Steinberg HALion 6

HALion is the most comprehensive virtual sampling and sound design system available today and excels the present creative process for producers and sound designers in all areas.

It covers the complete creative workflow from recording and sample editing to programming advanced synthesis and modulation setups. With HALion, create customized user interfaces and export ready-to-release instrument libraries with every step streamlined to the greatest extent.
The powerful set of oscillators for seamless sample playback as well as the next-generation synthesis make HALion a versatile creative tool in simply every situation. Its broad library includes thousands of high-class and deep-sampled instruments and cutting-edge synthesizer sounds for all kinds of musical genres.

Key Features

• State-of-the-art sampler and sound creation system tailored to the demands of professionals
• Advanced library creation tools including Macro Page Designer, drag-and-drop Library Creator and HALion scripting
• Powerful multi-timbral audio engine with disk-streaming sample playback, tone-wheel organ simulator and high-end virtual analog, granular and wavetable synthesis
• AudioWarp for cutting-edge time-stretching and pitch-shifting
• FlexPhraser module drives beats, arpeggios and complex tonal phrases
• Outstanding library including over 3,400 synthesized sounds and breathtakingly authentic acoustic instruments
• Flexible user interface with multi-monitor support allowing you to customize and save your own windows and screen sets
• Wide range of high-end audio effects, including REVerence convolution reverb, VST Amp simulation and many more
• Up to 192 kHz, 32 stereo outputs and 6-channel surround support
• Cross-platform compatibility: Windows (VST 3, VST 2, AAX) and macOS (VST 3, AU, AAX) plug-in and standalone support

Expand your universe

More than a sampler
HALion combines the latest sampling and synthesis technology with streamlined content creation tools to provide a fully integrated sound design environment for creative professionals and enthusiasts alike. HALion offers a wide range of cutting-edge sound generators from granular, virtual analog and wavetable synthesis to ultra-authentic tone wheel organ and powerful sample playback. Build complex sample libraries on the fly, create cutting-edge synths and invent your own sound — all in one powerful instrument.

Mix it inside
HALion includes a state-of-the-art mixing engine with powerful routing options for complete control over your signal flow. There are virtually no restrictions — create an unlimited number of buses per program and layer and freely route the signals as desired. Each bus holds controls for level, pan, mute and solo as well as eight insert slots. What’s more, HALion features a total of 32 stereo output channels and 6-channel surround support.

Live-sampling
HALion lets you sample sounds directly from your DAW, from any external source routed into HALion or internally from within HALion. The sample recording can be triggered manually, by threshold or MIDI events and thanks to the different automatic mapping modes your samples are ready to play in no time.

Flexible user interface
HALion incorporates the most efficient and flexible user interface presented in a virtual instrument, allowing you to undock, move and resize windows, create function tabs and save entire screen sets — ideal for multi-monitor setups and perfect for keeping you focused.

Leave your acoustic fingerprint
From surgically precise EQing to ultra-expressive sound design tools: with over 60 first-rate effect processors, HALion offers a plethora of creative options. Highlights include the REVerence convolution reverb, the acclaimed VST Amp guitar rack and innovative Resonator filter.

Sound Zones

Sample oscillator
With each HALion generation the sample and editing capabilities in HALion have been advanced to the point where the complete workflow, today, is streamlined close to perfection. Powerful sample manipulation tools like AudioWarp for seamless pitch-shifting and real-time time-stretching open up undreamt-of possibilities. The convenient sample-editing tools and the perfectly integrated slice mode give you the opportunity to edit and transform your sounds directly in HALion. The advanced loop detection automation lets you turn your raw material into sophisticated instruments in next to no time.

Next generation wavetable synthesis
With the next-generation wavetable synthesizer in HALion no questions remain unanswered. With two aliasing-free wavetable oscillators arranged in parallel, HALion introduces a powerful yet flexible new sound source for stunning re-synthesis and unheard-of sound creations. The new profound analysis features even let you get creative using your own sounds with ease. Wavetables are automatically extracted, envelopes directly implemented into the wavetables on the fly, the integrated pitch detection finds the right blocksizes with just a click and the graphical spectrum editor makes editing harmonics intuitive and comfortable.

Granular synthesis
The granular oscillator in HALion raises the standard in terms of flexibility, musicality and sound. By breaking down samples into smallest bits and by playing back the grains in any order, the spectra of all kinds of sounds can be extracted to create stunning new sonic spheres. Each oscillator generates up to eight different grain streams, leading to impressively rich and spacious structures. The innovative feature set offers deep access to the core of the oscillator, supporting you with a fresh, flexible and great-sounding approach to creative and user-friendly granular synthesis.

Virtual analog synthesis
Although designed with a classic setup, the virtual analog section in HALion is geared up with future-proof tools and technologies. Mix the three main oscillators, the sub oscillator, the ring modulation and the noise generator to create powerful cutting-edge sounds. With 16 different oscillator types including traditional waveforms and several algorithms like pulse width and cross modulation the sound of the synthesis can be shaped in various different directions. The highly CPU-efficient multi-oscillator mode allows you to create stunningly rich and wide sounds by multiplying, tuning and panning the voices of the three main oscillators.

Organ oscillator
With nine drawbars for the organ and three for the percussion, the organ oscillator in HALion faithfully recreates the sound of the classic C3 drawbar organ. Combine two organ oscillators and create instruments with multiple manuals and bass pedals. Due to the sample-based approach of the simulation the organ oscillator in HALion not only sounds warmer, punchier and more authentic than organ simulations based on sine-oscillators but the organ oscillator in HALion also is way more performance-efficient than organ simulations of similar sample size.

Filter section
The powerful filter section in HALion is an essential part of the sound shaping process and directly connected in series to each oscillator zone. Nine high-end filter types including classic filters, tube drive and bit reduction offer various possibilities to form your sound to the individual character your are looking for. Different filter modes, 24 filter shapes and the x/y control give you a broad tool set for enhancing your sound.

A creative tradition

Creativity from the get-go
HALion supports you from the earliest stage of your instrument production, from creating and mapping your sounds to exporting your final instrument with Macro Page and presets. The many workflow-optimized tools and features make the sound creation process easy and convenient.

Macro Page Designer
Create your own custom user interfaces with the what-you-see-is-what-you-get Macro Page Designer. HALion brings the creation of instrument Macro Pages from the engineering level straight to the frontpage. Import a background, move any kind of controls from the template library on it and connect parameters from your programs to the Macro Pages via drag and drop. Use your own custom control libraries or start with one of the several macro page style libraries that come with HALion. Your imagination is the only limit.

HALion Script
Dive deeper into HALion than ever before with the help of the powerful scripting engine in HALion. Based on the most commonly used scripting language LUA, HALion Script is powerful, fast and easy to learn and multiplies the sound design opportunities time and again. Create your own script modules and implement them as regular MIDI modules in HALion. The comprehensive online documentation provides not only a full reference of the script, but also hundreds of examples and tutorials for the most common use cases.

Library Creator
Create your own VST Sound archive with your samples, presets and Macro Pages and share your instruments with the world. The convenient Library Creator lets you combine your custom instrument assets via drag and drop and export VST Sound containers that can also be loaded in HALion Sonic and the free HALion Sonic SE.

Experience perfect synergy

Complete integration
HALion effortlessly integrates into various VST applications, making excellent use of the advantages each tool has to offer. The seamless integration of HALion into Cubase and WaveLab and the Advanced Integration support for Steinberg hardware make HALion the premier VST sampler and sound creation system.

More VST than ever before
HALion reasserts its claim as today’s most powerful VST sampler by supporting Steinberg’s latest Virtual Studio Technology version for full articulation and controller editing inside Cubase. VST Expression 2 makes working with instrument articulations as easy as it should be. Instead of handling all those MIDI controllers for switching articulations, it allows seamlessly integrated editing as well as full control over multiple articulations within the Key and Score Editors of Steinberg’s award-winning advanced music production system, Cubase.

Start experimenting
The Quick Controls give you instant access to all your most important settings. Quick Controls can be set up for every program individually, layer and FX settings give you direct access at all times. Quick Controls can also be automated in your host application to recreate your creative moment and with unlimited Undo/Redo that’s featured in the integrated Undo History you can try out all the amazing modulation opportunities and always have the freedom to go back to earlier sounds.

Developed for professional aspirations

A proven system
Steinberg’s ability to pioneer advances in audio technology nowhere else is as apparent as in its HALion product family. As it is the flagship of Steinberg’s latest generation of sampling instruments, HALion has been engineered to offer not only the advanced features and pristine audio quality but also the stability and reliability that pros expect. The advanced sampling engine and powerful multi-timbral sound creation toolset in HALion is the result of decades expertise in audio software engineering.

Quality content for sparkling results
HALion features a 30 GB sound library of the most painstakingly constructed libraries, including the complete sound collection of the acclaimed HALion Sonic workstation. Created by sound experts at Steinberg and Yamaha, the extended HALion library offers a smorgasbord of opportunities thanks to the many factory instruments and presets; the HALion library covers virtually every conceivable genre.

Compatibility all the way
HALion supports all the major library and sampler formats. True backward compatibility to HALion versions 3, 4 and 5 preserves all sound and effect parameters in this latest version. Running in VST 3, AAX and AU plug-in hosts as well as cross-platform compatibility for 64-bit editions of Windows  and macOS make HALion the perfect tool for audio designers and music producers using different machines and systems.