Steinberg Halion 4 vs. IK Multimedia Total Worksatation 2 << Your Opinions Please

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DaKillaB

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Steinberg Halion 4 vs. IK Multimedia Total Worksatation 2 << Your Opinions Please

Im looking to upgrade my sounds and I'm looking for something thats going to give me the most for what I spend...

I've been looking at these two packs...

Steinberg Halion 4: Start :  | http://www.steinberg.net/

IK Multimedia Total Workstation 2: IK Multimedia Total Workstation 2 | Sweetwater.com

What I like about the IK Multimedia pack is that it comes with good effects, but my main goal is to get the best sounds... bread and butter hardware replacement type of stuff... something thats as close as possible to the sound quality of a motif....

I plan on using this stuff with logic...

Have any of you tried either of them and how would you rate the sounds and your experience...


I've used Komplete before and I really didnt like the sounds, they seemed uninspiring to me.... guitar rig and battery were the best thing in that pack in my opinion but yeah, thats a different discussion I guess...


I plan on trying the demos out when I get a chance but I think i'd benefit from getting feedback from someone whos been using the plugins for a while as well...
any info would be appreciated...


thanks
 
well, im pretty sure halion is all-in-one workstation. ik multimedia total workstation gives u all VSTs i have sample tank,sonik synth, and philharmonik & there all pretty goo but i think halion would be alot easier to use.
 
iDBeatz said:
well, im pretty sure halion is all-in-one workstation. ik multimedia total workstation gives u all VSTs i have sample tank,sonik synth, and philharmonik & there all pretty goo but i think halion would be alot easier to use.
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i mean i've used sampletank.. the free versin they have online is pretty easy to use..
the sounds seem pretty good...

but thats what im saying, i wanna be able to say the sounds are amazing as opposed to pretty good you know...

i've been reading at other places and people have been really cosigning Halions sounds...

i wanted to see if anyone on here felt that way too..

have u had a chance to play around with halion 4?
 
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I've never used Halion but I really do like the IK bundle. One thing I will mention is that the IK has a lot more sounds 28 gb vs 15 for Halion. Halion appears to have a more powerful sampler if that is what you are into. Sampletank hasn't had a major update in a long time which also bothers a lot of people and its still 32 bit which again bothers a lot of people. Halion also requires the Elicenser dongle and IK is dongle free if that matters to you. Overall I really like SampleTank but I do not think you can go wrong either way.

Also make sure your host can do vst 3.5 most are still on 2.4 and from what I understand most Steinberg vsts are 3.0 or higher

---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 PM ----------
iDBeatz said:
well, im pretty sure halion is all-in-one workstation. ik multimedia total workstation gives u all VSTs i have sample tank,sonik synth, and philharmonik & there all pretty goo but i think halion would be alot easier to use.
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The IK vsts are all based on Sampletanks engine and can all be loaded to Sampletank that is how I use it.

---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 PM ----------
iDBeatz said:
well, im pretty sure halion is all-in-one workstation. ik multimedia total workstation gives u all VSTs i have sample tank,sonik synth, and philharmonik & there all pretty goo but i think halion would be alot easier to use.
Click to expand...
The IK vsts are all based on Sampletanks engine and can all be loaded to Sampletank that is how I use it.
 
Xabiton said:
I've never used Halion but I really do like the IK bundle. One thing I will mention is that the IK has a lot more sounds 28 gb vs 15 for Halion. Halion appears to have a more powerful sampler if that is what you are into. Sampletank hasn't had a major update in a long time which also bothers a lot of people and its still 32 bit which again bothers a lot of people. Halion also requires the Elicenser dongle and IK is dongle free if that matters to you. Overall I really like SampleTank but I do not think you can go wrong either way.

Also make sure your host can do vst 3.5 most are still on 2.4 and from what I understand most Steinberg vsts are 3.0 or higher

---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 PM ----------


The IK vsts are all based on Sampletanks engine and can all be loaded to Sampletank that is how I use it.

---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 PM ----------


The IK vsts are all based on Sampletanks engine and can all be loaded to Sampletank that is how I use it.
Click to expand...


i didnt know IK was giving almost twice the sound content, but I mean thats not a big deal as long as the quality is there... if I can get one of these to sound as close to a motif or fantom or w/e straight out the box then I'd be good...

I'm not liking the thought of the dongle, but if they came up with sounds that are amazing out of the box, then I'll live with it, its cool...

from using IKs free version so far I really like the fact that you can import your own samples and it'll stretch and pitch it for you automatically... its dope for pitched drums...

buuut looking at the knobs on the plugin and all the other plugins that come wiht it, it doesnt look like it wud be able to do nearly as much when it comes to tweaking sounds.... sooo I mean Halion might come with less sounds but Im pretty sure it'll let u make allot more of your own sounds too... Im pretty sure Halion would beat IK at synths/pads.... Im not really into designing my sounds like that like that, but if theres knobs right there infront of me, i'll at least tweak some here and there and play around with it, lol

but youre right about the fact that IK hasn't been updated for the longest time, i remember watching beatmaking vids on youtube a bunch of years ago where people were using sampletank and it looks the same...

I know theres that one IK rep who posts here, I wonder if he can tell us how old the sound library is and if they plan on updating it any time soon...


its kinda weird though, Halion 4s been out at least a year (if not longer) and no ones really posted about it to give any reviews or anything, and hardly anyone talks about IK either....
 
DaKillaB said:
i didnt know IK was giving almost twice the sound content, but I mean thats not a big deal as long as the quality is there... if I can get one of these to sound as close to a motif or fantom or w/e straight out the box then I'd be good...

I'm not liking the thought of the dongle, but if they came up with sounds that are amazing out of the box, then I'll live with it, its cool...

from using IKs free version so far I really like the fact that you can import your own samples and it'll stretch and pitch it for you automatically... its dope for pitched drums...

buuut looking at the knobs on the plugin and all the other plugins that come wiht it, it doesnt look like it wud be able to do nearly as much when it comes to tweaking sounds.... sooo I mean Halion might come with less sounds but Im pretty sure it'll let u make allot more of your own sounds too... Im pretty sure Halion would beat IK at synths/pads.... Im not really into designing my sounds like that like that, but if theres knobs right there infront of me, i'll at least tweak some here and there and play around with it, lol

but youre right about the fact that IK hasn't been updated for the longest time, i remember watching beatmaking vids on youtube a bunch of years ago where people were using sampletank and it looks the same...

I know theres that one IK rep who posts here, I wonder if he can tell us how old the sound library is and if they plan on updating it any time soon...


its kinda weird though, Halion 4s been out at least a year (if not longer) and no ones really posted about it to give any reviews or anything, and hardly anyone talks about IK either....
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They are working on SampleTank 3 I was talking to them on twitter about it. They are just doing a lot of different things. IK has a lot of different products and they mostly focus on their modeling stuff for Amplitube. As far as can it sound like a Motif/Fantom I honestly feel any software workstation can do that and beyond if you know how to do it. I think SampleTank is right there with its simple layering and fx which makes it close to any workstation I have used. Keep in mind as well old doesn't mean bad it just means old. I personally use SampleTank on just about everything I do these days. I jump between that, Kontakt player and Reason. A lot of big records have been made using their stuff too. The main string from I am not afraid by Eminem came from that bundle. Some of the strings on Jeezy's My President did too to name a couple off the top of my head. So I think its a matter of picking one and running with it. Of course nothing is stopping you from maybe later grabbing the other if one doesn't suit or if you really just want both.

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Oh and if you want to grab something that everyone is on and uses for more standard sounds it may be a good idea to grab Kontakt player or the full version and grab libraries for it. Everyone makes libraries for Kontakt. That said I still love SampleTank and it is probably my most used plug in.
 
I'm gonna have to disagree with xabiton a little. I have a motif-es rack and the total workstation, but I would not trade my rack for the workstation. Just like a person that knows how to program synths could design all kinds of stuff with IK, there are even more possibilities in programing a motif or fantom. But obviously 200 is much cheaper than 500-1000 for a fantom or motif. I think I like Ik better than Halion, but keep in mind your basically getting about 50% of the stock yamaha sounds when u get the halion. Your call my 2 cents.
 
Personally, i like the Motif sounds, but I was uninspired by the Halion Demos on Steniberg's site. They have horrible demos for their products. They really need to get Bert Smorenburg that does the Yamaha demos to do some of their's since they Yamaha and Steinberg are now together. I haven't really listened to either set of sounds in Guitar Center, but when Halion first came out with the advertisement of Motif sounds, i was excited, then i heard the online demos, and i was not impressed.

Even though you said you didn't like it, i would probably roll with Komplete. I have only really used the elements version of the sounds while playing around with Maschine in Guitar Center and from what i heard, i liked it, not to mention they have good demos.
 
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from what I can gather, the general consensus seems to be that Halion is the better of the 2 when it comes to pure sounds....

the IK bundle is definitely a really good product for the price, but like I was saying sound quality is the main thing right now....

those of u mentioned komplete and kontakt.... how much work did yall have to do to get the sounds to where you wanted them to be... when I had it, I was uninspired by the sounds.... there was one or two presets that were cool, but for the most part, I found that the presets lacked presence.... I dont mind playing around with the sound BUT I'd have the preset inspire right from start and then once I have an idea in my head I'll go in and take away some of the effects on the preset or add some of my own to shape the sound.... but the preset should be built to inspire as soon as you hit the first note, u kno...

Ive never really heard of the Sample tank 3 rumors, but yall are kinda making it sound like its never happening, lol, we should really have that IK rep talk about that, I know they have to be due for some kind of change, Im pretty sure every major company has changed their product at least a little in the past 3 or 4 years....
plus technology has changed allot since then too, I'm pretty sure they can take advantage of the new ways to build these instruments....

but yeah, so far Halion seems to be on top...

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oh and sonik synth for 29.99 really?

thats crazy, lol


I woudl get it, but I wanna stick to my plan right now and wait until I know Im gonna use it for sure, thats an insane price drop though...

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mwandishi said:
I'm gonna have to disagree with xabiton a little. I have a motif-es rack and the total workstation, but I would not trade my rack for the workstation. Just like a person that knows how to program synths could design all kinds of stuff with IK, there are even more possibilities in programing a motif or fantom. But obviously 200 is much cheaper than 500-1000 for a fantom or motif. I think I like Ik better than Halion, but keep in mind your basically getting about 50% of the stock yamaha sounds when u get the halion. Your call my 2 cents.
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have you had a chance to use Halion...
I know I read a comment on another site form a person who had been using the motif keyboard for about 6 years or something, they got Haliion and to them the sounds were the same.... he was going to be getting of his keyboard and going full time with Halion....

I think with Halion you definitely have more of an option to design your own sounds, i dont think the IK bundle can compete with Halion in that in that respect....
 
We dropped the price on Sonik Synth 2 for Fathers day. Its only on sale for 5 days, so don't miss out. Regular price is $229.99.

Our products are tools and can only do what the artists directs them to do. HITS have been made with them from rock to hip-hop. Not to mention the DEEP FX possibilities IK includes in our workstations. FX from Classik Studio Reverb, T-Racks and AmpliTube 3 Custom Shop really bring power in a great sounding library for less than $30!
 
ObiK said:
We dropped the price on Sonik Synth 2 for Fathers day. Its only on sale for 5 days, so don't miss out. Regular price is $229.99.

Our products are tools and can only do what the artists directs them to do. HITS have been made with them from rock to hip-hop. Not to mention the DEEP FX possibilities IK includes in our workstations. FX from Classik Studio Reverb, T-Racks and AmpliTube 3 Custom Shop really bring power in a great sounding library for less than $30!
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you guys def make real good plugins..

would you be able to let me know how old your sound library is? and if you guys are planning on updating it in the near future...
not just the way the plugins look, but the actual sounds they produce...

thanks
 
We are constantly updating it with our Xpansion Tank 2 titles. Sonik Synth 2 has been out for awhile a lil under 10 years, but classic synths NEVER go out of style. People STILL fawn over vintage moogs in SampleMoog™ and the vintage Trons in SampleTron. The guitar, piano and countless other instruments have been around for HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of years, yet people are still writing new music with them.

Not to mention the entirely new sound library for SampleTank 3, some of which are found in SampleTank iOS. Really, this deal is a no brainer. A full featured Rompler with 8gb sound library for under $30? There really isn't much to think about if you're making music in your DAW.
 
ObiK said:
We are constantly updating it with our Xpansion Tank 2 titles. Sonik Synth 2 has been out for awhile a lil under 10 years, but classic synths NEVER go out of style. People STILL fawn over vintage moogs in SampleMoog™ and the vintage Trons in SampleTron. The guitar, piano and countless other instruments have been around for HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of years, yet people are still writing new music with them.

Not to mention the entirely new sound library for SampleTank 3, some of which are found in SampleTank iOS. Really, this deal is a no brainer. A full featured Rompler with 8gb sound library for under $30? There really isn't much to think about if you're making music in your DAW.
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i understand that, but difference between an actual piano and a virtual one, is that the virtual one might not be able to capture all the nuances of the real one... that changes over time as technology gets better though..

but like I said yall make a good product, I just wanted to know if theres any changes that are coming up soon?

you said theres an entirely new sound library for sample tank 3, thats what Im interested in hearing... when can we expect that to come out? or at least here some kind of demos...

thanks
 
DaKillaB said:
fro



have you had a chance to use Halion...
I know I read a comment on another site form a person who had been using the motif keyboard for about 6 years or something, they got Haliion and to them the sounds were the same.... he was going to be getting of his keyboard and going full time with Halion....

I think with Halion you definitely have more of an option to design your own sounds, i dont think the IK bundle can compete with Halion in that in that respect....
Click to expand...

I have all three, since I roll with cubase. That's what I said that you're basically getting a lot of the yamaha sounds with halion, but I'm not sure if its all of them. I wouldn't trade it for my rack though. The IK philharmonik is better than strings on halion, in my view, because of the various possibilities. The sample moog is prob the best moog replica synth outside of the minimonsta vst which runs about 170 US. Its yo call, but the IK is a pretty good deal for the price, and no I wouldn't take Halion over a motif or fantom. my 2 cents.
 
mwandishi said:
I have all three, since I roll with cubase. That's what I said that you're basically getting a lot of the yamaha sounds with halion, but I'm not sure if its all of them. I wouldn't trade it for my rack though. The IK philharmonik is better than strings on halion, in my view, because of the various possibilities. The sample moog is prob the best moog replica synth outside of the minimonsta vst which runs about 170 US. Its yo call, but the IK is a pretty good deal for the price, and no I wouldn't take Halion over a motif or fantom. my 2 cents.
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ok ok i see u,

Its prob gonna come down to me tryign the out to see what I like I guess,
the annoying thing about Halion is that you have to have that ilok key in the computer all the time though....

i might start off with Halion and then wait around for one of IKs sales and hop on that too if I need to ...


but yeah the Halion and Motif or fantom comparison.... is it a close call for you or not even?
 
DaKillaB said:
i understand that, but difference between an actual piano and a virtual one, is that the virtual one might not be able to capture all the nuances of the real one... that changes over time as technology gets better though..

but like I said yall make a good product, I just wanted to know if theres any changes that are coming up soon?

you said theres an entirely new sound library for sample tank 3, thats what Im interested in hearing... when can we expect that to come out? or at least here some kind of demos...

thanks
Click to expand...

We have been posting some pictures on Facebook and even posted a video of one of the IK employees jamming on a new guitar that'll be in SampleTank 3.
 
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