Halion 5 or Absolute VSTi Collection choice

Virtual instruments
1

Hello!

I would like to ask for a little bit more information regarding Halion 5, Halion Sonic and the Absolute VSTi Collection. I am hoping to become a happy user of Cubase 7 in the nearby future (currently using Cubase 4 LE). From what I could understand, Cubase 7 includes only Halion Sonic SE version which is a limited version of Halion Sonic 2. Am I right? If I am not mistaken, then Halion 5 is a completely separate piece of software which can only be bought separately? Then there is Absolute VSTi Collection of instruments which also includes Halion Sonic SE which can be updated to HS2 for free. Halion 5 already includes Halion Sonic 2 by default from what the description says. What would you advice and what would be a better purchase in terms of amount of sounds and functions? My style of music is progressive rock, but I also like ambient and new age/soundtrack music. I did not have much experience of working with the samplers, be it software or hardware (being the guitar player), so I was wondering what would give me more wealth in terms of sounds and sound creation? I shall be truly grateful for any advice and guidance! Thank you so much! :smiley:

With respect and thanks,

Iceman

2

Hey Iceman,

First, a few things that will hopefully help clarify your questions on versions:

HSSE2 is a limited version of Halion Sonic that is included with Cubase 7.5. The Absolute + Collection is an additional product you can purchase and currently includes Halion Soinc 2, Padshop Pro (including Zero Gravity expansion pack), Retrologue, Dark Planet, Triebwerk, and Hypnotic Dance.

Halion 5 is our top of the line sampler, while Halion Sonic 2 is our muisc production workstation/synth. A license of Halion 5 can open Halion Sonic 2. H5 can open all of the same content from HS2.


The big difference between H5 and HS2 for most users lies in this question, “do you want a sampler?” By this we mean, do you want to be able to import your own sounds, manipulate them in H5, and play them back as a sampler would (pitch changes, layers of samples, etc)?

If your primary option would be to create a virtual instrument that plays samples you’ve created, I’d recommend H5. If your primary option would be to maximize the number of included sounds and instruments, I would recommend the VSTi Collection. I hope this helps!