Retrologue 2 is really great especially for a stock synth but there are a few things missing from it that could take it to the next level. Here’s a few suggestion features.
More modulation destinations. Please add the ability to modulate the FX panel. The synth is lively but the FX are just static. Let us mod the FX as well to really get things moving.
More visual feedback. Above both ADSR is a static envelope picture that serves really no purpose. Maybe implementing an actual visualizer that updates to whatever knob is being tweaked would be a better option. Similar to Fxpansion Strobe 2 synth.
More onboard FX. There’s many FX that could work here but I’m going to suggest at least an on board distortion unit and compressor.
More FX slot flexibility. Being able to change the order of FX is great but being able to do things such as send individual oscillators to individual FX would be cool or even the ability to use two of the same FX back to back like two EQ’s in a row as opposed to just one of each FX would be nice.
I would like to get a better volume ballance between onboard osc’s and the sidechain input.
As off now, the input only go as hot as the source signal, while the onboard osc’s go too 100++ dbfs.
Makes it annoying to blend the osc’s with external input. It is doable. But fine tuning is not an option.
I spent about one day trying to get anything useful from Retrologue 2’s side-chain input. No matter what kind of signal I sent to it, the results were really not useful or interesting. As you point out, the input signal is so attenuated that it’s just not useful. I love the instrument, but this aspect of is disappointing. I may be “doable” but I’ve not found it to be useful and I’d certainly hoped for more and was surprised to see it really didn’t perform as I expected it would.
Yes, they must have thought that the function would only be used solo and not include the onboard osc’s.
Caus it is realy far off. We get alot of goodies with cubase. So im not gonna complain to much. Some wired bugs is to be expected. But I hope they have this sorted in their next bug fix.
Funny, but use of the oscillators and other parts of the instrument is what I thought the side-chain would be useful and interesting for. Overall, I really like the instrument. The arpeggiator is particularly strong and I like the drag and drop matrix routing. I think it’s a great sounding synth over all, but the side-chain feature is either buggy and not working correctly, or just disappointing and not useful for me. While the promotions about this feature did influence my decision to update to Pro 9 it wasn’t a major factor. Overall, Cubase is the best DAW I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and learning.
Ah, there is one thing that might be useful, increasing the size of the value readouts, and use bold characters of a more striking color, like orange. Don’t forget that not all customers are in their 20’s and using a notebook
Or a little display instead of readouts, like on Tal’s Mod, doesn’t have to be that big, just the numbers would be enough.
I wish there were a second aux envelope, env 3 is very useful.
Also, while the stereo spreads automatically as one turns up the number of waves, that is not always wanted. Sometimes one wants 8 waves without any stereo in order to make certain bass sounds. That is currently not possible, unlike in Sylenth1 for instance, which has separate stereo controls.
Why is there a single vs a multiple wave option in the oscillators? If one selects the minimum setting in the multi mode, there is also just 1.0 wave. So, the single is kind of superfluous.
It might make sense to be able to modulate at least the wet amount of each effect in the mod matrix.
In the primitive dropdown pseudo-browser, the keyboard’s up/left and down/right keys should not just optically select, but actually load the previous or next patch. That might optionally also apply to the two arrow buttons to the left of the patch name display.
Generally, the necessity for mouse clicks should be reduced as far as possible, ideally eliminated. Sylenth1 is cool in this respect, even buttons can be turned on and off via the scroll wheel.
And why Ctrl-click for resetting controls? That requires two hands for something as simple as that. Most synths have standardized on double-clicking for resetting by now.
But it seems like you have fixed the phaser bug, although I didn’t see it in the release notes
I noticed a substantial difference in the attack of the synth adsr amplifier in version 2 and much more immediate and shorter, while in version 1 the attack was much longer, this makes a big difference especially in the pads, strings, I only noticed it this? there is some trick to lengthen the attack
Retro Logue (the built in VA inside Halion Sonic) is actually pretty stunning. I think it’s core vs “sound” is one of the top out there. I’m not a total sound design nerd-so I’m not really wanting a lot of esoteric synth features. I’m more concerned with quality and usability.
My wish list would be:
The interface in both Halion and Retrologue are kinda awful in some ways. Let us be able to skin it.
Halion Sonic: fix the CPU spikes in Mac on Logic.
Give us an easy way to back up our presets. Like you click “backup” and it automatically writes all your preferences/presets/ratings/effects to a USB stick and POW! You got a mobile workstation you can literally take ANYWHERE!
3.Give us SOME level of feedback. Not saying ANYTHING until a new product drops kind of isn’t cool in todays online world. There are a LOT of nice options.
Take out the bloat. I’m looking at you Halion/Halion Sonic. Some of the core samples sound like a pot of poop set on fire!
Next update, we need a LOT MORE SYNTH WAVEFORMS. Sample all that Yamaha Analog gear I KNOW you dudes could get for a week from Yammy right? Sample the CRAP out of all your classic analog gear.
Sample the CRAP out of the classics (Oberheim, Moog,Sequential,Roland) and give us those waveforms Please with Cheese!
Set a higher level of quality control for the next releases. Purge out the bad samples and just get rid of them. A LOT of the samples “frequency whistle” or have so much bass they distort the synth engine.
Oh I’m just getting started! Part 2 electric boogaloo is comimg baby!
Mix
Part 2
8. Give us a Halion Sonic Pro! Maybe this includes new Premium Motif Effects, Some Motif EP and String and Orchestral and World Sounds. These are the areas that need the most improvement. Plus……wait for it….waaaaait….EIGHT FRIGGIN SYNTH CHANNELS WITH 8 EFFECTS SLOTS THROWN IN FOR FREE! I hit 4 layers and I ALWAYS wanna add some velocity switched articulation type sounds and I’m STUCK!
9. Don’t get me started on effects….
10. We need a ONE PREMIUM ACOUSTIC PIANO! Eagle and Raven aren’t that great. Not so much the SAMPLING, it’s the room or the mics or SOMETHING. I have to ALWAYS put a TON of DSP MUSCLE to them to sound ok.
11. OMGoooodnesss…That WINDOW where you select the multi sample. Why is it broken and why this long? If I select the SUPERLATIVE star rating, then close the window, then move to the NEXT layer….why does the window default back to stank? Why won’t it stay the size I made it so I can see more on my Big 4K monitor….which hurts because….
12.The Interface is TOO SMALL and WAAAAY TOO CLICKY! Maaaane……why do we have to click on EVERYTHING? And double clicking to load presets is pretty hurtful. Yes, it’s slow loading, but I like my finger to not develop abs.
13. Give us the option (maybe with the Awesome Halion Sonic Pro!!) to not see those cheesy instrument interfaces and just see a streamlined “behind the scenes” universal interface and the ability to turn off the cheese via permanent setting.
14. Turn Halion into Yamaha’s SUPERIOR ANSWER to Roland’s new little synth plugin doohickey whatever. Treat Halion like an “OS” and allow people to develop TRUE “Plug-in” engines that aren’t just a “shell” of the same core synth.
15. Release some of YOUR Classic Synths as Plug-ins for the Halion OS Platform (Copyright Yamaha Corp -you dudes izzz welcome) You guys had SOME cool stuff even if they weren’t commercial successes. A TRUE AN1X plugin would move units. So would a NEW ENHANCED EX5!!! Done RIGHT THIS TIME You guys OWE us! 64 Poly With FDSP/AN/VL PRO! Have those plug-ins pipe into Halion normal mixer so we could choose to use the original effects OR the Halion Ones.
16. Did I mention effects? Most are not very good. The Chorus for example. The one on my EX5 is arguably superior. The guitar cabinets need to be removed from the program. They are that bad. The rotary is also pretty awful. The reverb COULD be good but it’s so BOOMY! Those impulses should NOT be of a cave or a cathedral. It’s not 1987. Sample the reverb of CLASSIC effects units and synths that have awesome reverbs and give us THOSE!!!
