Hot on the heels of Spitfire Symphonic Brass, the British sampling powerhouse have launched a second collection culled from their landmark British Modular Library sampling project. Spitfire Symphonic Strings brings together the core components from four volumes of the Mural Symphonic Strings library in a single, more affordable package that Spitfire are calling the ultimate compendium of sampled symphonic strings.
While this new instrument represents a rationalised selection from the vast treasury of samples at Spitfire’s disposal, it still looks very extensive. Featuring 60 top-level players recorded in their correct places using the finest equipment at Air Studios’ disposal, the library includes over 175 articulations and a selection of performance legato patches programmed by composer Andrew Blaney. Three main mic positions – close, tree and ambient – are provided, along with multiple round robins and dynamic layers. In order to balance depth with out-of-the-box accessibility, Spitfire have included a comprehensive selection of articulations played by the ensemble, which should prove useful for sketching out compositions before diving down into the individual sections. Future expansion packs will allow users to build on this library by adding additional mic positions and dramatic string ‘evolutions’. It looks a compelling package and comes complete with the free Kontakt player necessary to run it, a new GUI with inline help and full compatibility with Native Instruments’ NKS control standard to fully exploit Komplete Kontrol hardware. Spitfire Symponic Strings is available now, at the introductory price of £525, as opposed to the regular £699.
