Is it possible to change keyboard velocity response in Halion Sonic 7? I would like to change the way the sound responds to velocity. More specifically: I want the sound NOT to respond to velocity. I am not referring to the velocity range that can be set in the MIDI page.
Hi, just add a velocity MIDI module on the layer that shouldnât respond to velocity and set min and max to the same value, e.g. 100.
Hope that helps!
Andi
Youâre right andialbrecht, but what I find quite frustrating with HALion/HALion Sonic is that little things like that are often only available (with some exceptions) in user-created content, not in factory/commercial content where editing features are only available if the programmer decided to include them in the Macro page.
You could use the Trackâs MIDI Modifiers to change the Velocity to a fixed value.
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I am using the standalone version of Halion Sonic 7, so no DAW is involved. I canât figure out how to add a midi module. Is this even possible in Halion Sonic 7, or only in Halion 7 (full version)?
Also in HALion Sonic, but only in freely editable or user content (and only with a fix 127 level velocity value). Not available in Factory or commercial content where the programmer didnât decide to include it in the âmacroâ page.
I canât seem to find out how to do this. I have saved a (factory) preset in the user content folder. When I load this I donât have the extra pages (voice, pitch, osc, filter, amp) in the edit screen. What exactly do you mean by âUser contentâ and âfreely editableâ?
With Full HALion 7 one can tweak dynamic settings, or as suggested earlier in the thread, add a MIDI MOD matrix, or a LUA Script.
With Sonic, some sounds/libraries have access to dynamic controls in their Macro UI. Some do not.
In stand alone with Sonic 7âŚif the instrument doesnât have the ability in the UI, or itâs not one of those âunlockedâ layers that comes with Sonic 7 âCollectionsâ, all hope isnât lost.
See if your MIDI controller has a way to do it built in. Many controllers have enough features baked into their firmware to adjust the velocity curve, or to even set a constant velocity.
If not you could make your controller smarter with some software like Bidule or Bome.
Youâd have one of these pieces of software grab the MIDI inputs of your physical MIDI controllers first. From there, you can process MIDI in real time, and then forward the results out to a Virtual Port of your choice (loopMIDI is an example for Windows, while Macs have virtual port options built into the OS).
Bidule and Bome both offer free evaluation versions that might be enough to suit your needs as they are, and either one is worth it to register at some point for their âfull suite of features/optionsâ.
Personally, Iâm a huge bidule fan. For starters I use a stand-alone instance to solve a long-standing issue with USB<>MIDI drivers in windows only working with a single client at a time (the first app that grabs it).
Thanks to bidule/bome and a virtual port, I can now use USB/MIDI devices with multiple Windows clients/apps at the same time. From there bidule offers a huge range of tools to manipulate MIDI, VST, and audio in real time. Register it, and itâll also run as a VST2/VST3/AU/CLAP plugin (both instrument and effects), so itâs like a host inside a host! Chain different types and makes of plugins together. Bridge different plugin types into a host that doesnât yet support them. Itâs also a heck of datastream monitoring and all around sound design tool.
Bome only serves to manipulate MIDI, but can do so in very powerful and easy to access ways. The learning curve to get Bome up and running, and doing what you want it to do should be pretty quick and easy.
Both Bome and Bidule can do stuff likeâŚbind MIDI events to keyboard/mouse clicks and hotkey combos, and vice verse. Both can translate/manipulate MIDI in real time.
I only have bidule installed at the moment, and here is âonly oneâ example of âmanyâ ways that bidule could take care of your MIDI velocity situation.
- User content: presets created by you in full HALion and then imported in HALion Sonic
- Freely editable: for example presets in the âHS factoryâ library (only available if you own âHALion Sonic 7 collectionâ, not the free HALion Sonic 7: please see here for versionsâ comparison)
[EDIT: to see an example of freely editable preset please try the âFanfareâ preset as in my previous print screen]
Neither Halion Sonic nor HALion have such a (global) option. As the name âKeyboard veloctiyâ implies this is something the Keyboard should normally provide.
There is no MIDI Controller Keyboard I can think of that hasnât the abillity to adjust the velocity curve and/or a fixed velocity.
best regards
Gerrit
Thanks for all the replies.
I know that I can set velocity in my midi controller, but unfortunately this wonât work for me. I am using Halion to play live and I have setup multiple layers and key ranges. Most of them need key velocity, but for some I would prefer to disable it.
In most synths / workstations it is possible to set the response to key velocity. Since it is not possible to do this in Halion Sonic 7 I will consider buying the full version.
Again, you can use MIDI Modifiers to change Velocity to a fixed value before it even hits Halion.
If you play live with your setup HALion is certainly worth a look. I believe you can get a demo key for free that works for about a month. Itâs a powerful platform for a live keyboardist, and an amazing sound design platform.
If you like the sound of Yamaha MOTIF hardware and the instruments that typically come with those, youâll probably really enjoy the extra instrument libraries that come with full HALion. HALion has extensive sampling abilities. As a bonus you get some very nice synth engines and programs/instruments that are a little more exclusive to HALion/SteinbergâŚincluding wave-table, granular, and FM (can even import presets of some of the classic Yamaha FM hardware). It has a very interesting organ tone generator built in, and so much more that I donât have room here to list it all.
Also for live playingâŚI highly suggest running some kind of âperformanceâ host. That makes it much easier/practical to host lots of instrument and effect plugins and get them mixed and out to the âsound manâ in ways that s/he can make the most of your performance (independent house and stage mixes) relative to the rest of the band. If youâre a one man show, itâll assist you in getting a handle on the mix, and having the ability to manipulate it right there on the stage with you.
Steinberg offers VST Live. Again, free to demo for a month or so. This VST Live App is amazingly inexpensive too!
A stand alone instance or two of Bidule also makes a nice host for a live setup (possible to run the stand-alone version for freeâŚuntil registered youâd need to replace the key once or twice per year).
Such hosts can seriously increase possibilities. For starters, they can fix your present issue of manipulating key-velocity values in real time for the sake of some of your Sonic 7 instruments. They can host and mix several plugins at the same time, in tandem with audio and MIDI tracks.
They can build MIDI based step sequencers and arp engines for any/all plugins or external kit.
They allow including audio effect plugins being inserted in the flow of any audio stream, and the ability of getting fine control over how youâd like to manipulate them in real time [via MIDI remote controls, sequences, time-cues, tablets/phones over OCS, and more). They can assist in merging multiple controller devices together seamlessly, and making them MUCH smarter (channel bouncing/layering/crossfading, keyboard zones, multiple velocity curves at once over different channels, remapping notes/CCs/Program Changes, and a whole lot more.
I fiddled around with quite some (hardware) synths and workstations in the last 30 years but there is not one I can think of that is capable to transform the incoming velocity values into a fixed one. Neither globally nor per part, slot, element, layer, âŚ
Can you give some examples?
best regards
Gerrit
Well, Iâve used synths/modules/ workstations etc. for over 30 years as well. For example, I currently have a Roland JV1080 module. In every patch I can set the incoming velocity response to things like volume, filter, pitch, etc. So when I have (for example) a synth lead sound, I can set the volume to not respond to velocity, and the filter frequency to change according to key velocity. In my experience many synths have features like this.
So we are talking about the TVA V-Sens parameter within a âPatchâ. And you are looking for a comparable parameter for a âProgramâ in HALion Sonic. Correct?
Even though Iâm not OP, may I say Iâd like a âTVA V-Sensâ-like Program parameter in HALion Sonic?