Insights

Hi to everyone!

It's again time to reveal more details on HALion 4. In this post I will introduce you to our concept of quick controls. To make the differences between HALion 4 and HALion Sonic clearer, I will also take a look at HALion Sonic. But first, I will explain what has changed since HALion 3.

HALion 3 has quick controls too, and it offers you much freedom in assigning parameters to quick controls. Basically, you can assign them to any parameter from HALion 3's Sound page. For HALion 4 the quick controls were completely redesigned. Now almost any combination of parameters can be assigned to them. This includes parameters from layers, (HALion 3 has folders, but these do not have parameters) zones, insert effects, and MIDI modules (which are also new). And what is more, you can decide which of the layers and zones you control. For example, if you want to control the cutoff of just a single zone, you can. Because of the specific layers and zones that are controlled by a quick control, it only depends on the selection you make while assigning the respective parameter to it.

HALion Sonic already gives you a glimpse at the new concept. In HALion Sonic every sound comes with at least eight quick controls. Typically they give access to the most important parameters of the sound. If you count in the modulation wheel and the sphere x- and y-axis, you have up to eleven of them. There is one set of quick controls for each of the four layers and the program itself. The quick controls of the layers remotely control parameters of the respective layer and its insert effects. The quick controls of the program remotely control the quick controls of the four layers.

With the quick controls of HALion Sonic's layers, you can control any combination of parameters. For example, you can assign cutoff, resonance, and filter envelope amount to a single quick control. To fine tune the assigned parameters you can setup a range and curve for each quick control assignment. This allows you to do complex sound changes with just one control. Therefore, quick controls can have all kinds of uses. For me, as a sound designer, the quick controls are the salt and pepper of my sounds. They give me up to eleven dimensions where I can change the sound in. If done well, quick controls can change the character of a sound completely and make it more exciting.

Compared to HALion 3 and HALion Sonic, HALion 4 offers more freedom. In HALion 4 each layer has its own set of quick controls. The number of quick controls is only limited by the number of layers you have. In big, complex programs quick controls help you to not loose the overview. One example would be by assigning the essential sound parameters to them. I think working with huge programs becomes easier with this. I don't know other samplers that offer this comfort.

Ok, I hope you got the idea behind quick controls and the benefits they bring to HALion 4. The screenshot shows the quick control editor of HALion 4.

All the best,