Spitfire Audio Chamber Strings
Spitfire is a company whose reputation for high quality libraries is well earned, through their meticulous attention to detail from the playing, recording process and playback.
Chamber Strings sees Spitfire concentrating on creating a smaller string setup of 16 that’s split into 5 sections
1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos and basses. Using this setup it’s possible to pick out the individual instrument’s subtle sounds within each section thanks to the precision and care taken during the playing and recording.
Chamber Strings is a Kontact instrument sample library which means a straight forward download, install and activation process before you’re up and running.
Be warned though the Chamber Strings library weighs in at a hefty 75 Gig once installed, so download times will depend on your internet connection.
Once you’re up and running, however, that download wait is so worth it.
Straight away the quality and labour of love that’s gone into this library is evident by the bucket load.
The recording process to end product is phenominally high quality and it sounds breathtakingly beautiful and stunning.
Spitfire have been super generous with this library and offer up 3 different mic positions – Close, Tree and Ambient that lets you adjust to your heart’s content via the Kontact interface.
These are a real gift and I found myself with no desire to reach for additional effects due to the space and control available over the sound.
The interface itself is clean and elegant which is reflective of the elegance of the sound, but its also very intuitive, with
helpful pointers at every turn, though you can switch these off.
There’s also an option to venture into a more in depth page that lets you access even more controls.
The Overview panel lets you access your mic positions and the controllers such as Dynamics, Vibrato, Speed and Expression.
These are all easily mapped via a MIDI learn function so you can really go to town and it sounds fantastic.
The articulations present in this library are so numerous – a whopping 244 in all and just make up a library that really is so versatile.
Spitfire Audio have also added in an Ensemble section which is joyous to use and the results just sound so beautiful. The instruments have all been recorded as they would sit normally and by using some top end equipment to capture the magic.
The Library is also NI’s N.K.S. compatible should you own the relevant hardware.
If you’re a composer you really need to consider this library – it’s a fantastic alternative to some of the symphonic collections out there, and is an absolute blast to use but oozes outstanding quality with each note.
Definitely one to buy – 10 out of 10 for Spitfire.
http://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/spitfire-chamber-strings/
