Access to Professional HALion Libraries
As the product’s name would indicate, HALion Player is the playback version of the award-winning software sampler HALion. HALion Player provides astonishingly affordable access to numerous professional libraries in HALion 3.1 format (HSB, fxp, fxb) - without having to settle for less than the best in sound quality. Some of the finest sound forges in the sample sector offer HALion libraries, including Scarbee, Garritan, Wizoo and Vienna Symphonic Library. Common audio formats such as Wav, Aif, Rex, Rex2, Zgr and LM4 may also be imported.
Integrated Sound Library
The included HALion 3 Library contains more than 160 meticulously sampled instruments for almost every application. Look no further for hip drums, strings, pianos, guitars, basses and synthesizers. The sound library is clearly organized and arranged in instrument categories, making it very easy to find the perfect sound for the occasion. Every instrument in the integrated HALion sound library offers preset Q controls facilitating fast and intuitive sound design.
Quality and Performance
HALion Player is powered by the same Sample Engine that drives its elder sibling HALion 3.1. Hence HALion Player boasts the same wonderful sound quality as its big brother, and it supports 5.1. Surround sound as well as audio files with resolutions ranging up to 384 kHz/32 bits. As a fully multi-timbral instrument, HALion Player can play 16 instruments with up to 256 voices* simultaneously. Again following in the footsteps of HALion 3, it offers up to 256 virtual audio outputs.
RAMSave™
RAMSave™ is an innovative new technology designed to boost the performance of HALion. When working with elaborate sample programs such as orchestra combinations or drum kits, frequently only a fraction of the loaded samples is actually used. When RAMSave is enabled, HALion dumps all samples that are not used in the current song from the main memory. To this end, it scans the MIDI notes and deletes all samples that are not assigned to any of these notes. This lightens the RAM’s load and speeds up loading time.
Q Controls
Even if the range of functions in HALion Player is reduced and it does not enable radical sound design, you can still adapt sounds quickly and easily to suit your taste. HALion Player offers eight Q controls offering immediate access to the most important sound parameters. Q controls were assigned individually to every HALion library program; in the event of a program change, these assignments change automatically. Many HALion libraries offered by third-party vendors feature predefined Q controls for the given instrument’s crucial parameters.
MIDI Learn
With the practical MIDI Learn function, you can assign each of the eight Q control knobs to a MIDI controller in a matter of seconds. If you wish to control sound parameters in real-time using any desired external MIDI device, MIDI Learn is on board to make remote control a piece of cake.
Waldorf Filters
HALion 3 ships with filters that come courtesy of Waldorf, the legendary synthesizer manufacturer. Featuring the unique Fatness parameter, these classic high-, low- and band-pass filters excel at delivering sumo-sized tone with breadth and warmth unrivalled by any sound found on other software samplers.
HALion Player Vs. HALion
In head-to-head comparison, HALion Player ships with a substantially more streamlined interface than HALion 3. Though this facilitates handling for newcomers, of course it also limits the functionality. HALion Player lacks the elaborate file browser and Waveloop, Key Zone and Modulation editors featured in HALion 3. And although HALion Player is able to load and play complex HALion 3 programs, its capacity to create entirely new sample programs is limited to the most important elementary sound parameters.
HALion Player indeed provides access to a sound’s critical parameters via predefined Q controls, but in contrast to the Q controls on HALion 3, they cannot be assigned individually.
You’ll find a detailed comparison of HALion 3 and HALion Player features in our comparison table.
