Spitfire Audio Spitfire Studio Strings Professional KONTAKT

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This new set of orchestral libraries, two years in the making, has all the treasured Spitfire hallmarks: A-list London session players, priceless instruments and an unparalleled signal path recorded to tape by Grammy award-winning engineer Simon Rhodes. As with our existing symphonic and chamber ranges, we have applied a “no stone unturned” approach: an encyclopaedia of articulations (playing styles), vibrato control, numerous dynamic layers and round-robins for seamless, nuanced realism.

Our new Studio Strings package is a medium chamber (or small symphonic) ensemble recorded by section (1st violin, 2nd violins, violas, cellos and double basses), and is available in two versions: Spitfire Studio Strings, and the more extensive Spitfire Studio Strings Professional.

Spitfire Studio Strings takes you straight to the heart of our most pristine orchestral library to date: 148 articulations across the full 30-piece string section (8.6.6.6.4), from soaring legato and our signature whispering super-flautando, right down to spiccato, hairpins, grace notes, and FX. Immediately usable, instantly compelling.

The Professional edition of the library offers all of this and more, opening the door to peerless detail and control — 5 extra mics, 2 extra mixes, large band (16.12.12.12.4) and divisi for each section.

We were determined to go the extra mile and offer divisi (half sections) in the Pro library, which empowers a new level of modular control. Your string orchestra is now configurable from the fibrous intimacy of dual four-piece 1st violin sections, three-piece 2nds, three-piece violas and three-piece cellos (4.3.3.3) up to the rich power of 16.12.12.12.4 – a combination of the main sections (including basses) plus two divisi.

In addition to an all-embracing 232 articulations, you can access and personalise your mix of the full microphone armoury of Simon Rhodes — six different setups, from pin-sharp to super-wide, picked up by the best from Neumann, Schoeps, Sennheiser and others.

Spitfire users now have a comprehensive range of orchestral manoeuvres. We believe Studio Strings suits users of our existing Lyndhurst Hall ranges as an essential sonic alternative. It is also perfect for those looking to buy a strings library that will give them the most bang for their buck – being usable in the widest range of musical settings, ready for your own favourite reverbs and FX. With the versatility we have engineered into this library, we have no doubt that Spitfire Studio Strings will be a cherished part of your music-making over the next decade.

Simon Rhodes was an obvious choice for our entirely new Studio orchestra range — a microphone magician with multiple Grammy awards to his name, and a senior engineer at Abbey Road Studios. He has worked at the highest level in film score recording, having been James Horner’s go-to engineer for 18 years. Blockbuster movies such as Avatar, Skyfall and Spectre have also had the Rhodes treatment.

You can choose Simon’s mix, or with the Professional edition of the library, customise from the various mic options, from close to ambient, as well as two ‘Tree’ setups, both using Schoeps microphones. “The second uses Schoeps MK 21 wide cardioids (or sub-cardioids), which are great for keeping the room sound at bay while allowing you to get a sense of distance and perspective. This was especially important for our prized divisi recordings, where we recorded different sets of players in separate chairs, divided between inside and outside desks. With a touch of reverb on, this library is going to sound very lush and beautiful, but at the same time keep hold of all the detail.”