Help! New to Cubase and Halion and need help understanding all the different versions etc

Hi,
Hopefully this isnt too dumb a topic but to me as a newbie it seems quite confusing as to what the differences are between Halion 6 and Halion Sonic 3 and Halion Sonic SE 3.
Im currently using Cubase 12 Pro trial so have Sonic SE 3 that is included with that.
What are the main differences between Halion 6 and Sonic 3 and is Sonic 3 SE just a scaled down version of Sonic 3? Ive looked on the steinberg website and can see what instruments are included with Halion 6 but not what you get with Sonic 3. Also is it possible to buy the individual instruments that you want such as Raven or The Grand 3 and run these in Sonic 3 SE as i cant find anywhere to puchase these on steinbergs website or do you have to buy one of the complete Halion Packages?

I see when you purchase Absolute 5 you get both Halion 6 and Sonic 3 and loads of synths as well as Padshop 2 and Retrologue 2 which are included with Cubase Pro. Are these the same as the bundled versions with cubase or are the bundled versions scaled down in terms of sounds and presets?
Are these all standalone plugins or do some operate inside Halion?

It seems like a minefield from a beginners perspective and some clarity would be greatly appreciated or if anyone has any links to material to explain all this that would be great.

Thanks in advance.
Dan

Hi Dan,

Halion Sonic SE comes with Cubase and other Steinberg hosts. You can also download it for free. Its features are quite limited. It’s just a player for the content that comes with Cubase or other libraries.

HALion 6 is the big one. It’s a sampler and sound design tool. You can import your own samples, build instruments with macro pages, create libraries that can be used with the HALion Sonic and HALion Sonic SE.

HALion Sonic is somewhere between the other two. The content is about the same as with HALion 6 but the editing capabilities are more limited. You cannot import your own samples or create your own instruments with macro pages… You get access to more editing options than with SE version though (flexphraser, note expression, envelopes, lfo).

If you get HALion 6 you also get HALion Sonic 3 too.

Compare the Versions of HALion | Steinberg

Thanks for the quick reply.
It doesnt sound like i need Halion 6 i just want a set of decent sounding instruments to play with. Pianos, Synths, Bass, Strings, Brass etc. That link still doesnt tell me what instruments you get with Halion Sonic 3 so where can i find this out? Or can i just buy individual instruments and play them in Halion Sonic SE 3? If so where do i puchase these as i cant find them.