With Spitfire Audio’s recent announcements of new Symphonic collections — Symphonic Brass and Symphonic Strings — it seems logical that the London-based virtual instrument makers have now announced Symphonic Woodwinds. As with the other products in the Symphonic series, the Symphonic Woodwinds feature the finest woodwind performers recorded and ‘deep sampled’ with no expense spared via the finest signal paths (vintage valve and ribbon mics, Neve ‘AIR Montserrat’ preamps, Neve 88R console, Studer two-inch tape machine, and digitised at 96kHz) at Lyndhurst Hall within London’s legendary Air Studios.
While Symphonic Woodwinds features the usual suspects, Spitfire Audio’s deep sampling exploits extend to walking through the less well-trodden areas of the wood choir, including ALTO FLUTE, BASS FLUTE, and CONTRABASS CLARINET, to name but a few. Together with BASS CLARINET, BASS FLUTE, BASSOON SOLO, BASSOONS A2 (A2 denoting a slightly larger-sounding section that maintains spectral integrity), CLARINET SOLO, CLARINETS A2, CONTRABASS CLARINET, CONTRABASSOON, COR ANGLAIS, FLUTE SOLO, FLUTES A2, OBOE SOLO, OBOES A2, and PICCOLO FLUTE, all feature multiple dynamics, vibrato control, numerous round robins, and a variety of traditional and more esoteric articulations… A spot of tongue-flutter, anyone?
Although Symphonic Woodwinds rationalises many of the individual woodwinds products that were sold as parts of BML (British Modular Library), the new offering including a whole host of new articulations adding an additional 30% of content in and of themselves to create an affordable entry into what its creators collectively consider to be the finest orchestral woodwinds library available anywhere today.
Like the previous Symphonic libraries, Symphonic Woodwinds comes complete with Native Instruments’ industry-standard Kontakt Player (with file access via the library pane) and also offers full compatibility with NKS for tight integrations with Native Instruments’ Kontrol keyboards. Cross-grading or buying into this core set of samples also affords an opportunity to purchase expansion packs with more mic positions — above and beyond the standard C(lose), T(ree), and A(mbient) offerings — and stereo mixes.
Spitfire Symphonic Woodwinds can be purchased and digitally downloaded (as 102.8 GB of uncompressed .WAV files, featuring 72,504 samples) from Spitfire Audio for a time-limited introductory promo price of £374 / $434.00 / €441 until 08:00 GMT on December 31, 2016 — rising thereafter to an RRP of £499 / $579 / €589. Past purchasers of BML MURAL libraries are all entitled to a discounted upgrade path to SPITFIRE SYMPHONIC WOODWINDS.
