could have overlooked it. I hope it is confirmed?

2. Is the factory library/content exactly same for both HALion 6 and HALion Sonic? I think so based on the comparison.

3. Will registering HALion 6 now entitle free update to HALion 7 in 2022? Even if I have crossgraded?

[Gadget Fiend]

Not really, and it doesn't matter anyway - because the HALion license allows the usage of HALion Sonic. So, if the interface is too "busy" for you, you can use the simpler Sonic one.

I didn't say the HALion interface was too busy (implication, complicated) for me, forum monkey. It's that I just I don't make great use of it.

Note this type of license share, between versions, could possibly stop being the case when things move to their new "lifetime of the service" 30 day license system. I suspect those sorts of details are yet to be finalized.

Tinfoil hat alert! Let's just wait and see what Steinberg comes up without resorting to insane conspiracy theories, troll baboon.

[PAK]

1. Is there any link that mentioned about the license sharing you mention? Not seeing it mentioned on the website but I could have overlooked it. I hope it is confirmed?

2. Is the factory library/content exactly same for both HALion 6 and HALion Sonic? I think so based on the comparison.

3. Will registering HALion 6 now entitle free update to HALion 7 in 2022? Even if I have crossgraded?

1. Not that I'm aware of. It's one of those features of the (soon to be gone) eLicenser system where the "higher" version will also allow you to run the "lower" version. In other words, you can run HALion Sonic with the HALion license, but you cannot run HALion with the HALion Sonic license, if that makes sense.

2. They share the same library. I think HALion might add a few bits of extra content - you'd need to double check. But they're broadly the same.

3. Unless I missed it, NO. If you want a "free" upgrade you'd have to sit on the eLicenser activation until they announce the V7 grace period. This would mean you couldn't use the license for at least a few months, if not longer..