Well, I have until August 24 to make up my mind. After running into a problem installing an update for some Halion 7 elements, I figured, why not give it a try for a month?
Anyway, I’m going to focus more specifically on the sound design aspect—aside from a few of the included presets, I haven’t really been impressed.
I should mention that I have V-Collection 11 Pro, Pigments 7, and Komplete 26—in addition to the synths in Cubase 15—so I’m going to dive into the tutorials specifically for Halion 7.
It’s definitely the sound design aspect that’s going to tip the scales—it’s much less complex than sampling in Kontakt—and certainly the discount.
Do you have any other good points to help me decide on a potential purchase, and can you share your experience with Halion?
one “plus” (yet ambivalent) aspect might be that - although HALion itself appears as a rather “technically demanding” or “cerebral” platform -, it offers countless ways when it comes to create complete individual signal chains, even spanning more than “just” two or three of its sound generation engines. Compared to other samplers, it’s more like an open world game, instead of a linear game.
The hardest part is to learn how to handle all its features and mentally map them long-term, and simply getting to know all of them is a journey in itself that needs enough time and practice. But, in the end, HALion’s really a virtual instrument in the best sense. If you take the necessary time, it can enable you to experience sound creation your own way, and even make artistically rewarding *.vstsound products for others.
Regarding the current sale: at that reduced price, I wouldn’t hesitate.
I watched the tutorial “Getting Started in Halion 7 in just 10 Minutes” by Dom Sigalas; to be honest, I was able to get a quick overview of the sound design aspects, and I admit it really piqued my curiosity.
As I mentioned in my previous message, Kontakt 8 is incredibly powerful software, but ever since version 6, I’ve struggled to use it as a true sampler—it tends to feel more like just an instrument player for me.
It’s the same story with Pigments and Analog Lab; I usually just stick to the sounds I like within the preset banks.
I’m probably just a bit lazy, or perhaps I don’t manage my time well enough to really dig in and explore them properly.
The same thing might happen with HALion, but since I’m now using Cubase Pro 15—and given that HALion is a dedicated instrument—I’m keen to give it a go (especially now that I’ve moved all my sound libraries to a separate hard drive, since my SSD is only 500GB).
Good news: following my verification request for the HALion 7 Competitive Crossgrade—and assuming my Kontakt 8/Komplete 26 licenses are accepted—I might be able to get it for under €100.
Have a great weekend! I’m going to keep exploring HALion 7 and become even more a part of the great Cubase family.
We don’t know - it’s up to Steinberg. It may take a while until we see Halion 8, though. Major new Halion versions are not released on an annual basis. However, updates are reasonably priced and there will be special sales so I wouldn’t worry about it for now.
That’s a really good tutorial. It may seem very long but don’t forget - Halion is an absolute power house and consists of many different engines. I was delighted to find out that there’s everything for an original DX7 under the hood.
Word of advice: make notes and screenshots for each tutorial. And take your time, it’s a lot to digest but totally worth it.
