We are excited to unveil Abbey Road Orchestra: Symphonic Strings, the next step of our current collaboration with Spitfire Audio.
Abbey Road Orchestra Symphonic Strings combines all of the range’s string instruments into one plug-in: 1st Violins, 2nd Violins, Violas, Cellos and Basses. It gives users access to a 60-piece string section consisting of the world’s premier musicians, all performing in the iconic Studio One here at Abbey Road.
The new bundle, as well as each of the five individual instruments, are available in both Core and Professional tiers.
Users have the option to purchase each of these virtual instruments individually or as a complete package of five instruments, even if users already own one instrument.
All instruments in this range will be available in two tiers: Core and Professional. The Core version will consist of 82 articulations, including two long legatos, Long Flautando, Tremolo, Harmonics, Trills, Staccatissimo, Spiccato, Staccato, Marcato, Pizzicato and Col Legn.
The Professional tier includes all articulations featured in Core, along with additional articulations such as all extended legato techniques like Portamento and Detache in “Extended” legato patches, as well as separate legato techniques for keyswitching.
The Professional tier also consists of 16 signals (including two hand- crafted mixes by GRAMMY Award- winner Simon Rhodes).
The Abbey Road Orchestra: Symphonic Strings release continues Spitfire’s journey in placing the true sound of cinema under composers’ fingertips. Spitfire are the first sampling company to have been granted unrestricted access to this space; the apex of orchestral production.
CUTTING EDGE LEGATO TECHNOLOGY
The release includes Spitfire Audio’s most detailed and advanced legatos yet, developed using new methods, new charts, new performance directions, new programming techniques and development tools established in R&D sessions captured at Abbey Road.
Both tiers of the release share a new additional layer of legato intervals triggered by playing speed and velocity. This layer vastly improves playability and responsiveness of more mid to up- tempo lines.
UNRIVALLED ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Spitfire have collaborated with the Abbey Road team - including GRAMMY Award-winner Simon Rhodes and London’s top orchestral musicians- to capture the most intricate virtual string library ever created.
The release will include meticulously recorded violas, basses and second violins. Creatives will have the choice of putting together their own collection of the new libraries piece by piece or acquiring the entire series as a bundle.
As ever, the level of detail employed by Spitfire Audio for this collection has been second to none. The release was produced using 950,000 raw samples, 285 hours of recording across 95 sessions and thousands of hours of inspired editing.
ABBEY ROAD RANGE
The highly anticipated Abbey Road Orchestra Symphonic Strings will sit alongside the rest of Spitfire Audio’s Abbey Road range to complete a comprehensive orchestral library.
Composers and producers already have access to libraries such as Abbey Road Orchestra 1st Violins and Abbey Road Orchestra Cellos. The arrival of these three new stringed instruments will see the completion of this virtual string collection.
Renowned for its high level of detail, the Abbey Road Orchestra series invites users to sample the most internationally acclaimed orchestral musicians performing in Studio One.
The series already includes a set of meticulously curated percussion libraries, including High Percussion, Low Percussion, and Metal Percussion, recorded alongside world-renowned percussionist Joby Burgess.
Spitfire Audio’s Co- Founder, Paul Thomson said “We’re so fortunate to have been granted yet further access to this wondrous space to capture this next collection of instruments. This series is the culmination of over 20 years of sampling experience and innovation. We’ve kept music makers in mind in creating something which priorities efficiency, without sacrificing performance and nuance. We’re dedicated to sharing an incredible selection of curated instruments, delivered with the highest precision and immense detail, to take the standard of orchestral sampling to new heights. This is a long-term project and we are very excited to share more with you over the coming years”.
Sally Davies, Managing Director of Abbey Road said, “Through the Orchestra series, Spitfire has managed to capture the magic of Studio One in unprecedented detail. They understand exactly what makes the studio the home for classical, film and game music production. As ever, the team has handled the process with due care and, more importantly, due passion”.
Mirek Stiles, Head of Audio Products at Abbey Road said, “This has been a labour of love and it’s immensely satisfying to share the entire string section with music creators around the world. The sonic and musical pallets presented here are utterly engrossing and truly beautiful. With the foundations of the percussion and strings laid down, both Spitfire and Abbey Road are excited to continue expanding on this remarkable presentation of the legendary Studio One sound in its full glory.”
