Spitfire presents Originals, a new series dedicated to those looking for inspiration for the production of their film compositions.
Intimate Strings was created using audio samples of chamber strings from the library Albion II Loegria, with recordings made at Lyndhurst Hall, of the legendaries AIR Studios in London.
So although the Albion II is no longer for sale, an updated and simplified sample selection has been made from it to provide a new easy-to-use and beautiful sounding library.
The Originals series currently consists of 6 libraries dedicated to strings, piano, percussions and winds, which are characterized by their relatively small size (2/3 GB) and the low price, without skimping on the sound that remains that typical of libraries from SpitfireAudio.
Intimate Strings
Intimate Strings offers a chamber string section with 25 of the best London musicians.
The chamber orchestra consists of 8 first violins, 6 second violins, 4 violates, 4 cellos e 3 double basses.
The sound is typical of Spitfire strings, that is a realistic, modern and very warm string sound.
Unlike Epic Strings, also part of the Originals, the articulations used in Intimate Strings they are designed to create a more subtle and delicate sound, including half sections, harmonics and the flautando.
The size of the library is approx 3.4 GB and as I said in the introduction, all the recordings were made at Aassociated Iindependent Recording (AIR) Studios, founded in August of 1965 by manufacturers George Martin, Ron Richards e John Burgess of EMI e Peter Sullivan of Decca and was originally located in central London and later moved to Lyndhurst Hall, in Northwest London suburb of Hampstead.
To understand and appreciate the sound of this library more, you need to start from the AIR Studios and its building, which was originally a huge church and has incredible acoustics.
Suffice it to say that Air Studios are the only ones in the United Kingdom able to record whole orchestras and symphonic choirs (and perhaps only Abbey Road Studios is able to host this type of musical formations).
For those interested in the strictly technical side, I will just say that there is a 50 square meter control room and a console Snow 88R (one of the largest in the world).
For the rest of the equipment, I refer you to the page with all the technical information: Airstudios. com
Finally, I cannot fail to mention international artists and soundtracks that have been recorded here including: Paul McCartney, George Michael e Adele and between TV series Dr Who, Sherlock e Black Mirror.
Joints
Each patch includes all the instruments of the string family, then passing from low to high notes, violins gradually take the place of violas, just like cellos take the place of double basses.
Are available 9 articulations, carry the list with the description
- Long, long and sustained notes, useful for chords and pads
- Long with sordino, long notes with sordino, sordino is a small clamp, typically made of plastic, which, by adding mass to the bridge, makes the instrument sound less, thus obtaining a soft and velvety sound, the dynamics is very reduced.
- Long Flautando
- Long Half Section, half section, that is, half of the musicians for a more delicate sound
- Long Harmonics, long harmonic notes
- Short, short notes Short with sordino, short notes with sordino
- Pizzicato
- Short Col Legno, short notes played with the wood of the bow
Flautando
The sonority in the strings can also vary a lot by simply moving the bow forward or backward relative to the bridge, so the sound changes depending on how the bow is moved, more to the bridge or more to the keyboard.
When the bow is placed from the player towards the fretboard, the sound is warm but less intense than the sound of the centered bow.
In Spitfire Audio libraries we therefore speak of "flautando"When the sound is made with less pressure on the strings by the bow, obtaining a very"airy”Therefore similar to a flute.
If, on the other hand, you play with normal pressure, we are talking about a technique called "sul tasto".
Col legno
The technique is that of "beaten" wood (remember that there is also the one with "stretched" wood), obtained by bouncing the wooden part of the bow on the strings.
I have taken as an example, 8 lines from the Symphonie Fantastique di Berlioz, as an example, where violins and violas play with wood, while cellos and double basses play by plucking the strings.
The final effect is really interesting and realistic.
Plugin
Intimate String does not require Kontakt, because it comes with a proprietary plugin available as Vst2, Vst3, Aax e AU, then to be used directly in your DAW.
Controls
The controls available are minimal but effective, we have:
Expression: to adjust the level of the chosen technique
Dynamics: for techniques with long sounds, it will increase / decrease the level of the sound dynamics, while for techniques with short sounds, it will limit the shortest playable velocity, essentially acting as a dynamic compressor.
Reverb: amount of reverb added to the sound
Release: allows you to set the release trigger that is heard and is valid only for Long patches.
Tightness: For short patches only, makes notes tighter without affecting realism
The effects allow you to get a natural sound and therefore you can safely avoid using third party plugins.
Sound control
Il Decca Tree it is an array of spaced microphones and is the most commonly used system for orchestral recording.
Originally developed as a kind of stereo AB recording technique by adding a center fill, it is used in the early years '50 by Arthur Haddy, Roy Wallace, and subsequently perfected by the engineer Kenneth Ernest Wilkinson and his team at Decca Records.
The microphone triangle is positioned by 3 a 3,6 m high above the level of the stage, close to the conductor, therefore not in front of the orchestra, but inside it.
Close - adds definition to the signal coming from the Tree.
Vintage - adds color and character by passing the sound through vintage equipment.
Conclusions
Intimate Strings represents an interesting product for high audio quality at a low price. Although taken from the Albion II Loegria library no longer for sale, the product is attractive for its superb sound.
With a beautiful and intimate sound, this library is ideal for indie movies or any orchestral soundtrack where “soft” sounding music is required.
PRO
* Immediate use
* Audio quality
*Price 29 euro
CONS
* There are no solo instruments
* There are no legate sounds
Umberto Sorbo
