What is your opinion on IK sample tank4 & HALion Sonic 3? Which one is better for BIAB ?
Thanks in advance for your inputs

I don't think there's a good answer, they're equal but different. Sort of like asking which is better a Toyota or Honda. hamburger or hotdog. It boils down to personal preference.

One way to differentiate is to visit the sites and forums maintained by the developers to get a feel for how responsive they are, how do forum users feel about the software? How often are the software packages updated for free and for pay?

Depends...
If you are planning to use General Midi, HALion Sonic 3 hands down.
It has a dedicated GM mode which accepts program/bank changes. I am 99% certain ST does not have that option.

Also something to consider. Halion has a live support, so if you get lost there are ReAl PeOpLe who actually know their stuff and they will assist you and even do a walk-through even if your purchased product long ago. I find Halion sounds very usable. They have a lot of good quality standard instruments and modern synths that comes with the package. Good balance.

To me, GM mode was the selling point., but I am very happy with quality of instruments it offers.

P.S. I have ST3 laying around on a backup hard drive. I got it cheap, used it on a few tunes and put it aside.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice - I would like to try Halion Sonic 3.

I note on their web site that there is a free version Halion Sonic 3SE however it says it comes with no content.

I would just like to initially use it as a GM bank with BIAB 2019.

Should I stump up the E250 for the full version with content?

Also - will it work with the 32Bit version of BIAB 2019?

Thanks for your assistance.

Best Regards
Nigel

Rustyspoon# thanks for your inputs.
What I meant "which is better for BIAB" are:
1. Sound
2. Features (General Midi option, etc...)
3. Program Reliable / no crash
4. Support

I do not believe Sample Tank has GM option. I would pick Halion for BIAB.

Correct ST4 is not GM compliant I have ST 4 and HALion 6, which comes with Sonic 3, as well as Kontakt 6, plus lots more.


No, I won't comment on which is "better." SoO GM compliance aside, it is a choice: Honda or Toyota, Chevy or Ford, Fender or Gibson, 30-06 or 270, 5.56 mm or 7.62 mm, Pickett or Post, K&E or Dietzgen, Android or Crapple - LOL, ...


Larry

Not totally answering your question but Sonic 3 does offer some elements similar to BIAB. With HALion Sonic 3 you can create bass lines, guitar riffs and chords etc from chords that you play in and then output the resultant MIDI to your DAW. This is a pretty cool feature and I think this comes from Yamaha’s big history of autoaccomp keyboards and also arpeggio pattern machines like their Motif and Motif-Rack.