Add depth to your orchestral instrumentation with rare and inspiring instruments.
Symphonic Extras is a treasure trove of unique sounds that will elevate your sound design beyond the palette of the conventional orchestra. Dedicated to the untrodden path, this collection explores unconventional sound sources that color your compositions with intriguing timbres and textures, pushing the boundaries of traditional instruments.
This remarkable suite of tuned percussion ranges from the metallic resonance of Aluphone and Cimbalom to the haunting whisper of the watery background of Hg2O. Explore an experimental collection of scraped percussion (including a bowed bicycle wheel), as well as innovative approaches to prepared piano, steel drums, and the delicate beauty of a baroque harpsichord.
Masterfully recorded at AIR’s Lyndhurst Hall by London session musicians, this library is the perfect complement to the Albion lineup or the Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, all featuring the same stunning acoustics that have featured in countless film soundtracks.
Dive into a range of unconventional and unusual instruments that will inspire your most creative arrangements.
Harpsichord An
immaculately preserved Baroque harpsichord, masterfully played by Stephen Devine. Explore the full range of registrations, capturing every nuance of this captivating instrument.
Plucked Piano
Discover unique tones and experimental techniques with this prepared piano, played by Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson. Equally useful for tuned drum sounds or as an organic string synth, its long ringing, especially in the bass notes, adds long, low tension to your compositions. Switch between tape and digital signals for added sonic flexibility.
Steel Drums
Another drum virtuoso, Frank Ricotti, delivers an immaculate performance of the steel drums here, showcasing a wide range of textures from hauntingly beautiful soft layers to searing metallic bite. As demonstrated in Cliff Martinez’s superb score for Solaris, these instruments were performed with some slightly subdued overtones, allowing for a familiar yet distinct presentation of sound.
Aluphone
A truly unique and mesmerizing instrument, created from a series of tuned aluminum bells and performed by legendary percussionist Paul Clarvis. This fascinating addition to the hammer family offers a magical metallic texture, adding a touch of the unusual to your scores.
Dulcimer
A shimmering, spine-tingling tuned percussion instrument used in Hollywood scores for its mysterious, ominous sound, the dulcimer can cut through an orchestra with its distinctive tone. A type of concert hammer dulcimer, the dulcimer was popularized in part by composers such as Kodály and Stravinsky, and is now a staple instrument for film soundtracks, adding texture. This collection was performed by renowned artist Greg Knowles (The Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings).
Scraped Percussion
A family of progressive, unconventional percussion sounds created using creatively played percussion instruments and objects (including a bicycle wheel and a polystyrene cup!) – scraped, rubbed, bowed and cleaned by Paul Clarvis. A wonderful collection of exceptionally unusual percussion noises, Paul has explored each object and instrument.
Hg20
Finally, Hg2O is an interpretation of the Spitfire Waterphone, a classic percussion instrument played by Paul Clarvis. While it deserves its place as a mainstay of vintage horror scores, we go beyond the tropes to reveal its inspiring beauty. The resonator is filled with water to give a vibrant, ethereal sound that we sampled in detail, capturing both bowed and drummed performances, with and without movement. The resonant characteristics of the bowl and rods combined with the movement of the water immediately evoke mystery and tension, while the water level can be controlled for a dynamic range of sonic possibilities.
AIR Lyndhurst Hall
The Crown, Dune, The Zone of Interest, James Bond, Interstellar, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter, Call of Duty – all of these scores were recorded at Lyndhurst Hall in London’s AIR Studios, the spiritual home of Spitfire Audio and the room where blockbuster soundtracks are born. The architecturally unique acoustic properties of Lyndhurst Hall’s interior are renowned the world over, beloved by composers and musicians.
The room has a soft reverberation that adds beauty to whatever is performed there. The sound produced by a soloist or a full symphony orchestra expands and blossoms within the space, a truly versatile palette that gives access to a range of textures from the delicate and intimate to the thunderous and epic.
WHAT’S IN THE SPITFIRE SYMPHONIC EXTRAS?
Spitfire Symphonic Extras is a remarkable suite of tuned and untuned percussion, spanning the metallic resonance of Aluphone and Cimbalom and the haunting whisper of aquatic Hg2O. Explore an experimental collection of scraped percussion (including a bowed bicycle wheel) alongside innovative takes on plucked piano, steel drums and the delicate beauty of baroque harpsichord.
Masterfully recorded at AIR’s Lyndhurst Hall by London session musicians, this library is the perfect complement to the Albion line-up or the Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, all featuring the same stunning acoustics that have been heard on countless film soundtracks.
IS THIS LIBRARY NEW OR EXISTING CONTENT?
We’ve combined several more of our older AIR Studios libraries with an updated UI, vetted content, and delivered in one more user-friendly package.
As noted above, these libraries include Aluphone, Cimbalom, Hg2O, Scraped Percussion, Ppicked Piano, Steel Drums, and Spitfire Harpsichord.
IF SPITFIRE SYMPHONIC EXTRAS ARE CONTENT FROM EXISTING LIBRARIES, WHAT’S NEW?
With this relaunch you can experience the amazing performances of these incredible musicians in one place with a new user interface and an overview of all the sample content featured in the latest Native Instrument Kontakt software (version 7.5.2 minimum)
This new library is also NKS ready.
WHAT OTHER LIBRARIES WORK WELL WITH THE SPITFIRE SYMPHONY ADDITIONS?
The Symphonic Add-ons would sound great with Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, Albion ONE, AIR Studios Reverb and Tutti, among others.
I HAVE OLD VERSIONS OF THE INCLUDED LIBRARIES IN OLD PROJECTS, WILL THE INSTALLATION AFFECT THEM?
Since Spitfire Symphonic Extras is a new product, registered and installed with its own entry in Kontakt, this will not affect any projects containing older versions.
