Steinberg HALion 6 & HALion Sonic 3

[Compyfox]

Officially it's not supported as far as I know, what I heard is that the Halion 6 engine utilizes some component which is not present in Windows 7 and they can't re-write the Halion 6 code so that that certain component would become obsolete.

This is some BS excuse and contradicts reports being made in here that Halion 6 actually works in Windows 7.

Apparently most features are supported but not all, inform yourself first maybe, then start ranting.

I think you missed that I sold Halion 3 years ago (actually, one year before Halion got "revived" out of nowhere with v4), and the fact that there is absolutely no day-1 demo...

But you seem to be so knowledgeable on this topic - please feel free to fill us in on what's "missing" on Windows 7.

...it may indeed have to stay H5 (if support grants the original license as they said they might).

Again, my BIGGEST Issue with this whole thing currently. And also the "speed" at which they address this... the heck, Steinberg?!

(once more, I fear the inevitable day of CubEndo and Wavelab "upgrades")

[BassMasterK]

Officially it's not supported as far as I know, what I heard is that the Halion 6 engine utilizes some component which is not present in Windows 7 and they can't re-write the Halion 6 code so that that certain component would become obsolete.

Ah, okay. So I guess I won't be getting HALion 6 until I'm forced to upgrade to another OS.

Thanks for the info.

According to SB's official forum guy from almost a week ago, an official decision would be made and posted within a week. It should be coming out anytime now. I will be truly shocked if they don't end up supporting Win7. Their own "we only support the last two OS's" statement was completely contridicted by the recent release of C9 which support....Win7.

When did the say that? I mean that they only support 2 OS versions?

The Steinberg rep on their Halion portion of their forum said that it was their practice to only support the last two OS's but that they would look at if they would support Win7 for Halion 6. There was some back and forth with people and the mod until someone asked if that was their practice then why did they just release C9 with support for the last 3 OS's, complete with a screenshot. The mod did not answer that question and the thread died at that point.

[JonSolo]

Have the licensing issues been resolved/fixed? Can your run 5 next to 6? Or for that matter run previous versions?

[BassMasterK]

Have the licensing issues been resolved/fixed? Can your run 5 next to 6? Or for that matter run previous versions?

Latest news I read was 6 replaces 5 completely and is backwards compatible. Because of the naming convention of files they can't operate on the same system and theoretically you wouldn't need to since 6 does everything 5 can plus the new functionality. If you want to run 5 or an older version on a separate machine you can contact customer support and they can issue a separate license for it.

For most it doesn't sound like this has been a problem, but there are definitely some unhappy people. In particular ones who had a problem with the 6 install and tried to use 5 but found they no longer had the license.

[bundoo]

hey is there a folder of wavetables that comes with h6? Rather than the hideous presets of the new wrappers.

[Sampleconstruct]

hey is there a folder of wavetables that comes with h6? Rather than the hideous presets of the new wrappers.

Yes there is.

[aMUSEd]

Have the licensing issues been resolved/fixed? Can your run 5 next to 6? Or for that matter run previous versions?

Latest news I read was 6 replaces 5 completely and is backwards compatible. Because of the naming convention of files they can't operate on the same system and theoretically you wouldn't need to since 6 does everything 5 can plus the new functionality. If you want to run 5 or an older version on a separate machine you can contact customer support and they can issue a separate license for it.

For most it doesn't sound like this has been a problem, but there are definitely some unhappy people. In particular ones who had a problem with the 6 install and tried to use 5 but found they no longer had the license.

So it's not backwards compatible - it only licenses H6 now.

[Sampleconstruct]

Re-synthesizing/wave-tabling one of my Hang loops with HALion 6 resulting in a rhythmical, vocoder-like sound, tweaking things on the fly live on video.

[BassMasterK]

Have the licensing issues been resolved/fixed? Can your run 5 next to 6? Or for that matter run previous versions?

Latest news I read was 6 replaces 5 completely and is backwards compatible. Because of the naming convention of files they can't operate on the same system and theoretically you wouldn't need to since 6 does everything 5 can plus the new functionality. If you want to run 5 or an older version on a separate machine you can contact customer support and they can issue a separate license for it.

For most it doesn't sound like this has been a problem, but there are definitely some unhappy people. In particular ones who had a problem with the 6 install and tried to use 5 but found they no longer had the license.

So it's not backwards compatible - it only licenses H6 now.

Maybe we are talking two different things here but by backward compatible, from what SB is saying, if you have an instance of H5 in a project and you upgrade to H6, H6 will be able to play the H5 file. So theoretically you wouldn't need H5 on your system anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is the right way to do business. I'm still waiting for a word on the Win7 support before I make the decision. I've just been reading the SB forum a lot while waiting for the Win7 decision and am passing on what I have read here.

[aMUSEd]

Have the licensing issues been resolved/fixed? Can your run 5 next to 6? Or for that matter run previous versions?

Latest news I read was 6 replaces 5 completely and is backwards compatible. Because of the naming convention of files they can't operate on the same system and theoretically you wouldn't need to since 6 does everything 5 can plus the new functionality. If you want to run 5 or an older version on a separate machine you can contact customer support and they can issue a separate license for it.

For most it doesn't sound like this has been a problem, but there are definitely some unhappy people. In particular ones who had a problem with the 6 install and tried to use 5 but found they no longer had the license.

So it's not backwards compatible - it only licenses H6 now.

Maybe we are talking two different things here but by backward compatible, from what SB is saying, if you have an instance of H5 in a project and you upgrade to H6, H6 will be able to play the H5 file. So theoretically you wouldn't need H5 on your system anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is the right way to do business. I'm still waiting for a word on the Win7 support before I make the decision. I've just been reading the SB forum a lot while waiting for the Win7 decision and am passing on what I have read here.

Yes but that is backwards compatibility in terms of presets, the question was concerning the license, which is not backwards compatible unfortunately. It's not so much a question of wanting to run Halion 5 but also the older licenses for previous versions that used to be included in the H5 license such as Hypersonic (which tbh was one of my main reasons for getting Halionsonic when it came out as at the time Steinberg were saying crossgrade to Halionsonic and you can also run your old Hypersonic license with it as an incentive, now they take it away - bait and switch).

[BassMasterK]

Have the licensing issues been resolved/fixed? Can your run 5 next to 6? Or for that matter run previous versions?

Latest news I read was 6 replaces 5 completely and is backwards compatible. Because of the naming convention of files they can't operate on the same system and theoretically you wouldn't need to since 6 does everything 5 can plus the new functionality. If you want to run 5 or an older version on a separate machine you can contact customer support and they can issue a separate license for it.

For most it doesn't sound like this has been a problem, but there are definitely some unhappy people. In particular ones who had a problem with the 6 install and tried to use 5 but found they no longer had the license.

So it's not backwards compatible - it only licenses H6 now.

Maybe we are talking two different things here but by backward compatible, from what SB is saying, if you have an instance of H5 in a project and you upgrade to H6, H6 will be able to play the H5 file. So theoretically you wouldn't need H5 on your system anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is the right way to do business. I'm still waiting for a word on the Win7 support before I make the decision. I've just been reading the SB forum a lot while waiting for the Win7 decision and am passing on what I have read here.

Yes but that is backwards compatibility in terms of presets, the question was concerning the license, which is not backwards compatible unfortunately. It's not so much a question of wanting to run Halion 5 but also the older licenses for previous versions that used to be included in the H5 license such as Hypersonic (which tbh was one of my main reasons for getting Halionsonic when it came out as at the time Steinberg were saying crossgrade to Halionsonic and you can also run your old Hypersonic license with it as an incentive, now they take it away - bait and switch).

Yes, the Hypersonic users are basically the most upset of the bunch.

[Sampleconstruct]

Halion 6 wavetable bass, using a WT extracted from a synth drone. WT index can be randomized via Macros, multi-spread too - tweaking things on the fly in the video, adding filter distortion, filter envelope, applying amp envelope to WT index via the modulation wheel, tweaking the formants and stuff...

[aMUSEd]

Have the licensing issues been resolved/fixed? Can your run 5 next to 6? Or for that matter run previous versions?

Latest news I read was 6 replaces 5 completely and is backwards compatible. Because of the naming convention of files they can't operate on the same system and theoretically you wouldn't need to since 6 does everything 5 can plus the new functionality. If you want to run 5 or an older version on a separate machine you can contact customer support and they can issue a separate license for it.

For most it doesn't sound like this has been a problem, but there are definitely some unhappy people. In particular ones who had a problem with the 6 install and tried to use 5 but found they no longer had the license.

So it's not backwards compatible - it only licenses H6 now.

Maybe we are talking two different things here but by backward compatible, from what SB is saying, if you have an instance of H5 in a project and you upgrade to H6, H6 will be able to play the H5 file. So theoretically you wouldn't need H5 on your system anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is the right way to do business. I'm still waiting for a word on the Win7 support before I make the decision. I've just been reading the SB forum a lot while waiting for the Win7 decision and am passing on what I have read here.

Yes but that is backwards compatibility in terms of presets, the question was concerning the license, which is not backwards compatible unfortunately. It's not so much a question of wanting to run Halion 5 but also the older licenses for previous versions that used to be included in the H5 license such as Hypersonic (which tbh was one of my main reasons for getting Halionsonic when it came out as at the time Steinberg were saying crossgrade to Halionsonic and you can also run your old Hypersonic license with it as an incentive, now they take it away - bait and switch).

Yes, the Hypersonic users are basically the most upset of the bunch.

OK I just signed up on the Steinberg forum as they have not responded to my support request of over a week ago yet. Looks like a representative from Steinberg posted this a couple of days ago in response to a thread complaining about this so I'm hoping when they eventually do get round to getting back to me there will be a solution:

The HALion 5 Add-On license will cover HALion 5 32-bit (and 64-bit) and also Hypersonic. You won't be able to use HAlion 5 and HALion 6 on the same system, since HALion 6 replaces the HAlion 5 plug-in. But the HALion 5 add-on license will be placed on your USB eLicenser and you can use it on a separate system. Hypersonic still be used next to your HALion 6 installation.

My apologies again for the lack of information prior to the release and the inconvenience of the add-on license. Unfortunately there is a technical barrier between the USB eLicenser and the soft eLicenser, that blocks HALion 6 from covering legacy products like HALion 5 or Hypersonic. If it would have been possible to allow the multi-license coverage, we would have done it.

[fmr]

Officially it's not supported as far as I know, what I heard is that the Halion 6 engine utilizes some component which is not present in Windows 7 and they can't re-write the Halion 6 code so that that certain component would become obsolete.

This is some BS excuse and contradicts reports being made in here that Halion 6 actually works in Windows 7.

Apparently most features are supported but not all, inform yourself first maybe, then start ranting.

Do you have any idea what components are missing in Windows 7? I have been doing some extensive work over here (basically on the stand-alone version) and so far nothing failed. Maybe I have been just lucky, but I don't believe in so much luck.

[fmr]

OK I just signed up on the Steinberg forum as they have not responded to my support request of over a week ago yet. Looks like a representative from Steinberg posted this a couple of days ago in response to a thread complaining about this so I'm hoping when they eventually do get round to getting back to me there will be a solution:

The HALion 5 Add-On license will cover HALion 5 32-bit (and 64-bit) and also Hypersonic. You won't be able to use HAlion 5 and HALion 6 on the same system, since HALion 6 replaces the HAlion 5 plug-in. But the HALion 5 add-on license will be placed on your USB eLicenser and you can use it on a separate system. Hypersonic still be used next to your HALion 6 installation.

My apologies again for the lack of information prior to the release and the inconvenience of the add-on license. Unfortunately there is a technical barrier between the USB eLicenser and the soft eLicenser, that blocks HALion 6 from covering legacy products like HALion 5 or Hypersonic. If it would have been possible to allow the multi-license coverage, we would have done it.

My own experience contradicts him. Sure I had to mess a bit with the installer, but I have BOTH installed in my system (even the 64-bit HALion 5) and everything is working. I think they are becoming a little confused themselves

EDIT: Just launched REAPER x64, loaded a project and created two virtual Instrument tracks, one for HALion 5 and another for HALion 6. Both loaded perfectly. So, the impossibilities have been a little exaggerated by Steinberg.

Maybe it's different on a Mac. I may try to install both on my Mac, and try. On the Mac, the plug-in places are all pre-determined, while in Windows, you can change them to several places - to prevent HALion 5 from being uninstalled, I simply moved he plug-in to another place. But you can do that on the Mac also, I guess, backing up HALion 5 files prior to install HALion 6, and later move those HALion 5 files back into the proper folders.