HALion Symphonic Orchestra volume issue...

Is anyone else having serious volume issues with HALion Symphonic Orchestra? Try playing some strings from any other library, then play some strings patches from HALion Symphonic Orchestra and you will see how low the volume is. Look at the meters in this video. Please download to see better quality.

Can anyone help me with this?

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I have the exact same issue. Have done since installing HSO. I just don’t use HSO for that reason. Which is sad :cry:

Hi guys,

Please use the modulation wheel to adjust the volume.

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Who’s idea was it to control volume with a modulation wheel???

So you can change the expression even with the key held down in real time… It’s not just a volume controller. If you want you can just change the Expression Controller to Velocity.

More “to do” work…arrrrgggghhhh…note to self; don’t buy a product that forces you to do more. Let me think, for audio we generally control the volume with uh, a volume slider and track volume automation

Again this is NOT a volume controller, it’s a dynamics controller. When you move the mod wheel the library is also dynamically crossfading between the samples for different dynamics, from pp to ff. This is essential for a realistic orchestral performance.

If moving your mod wheel is too much work to you, you better also avoid other orchestral libraries because they all require the same kind of or even more tweaking before you start playing for them to sound the way you want.

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Orchestral instruments are very dynamic. It is fairly industry standard to control dynamics on wind and bowed string instruments with CC1.

anyone notice that when you make changes to the volume or other instrutment settings they don’t get saved when you close the project? am i missing something?

I don’t have this issue. There are 3 ways I get volume with HSO:

  • Using dynamics/articulation. This is well integrated with the score editor, you’d expect for orchestral work. Unfortunately, it can be hard to place ff, p, or > markings accurately with the score editor, so I always check/adjust them in the key editor.
  • Adjusting the note velocity. This has little effect on overall volume compared to using dynamics, but it’s great for placing stress. It lets you accent the correct note. (Not to be confused with “accent” articulation, which is more about the type of sound than the volume.)
  • Automating volume in the project window. This is best for balancing the tonal color of the orchestra in moment, but also gives finer control over crescendo/decrescendo than you get with dynamics.

My guess is that if you’re missing anything, it would be the dynamics controller lane of the key editor. (CC11? The mod wheel is tied to it, if I recall correctly.)

I was frustrated before I started using the ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff markings. The exact meanings of those symbols can also be reprogrammed via “Dynamics Mapping Setup”. I learned the true meaning of dynamic marks from one of Thomas Goss’ videos (orchestrationonline.com - see https://www.youtube.com/user/OrchestrationOnline). He said that f does not mean “loud” so much as it means “assertive” or “with effort”. (And p means “subtle” or “submissive” more than it means “quiet”.) Therefore, I open both articulation/dynamics and velocity controller lanes in the key editor, so that I can make the velocity produce the subjective meaning in the dynamics lane. (These adjustments are often made while looping the passage.)