Taped Vibes is the latest instrument to be released for Steinberg’s HALion sampler and virtual instrument platform. It captures the sound of a Wurlitzer 200a electric piano, and has been released alongside a series of tutorial videos which detail how to create an instrument from scratch in HALion. Best of all, it is available for free!
The Wurlitzer in question is a well-used original example, and has been captured in three different ways: one signal has been captured using a DI box, offering the raw sound of the instrument; another through the overdriven preamp section of a 1070s Echoplex; and a third through the old tape of Roland’s classic Space Echo effects unit, providing a characterful version with lots of dropouts. Along with the three signal choices, users are also presented with a Character section that offers some additional vibrato and distortion effects, as well as a dedicated Delay and Reverb, and a Modulation section that houses chorus, flanger and phaser effects.
Steinberg say that the instrument is also a showcase of how to design sample-based instruments in HALion, and it has been released alongside a set of tutorial videos that cover every step in the creation of a new instrument. There’s an introduction video followed by detailed chapters on sample editing, scripting, macro page design and more, all of which can be found on the company’s YouTube channel.
We reviewed HALion 7 in the May 2023 issue of SOS, click here to take a look.
Compatibility
Taped Vibes runs in HALion Sonic 7 or HALion 7, which are supported on PCs running Windows 10 or 11 and Macs running macOS 11 and above. VST3, AU and AAX plug-in versions are available.
Availability
Taped Vibes is available now to download from the Steinberg website. HALion Sonic 7 is also available as a free download, so there’s no need to own the full version to take advantage of this latest release.
