I'm considering a couple of sample sets -Big Fish Dark Piano & M-Audio's Prosessions Grand- and I'm wondering if Halion is still considered to be a top of the line player ? The online reviews are very favorable, but NI's Kontakt, particularly with the release of Akoustik Piano, seems to have taken the lead by storm. Is Kontakt the better supported, less likely to fade away, sampler engine or does Halion have any advantages -latency/response, overhead ? Or should I just jump on the wagon and pick up Akoustik Piano which seems to have taken some steam out of Ivory..?
Geez... I guess you've heard all this before...
Is Halion still viable -or go with Kontakt ?
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- KVRer
- 15 posts since 17 Sep, 2005
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- KVRAF
- 1799 posts since 26 Jul, 2002 from New York
From what I have read and know, Kontakt 2 has a strong edge and my impression developers of new sample libraries are less likely to support Halion.
jeffn1
jeffn1
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- KVRist
- 261 posts since 3 Jun, 2003 from Near Chicago
I would second that Kontakt2 has the apparent edge in samplers, however, I would also investigate GigaStudio3, particularly in light of the reduced prices and the imminent release of GVI. K2 and GS3 have significantly better feature sets than Halion.
I'd also recommend looking at the various piano sets for GS3 or K2, such as those by SampleTekk or Post Musical Instruments. The response and playability with the convolution engines in GS3 and K2 are amazing.
I'd also recommend looking at the various piano sets for GS3 or K2, such as those by SampleTekk or Post Musical Instruments. The response and playability with the convolution engines in GS3 and K2 are amazing.
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- KVRian
- 890 posts since 9 May, 2005
Not that HALion v3 is particularly bad... but K2 is far more advanced.
Steinberg have been quiet about future updates for HALion... so it's future isn't clear.
Also of note, the included samples with K2 are VERY useable. IMO, far better than those included with HALion v3 or GigaStudio v3.
As mentioned above, I'd go with K2 or GS3 if you're looking for the most capable soft-sampler.
Out of GS3 or K2, I'd choose K2 (in large part because of the included library... and the fact that it runs either stand-alone or as a plugin).
Steinberg have been quiet about future updates for HALion... so it's future isn't clear.
Also of note, the included samples with K2 are VERY useable. IMO, far better than those included with HALion v3 or GigaStudio v3.
As mentioned above, I'd go with K2 or GS3 if you're looking for the most capable soft-sampler.
Out of GS3 or K2, I'd choose K2 (in large part because of the included library... and the fact that it runs either stand-alone or as a plugin).
Last edited by Jim Roseberry on Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRAF
- 1651 posts since 14 May, 2002 from Earth
I dont use either, but I've noticed Kontakt is definately being used more.
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- KVRian
- 1238 posts since 10 May, 2002 from Sweden
As a HALion user I really hope there's some truth to the rumours that the upcoming Cubase 4 will come bundled with some version of HALion or a HALion Player (in the leaked Cubase 4 screen shots something called HALionOne is mentioned). With every Cubase 4 user also being a potential HALion user, the format should become more interesting for developers.Jim Roseberry wrote:Not that HALion v3 is particularly bad... but K2 is far more advanced.
Steinberg have been quiet about future updates for HALion... so it's future isn't clear.
Steinberg still needs to come up with some sort of scripting feature for HALion if they're serious about competing with Kontakt and GigaStudio, though.
/Yoss
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- KVRian
- 890 posts since 9 May, 2005
Agreed.Yossarian wrote: Steinberg still needs to come up with some sort of scripting feature for HALion if they're serious about competing with Kontakt and GigaStudio, though.
/Yoss
NI really raised the bar with K2.
K2 is so deep, you could make using it your whole life's work. <g>
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- KVRist
- 339 posts since 22 Feb, 2004
Agreed. Kontakt is now an established standard. It and Giga are the two leaders in the field.You can expect to see a dropping off of support for the Halion format.jeffn1 wrote:From what I have read and know, Kontakt 2 has a strong edge and my impression developers of new sample libraries are less likely to support Halion.
jeffn1
That's the way it goes with standards.There's always winners and losers.
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- KVRian
- 804 posts since 16 Nov, 2004 from Kangzhou
The last 3 VSTi I purchased use the Kontakt engine. I hardly ever use Halion anymore. Too bad. It used to get a lot of use.
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- KVRAF
- 14740 posts since 19 Oct, 2003 from Berlin, Germany
As Halion user myself, I also say "go with Kontakt 2". I made the switch recently, and it was the best thing that happened to my workflow.
Halion stood still since v1, while Kontakt had proper keyswitches since V1, a scripting engine and way simpler routing possibilities (not to mention better disc streaming) than Halion ever had.
Save yourself the money and get Kontakt. If you have an orchestra pack with a bundled Kontakt Player, get the NI-versary crossgrade for 220bucks - you won't regret it.
Halion stood still since v1, while Kontakt had proper keyswitches since V1, a scripting engine and way simpler routing possibilities (not to mention better disc streaming) than Halion ever had.
Save yourself the money and get Kontakt. If you have an orchestra pack with a bundled Kontakt Player, get the NI-versary crossgrade for 220bucks - you won't regret it.