Spitfire Audio have announced the launch of their latest all-in-one scoring package, Albion Colossus. Said to be the company’s most epic-sounding release yet, the library allows users to blend seamlessly between chamber and symphony orchestras, as well as providing a huge selection of guitar, synth, and hard-hitting drum and percussion sounds aimed at modern TV and film scores.
Two complete ensembles have been captured in the creation of the library: a 42-piece chamber orchestra, and a 111-piece symphony orchestra, with the library boasting a total of 147 playing techniques. Both have been recorded at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall using the same gear, with the former captured in the New Auditorium, and the latter utilising the venue’s Main Concert Hall.
In all of the orchestral patches, users are able to blend seamlessly between the two ensembles using a new Scale control, enabling a single patch to cover everything from quiet suspenseful moments through to dramatic and hard-hitting cues. Variation of the captured room acoustics is also provided by a Depth control, enabling players to transition from a close-miked mix to a pair of wider and more ambient mixes captured from further back with a Decca Tree array.
Each loaded patch can also be pushed into even louder and more aggressive-sounding territory courtesy of a new Hype control, which subjects the samples to a range of tape saturation, widening, and distortion effects. In addition to the trio of newly added controls, the usual Dynamics and Expression parameters found in Spitfire’s other libraries are still present, offering control over the recorded dynamic layers and master volume of each patch respectively.
In addition to the orchestral sections, Albion Colossus also contains a variety of drum and percussion sounds, ranging from traditional tuned and untuned instruments through to hard-hitting modern drum kits well suited to modern soundtracks and trailers. A collaboration with Snakes of Russia has resulted in the inclusion of a selection of synth sounds, and there are also a range of overdriven guitar sounds which have been re-amped in a concert hall.
Sections
The Library is divided into the following sections:
Albion Colossus is the first library in the Albion series to be hosted within Spitfire's own plug-in.Strings
- High Strings
- Low Strings
Brass
- Brass
- Horns
Woodwinds
- Woodwinds
- Piccolos
- Flutes
- Woodwinds
The library has captured both chamber and symphony orchestras, and allows users to seamlessly blend between the two.Percussion
- Classic
- Traditional
- Junkyard
- Tuned
- Drums
- Acoustic Drumkit
- Altered Drumkits
Synths
- Basses
- Drones
- Keys
- Leads
- Pads
Guitars
To see and hear the library in action, check out the walkthrough video below.
Compatibility
Unlike previous offerings in the series, Albion Colossus is presented within Spitfire Audio’s own plug-in, which is supported on PCs running Windows 7 and above, and Macs running macOS 10.13 and higher. It is available in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX plug-in formats, and requires 105.33GB of disk space.
Pricing & Availability
Albion Colossus is available now, and is currently being offered at an introductory price of $349£299 including VAT / €349 until the 23 February 2023, reduced from its full cost of $449£399 including VAT / €449.
