Dear HALion 4 users,
Today we are pleased to release a public beta version of the upcoming 4.5 update of HALion to offer you a preview of the new features and improvements we have been working on during the last couple of months. Although the update has not completed the full QA cycle yet and is therefore officially unsupported, we are making the current beta version of the update available to let you cast a glance at the new features and to publicly check if the improvements are working probably on hundreds of different operating systems and setups.
We created this thread in the HALion forum to collect your feedback on the beta version. Please understand that we are not able to implement any additional feature request into the HALion 4.5 update. Rather, the purpose of this public beta is to offer you as the user the new features as soon as possible and to collect feedback on the quality and usability of our software to ensure that we are improving HALion in the best interest of you.
Here is a list of the new features and improvements:
Multi-core support
On the option page of HALion you can now choose on how many cores the cpu consumption should be shared (given that you are working on a multi-core system)
Time-stretching and pitch-shifting
Based on the AudioWarp algorithm used in Cubase, a dedicated HALion time-stretching and pitch-shifting functionality has been implemented. There are two different modes for different types of audio materials. You can select a “Solo” mode for solo instruments that allows the correction of formants and a “Music” mode which is optimized for time correction of polyphonic audio material such as drums.
You can find the new AudioWarp features in the sound editor of a sample layer.
New sample file browser
The sample file browser has been completely reworked. You are now able to browse through the file structure of your devices and preview audio files instantly in the browser. There is a new search function included in the browser that let you find your desired sounds with just a few clicks. Additionally, you are now able to browse through file containers like ISO, HSB, VST Sound, GIGA and others directly in the import window right away.
Multi-Oscillators
In the OSC section you are now able to multiply the numbers of oscillators used on each osc channel up to eight. The number of oscillators can smoothly be increased. By editing the “detune” and the stereo “spread” of the osc channel, the sound can be further enriched and widened.
Additional improvements
-Customizable Startup Preset
-Multi-editing for MIDI Modules
o MIDI Modules of the same type (e.g. FlexPhraser) can be edited together if selected.
-Improved Sound Editor behavior
-New Navigation Icons on top of the Sound Editor
o Hide/Show option for Modules
o Customizable Sound Editor appearance
-Expression on Amp Level can now be deactivated
-Headroom options for importing samples
-The Distortion parameter is now available in Mod Matrix
-Now you can determine whether a MULTI is cleared before loading a new one or kept in RAM
Please read this before installing the beta:
The HALion 4.5 beta version is available for the purpose of providing Steinberg with feedback on the quality and usability of the software. The HALion 4.5 beta version may contain bugs or inaccuracies that could cause failures, corruption or loss of data and/or information on your system and/or peripherals (external HDDs, storage server systems, etc.) connected thereto. Steinberg strongly encourages you to back-up all data and information on your system prior to installing the HALion 4.5 beta update. You bear the full risk of using the beta version of the HALION 4.5 update. The final version of the HALion 4.5 update may differ from the preliminary beta version in terms of features and functionality.
You can find the download here.