Spitfire Audio Abbey Road One: Orchestral Foundations

Spitfire’s latest project marks a new partnership with an iconic London studio.

It seems to be an article of faith with Spitfire Audio that each new project has to be even more ambitious than the last. Less than a year after releasing their massive BBC Symphony Orchestra, Spitfire’s team were back in a major London studio frantically setting up mics for a new large‑scale sampling project. This time the recording location was the historic Abbey Road Studios, an iconic space which has generated an incessant stream of pop, classical and film soundtrack recordings since its conversion from a Georgian townhouse in 1929.

Touted as ‘the world’s largest purpose‑built recording studio’ and famed for its warm, clear and expansive acoustic, Abbey Road’s Studio 1 is 92 x 52 feet with a 40‑foot ceiling, so can simultaneously accommodate a 110‑piece orchestra and 100‑piece choir (though if everyone wanted their own headphone mix, there’d be trouble). Over the years the studio has acquired a stupendous collection of over 680 vintage and modern microphones, including a pair of ultra‑rare EMI RM‑1B ribbon mics dating from 1949, which Spitfire give a dedicated stereo channel in this collection.

Spitfire’s Paul Thomson explains: “Having worked there a lot over the years, it was a natural step for us to collaborate with Abbey Road Studios on creating new collections of instruments, one of which will be an enormously detailed professional modular orchestral library recorded in Studio 1. The concept was to create a library that had bags of control and detail but also was incredibly simple to use, so that anyone can start using this classic film score sound in their tracks.”

Named ‘Abbey Road One’ in honour of the fabled recording space, the first chapter of this new enterprise is the 60GB Orchestral Foundations core library, comprising strings, brass, woodwind and percussion ensembles recorded from 10 mic positions by four‑time Grammy‑winner Simon Rhodes. Featuring 91 of the top orchestral session players used by Spitfire in their previous collections, Abbey Road One: Orchestral Foundations utilises up to five dynamic layers and five round robins throughout and runs exclusively on its own dedicated plug‑in, supplied free with the library.

The dedicated Abbey Road One plug‑in’s main page contains controls for volume and expression, a multi‑purpose large control knob and an articulations switcher which shows up to eight artics at a time, with more available in a secondary window.

String Ensembles

When I write string arrangements I like to play with both hands in order to get an immediate impression of a whole string section. This approach requires a full, six‑octave strings patch which combines violins, violas, cellos and basses in a single playable unit. Unfortunately this library doesn’t have such a thing, but I was pleased to find that layering its high and low strings patches produces a supremely playable full strings combination.

Having layered the two sections, I was rewarded with a majestic, full‑bodied string ensemble of the highest quality. The players’ perfectly tuned long notes sing out across their dynamic range. Quiet notes are breathy, hushed and intimate, the tender mezzo‑piano bowing is elegantly lyrical, while louder deliveries employ a more assertive, incisive attack. A tasteful light vibrato gives way to a stronger, impassioned vibrato style when the loudest dynamic layer kicks in. You can also use the GUI’s hard‑to‑miss control knob to crossfade between no‑vibrato and vibrato sustains, a handy expressive device.

Comprising 30 violins and 12 violas, the high strings patch has a fantastic rich, broad tone, while the low strings (10 cellos and eight basses) are powerful, well balanced and equally emotive. Sample blending between instrument ranges is deftly handled, with the transition between basses and cellos almost imperceptible. This means you can write regal, dignified low string melodies extending into the basses’ low octave. The cellos’ upper notes also blend comfortably with the high strings where their ranges overlap.

Needless to say, the popular rhythmic spiccato short‑note style gets pride of place, along with a decent set of pizzicatos and some great, energetic tremolos which can double as a manic‑sounding attack layer. Spitfire’s trademark flautando and sul tasto articulations aren’t included, but by way of compensation there’s a set of ‘con sordino’ sustains which sound like agreeably softened versions of the regular long‑note samples.

Though these strings play only five articulations, they ooze class — as someone almost said, never mind the width, feel the quality! Comparisons are odious, but this feels like the right time to make a judgement call: my personal grading system for sample libraries ranges from one star for budget entry‑level products to six stars for the top pro‑quality collections I use myself (and I am rather fussy). Abbey Road One’s strings score a six‑plus, and rank amongst the best I’ve heard over the last 20 years.

Abbey Road One’s strings score a six‑plus, and rank amongst the best I’ve heard over the last 20 years.

Woodwind Ensembles

As with the strings, woodwinds are presented in pre‑orchestrated high and low unison ensembles which can be successfully layered into a playable unit. The instruments are stirred together into a kind of musical alphabet soup with contrabassoon and bass clarinet at the bottom end, two bassoons in the low midrange, cor anglais and clarinets in the upper midrange, oboes and flutes in the high register and a pure‑sounding piccolo taking care of the top octave.

The microphone mixer has volume settings for 12 signals, six of which can be seen on screen at one time.Skilfully blended and simmered over a gentle heat, this mouth‑watering concoction sounds splendid in Abbey Road Studio 1’s uplifting acoustic. The low woodwinds’ opulent sound is great for moody writing, the only surprise being that the contrabassoon, famed for its chandelier‑shaking sub‑bass notes, goes no lower than Bb1. In the high ensemble the mournful, angular tones of the reed instruments are softened by clarinets and flutes, creating a lush organic texture which is a great resource for poignant and tuneful section chords.

In addition to the woodwinds’ lovely long notes are some great zippy staccatissimos you can use for colourful rhythm passages, and emphatic, positive‑sounding marcato and tenuto short notes (the latter not played by the low section). The articulation menu is completed by excellent short, medium and long climactic swells ranging from half a second to two seconds in length. All in all, an attractive, classy and versatile pair of woodwind ensembles.

Brass Ensembles & Tutti Orchestra

Spitfire’s decision to expand the number of velocity layers in this project is validated by the amazing dynamics of the library’s horn ensemble, particularly noticeable in the superb touch response of its staccatissimos. Though they avoid the brassy ‘cuivré’ delivery found in other Spitfire libraries, the four players maintain an excellent clean delivery and superb control from pp to ff, covering all musical requirements from serene warm chords to loud heroic themes. The distinct, precise attack of the quiet tenuto, marcato and long‑note styles provides much‑needed rhythmic definition, making these samples come alive under the fingers.

The FX page contains settings for reverb send, attack tightness (which non‑destructively trims the front of samples), vibrato intensity and release length.The four trumpets are also dynamically versatile, perfect for magisterial loud fanfares or soft supporting chords. Their confident, brilliant‑toned loud sustains sound very strong, and are marred only by the sour tuning of one high ‘A’ note (one of the very few examples of questionable tuning I found in the collection). The trumpets’ smartly played staccatissimos are as bright as a button, and their swells track beautifully with those of the woodwinds.

Given the popularity of the so‑called ‘Braaam’ noise, it’s no surprise that this collection has its own huge‑sounding low brass ensemble. The players turn in an impeccable set of artics over a C1‑C4 range, performing big, sombre and stately quiet notes, formidable, imperial‑sounding loud notes, fabulous rasping staccatissimos, awesomely powerful swells and some top‑rate marcatos which make a good attack layer for the loud sustains.

If you want to really big it up, the ‘orchestra’ patch features the strings, brass and woodwind sections playing together live (not layered) over the full symphonic range. This real‑life full orchestra performs only five artics, but they’re goodies: their swells sound absolutely mighty, the long notes pack true heavyweight power and the staccatos are a great, guilty‑pleasure resource for epic symphonic riffs.

Percussion Ensembles

The ‘Percussion’ patch’s 14 instrument combinations collectively cover the main orchestral bases, including a generous serving of cinema‑shaking big bangs which are given a supercharged turbo boost by the studio’s large‑room ambience. You can choose between four unison bass drums and a combo of large taiko, gran casa and enormous ‘Verdi’ bass drum, both of which generate an epic thunderous racket. For a more subtle effect, soft hits on a single bass drum create an ominous, soft low‑end boom.

Goodness knows how you get one of these on the tube...

Snare drums come in three flavours: a bashy trio of regular snares, a high‑pitched piccolo snare ensemble which contributes some powerful, cracking rim shots, and a mixture of the two. I was initially disappointed at the tom ensemble’s lack of resonance, but cheered up when I heard the massive punch the ambient room mics add to the sound. On a lighter note, I enjoyed the octabans, a set of five melodious single‑headed drums whose lower pitches have a pleasant ring.

In the metals department, there’s a good selection of bright, triumphal splashes played on handheld piatti cymbals, and some great suspended‑cymbal ensemble crashes, explosive choked smashes and superbly dramatic mallet swells. The booming orchestral gongs ensemble sounds passably hefty, but lacks the outrageous roar of a fortissimo single tam tam hit. Instead of the manic Wagnerian clangs I was expecting, the anvil hits are pretty and quite delicate‑sounding, so could feasibly be used for Afro‑Latin bell and triangle patterns. Similarly, the highly dynamic ribbon crashers’ can deliver an effective hi‑hat groove!

Keyswitches are shown in green on the GUI keyboard, with the currently selected keyswitch marked in yellow. You can set your own keyswitch note for each articulation.

Tuned percussion is confined to three classic‑sounding instruments. The powerful timpani brought to mind the melodramatic vibe of 1960s British TV music, some of which I guess may actually have been recorded at Abbey Road! A flawless, exquisitely toned xylophone shows off the room acoustic wonderfully and is a treat to play, while the glockenspiel sounds pure and sparkling, the twinkling fairy on top of the orchestral Christmas tree.

Apart from the cymbals, all the percussion instruments perform a small menu of straight single hits with no rolls, swells or fancy stuff. Some drum flams are occasionally heard, but they’re a by‑product of the ensemble hits rather than a designated performance style.

I appreciated the opportunity of visiting Abbey Road Studios without paying for the privilege, and very much enjoyed playing these remarkable orchestral sections.

General Comments

The mic positions used in Orchestral Foundations are Vintage 1 and 2 (classic RM1B and ribbon mics), Pop Close (a mix of spot mics), Pop Room (room mics for use in conjunction with Pop Close), then Spitfire’s classic Close, Decca Tree 1 & 2 (two different trees with different mics), Ambient and Outriggers, with an extra Spill channel carrying the sound of all the unused mics dotted around the room! In addition, Simon Rhodes created two stereo mixes, and a very nice Lexicon‑style large hall effect is also included.

All instruments are played in unison with no built‑in octaves (a good thing in my book). You can layer articulations within a single patch, but layering different patches requires multiple instances of the plug‑in. This being a foundation library, performance styles such as trills and runs are absent, there are no sound design patches and no legato mode. Although the latter is not critical for ensembles, cash‑strapped Spitfire users might question a pricing policy which charges as much for this library as the more full‑featured Albion One.

To speed up workflow, you can pre‑select which articulations or presets are loaded in a patch by ticking or unticking them. Shown here are Abbey Road One’s 14 percussion presets, which all work within a single patch.

Conclusion

I’m starting to lose track. How many full orchestral libraries have Spitfire released to date? We’ve had the bespoke licence‑only titles, the British Modular Library series which became the Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, the Albion range, Spitfire Studio Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and now this. It’s hard to think of another company who have been quite so prolific, and a harsh critic might say the company is spreading itself too thin. That said, I heard nothing in this opulent‑sounding collection that suggests any dip in the high standards Spitfire have set for themselves over the last 13 years — to my ears it’s more a case of ‘practice makes perfect’, with each new project building on the strengths of the last.

A more long‑term view is that the company’s exhaustive multimiked expeditions into iconic studio spaces such as Air, Maida Vale and now Abbey Road provides a valuable document of the acoustic DNA of historically important recording locations. Having seen Olympic, Trident, Wessex and Angel fall under the axe, I’m glad Spitfire have been able to capture what may prove to be the last gasp of some of the UK’s great studios.

On a more upbeat note, I appreciated the opportunity of visiting Abbey Road Studios without paying for the privilege, and very much enjoyed playing these remarkable orchestral sections, whose inspirational sound and poised, tuneful delivery possess the magic spark which gets my compositional juices flowing. There are some stellar ensembles in this library, and I look forward to the more specialised themed titles that follow 
in its wake.