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Spitfire Appreciation Thread

The sheer number of articulations and special articulations is staggering for such a low cost library. And they sound terrific. Plus... they're dry. Or pretty close to dry. Which is what I prefer in a sample library. Makes things a little harder, but not really once you know what you're doing. The performance legato is pretty spectacular, I think. They've gone the same route as 8Dio using velocity to trigger the portamento, but it seems more elegant somehow, and sounds more realistic. You can really tell that they worked very hard to make this library something special.

And, remember, I'm the guy who doesn't particularly like Albion One. But playing these in combination with Albion One creates a pretty spectacular sound.

And it’s even safe to say that on this thread
 
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The sheer number of articulations and special articulations is staggering for such a low cost library. And they sound terrific. Plus... they're dry. Or pretty close to dry. Which is what I prefer in a sample library. Makes things a little harder, but not really once you know what you're doing. The performance legato is pretty spectacular, I think. They've gone the same route as 8Dio using velocity to trigger the portamento, but it seems more elegant somehow, and sounds more realistic. You can really tell that they worked very hard to make this library something special.

And, remember, I'm the guy who doesn't particularly like Albion One. But playing these in combination with Albion One creates a pretty spectacular sound.
Do you have Chamber Strings? I’m still trying to decide between Chamber Strings vs Studio Strings (as part of 2018 Professional bundle)
 
Do you have Chamber Strings? I’m still trying to decide between Chamber Strings vs Studio Strings (as part of 2018 Professional bundle)
I don't have Chamber Strings and don't know if they are as dry as Studio Strings. But this video will tell you what you need to know about Studio Strings. It's what sold me.

 
I don't have Chamber Strings and don't know if they are as dry as Studio Strings. But this video will tell you what you need to know about Studio Strings. It's what sold me.



Damn, this is significantly more interesting than I anticipated...though some of those things are both dry and possible in the BHCT.

Still...argh, I'm overbudget already. Maybe BF.

Probably BF ;)
 
I think Chamber Strings is great for areas where it shines. I also just picked up HZ Percussion and think it's absolutely fantastic for its specific purpose.

A lot of what Spitfire has created lately isn't my cup of tea. But I didn't know how far sample instruments had come until last year, when I came to hear their Symphonic line.

I was flabbergasted. I immediately contacted my composition professor, who has conducted major ensembles around the world. He, too, was flabbergasted. The fact is, when people put the work in, Spitfire libraries deliver great results. It might just not always be what some people are looking for.
 
Although I dislike their lately rather aggressive marketing and hyped approach, personally I can say only great things about Spitfire Audio products.

Ever since I've heard of Albion the first time, I've dreamed of having it. Not only because it's fantastic sound, but equally due to the "all-in-one" and "broad-stroke" orchestral library concept which I've encountered the very first time with Albion. For me this was a revolutionary find, since as a musician and composer who is not classically trained, I've always been quite "uninspired" when working with more traditional orchestral libraries which I've had before then. Unfortunately, I've finally took the plunge at the most inopportune time: in mid 2015., when its price for EU customers with VAT obligation was at its apex, and just before Spitfire decided to put it to pasture and replace it with Albion One. Still, I'm very glad I've purchased Albion Legacy and I still use it on a regular basis.

Since I'm trying to survive only from music for almost ten years now, my budget is often quite limited, but taking the advantage of every discount that was available, I've somehow managed to purchase quite a few of Spitfire libraries thus far, including Loegria, Tundra, Enigma, Earth, Artisan Cello and Violin, Felt Piano, Orchestral Grand and Aluphone. The thing is I just like the sound and feel of their libraries and they inspire me, not only due to the stellar resources they're made with but also due to their "imperfect sound and performance" credo that give every of their libraries such a unique charm.

I also have a majority of Spitfire Labs products for Kontakt and they often share similar traits with their more expensive brethren. In any case, I will likely purchase more of their products in the future, in accordance to my personal needs and abilities.
 
Although I dislike their lately rather aggressive marketing and hyped approach, personally I can say only great things about Spitfire Audio products.

Ever since I've heard of Albion the first time, I've dreamed of having it. Not only because it's fantastic sound, but equally due to the "all-in-one" and "broad-stroke" orchestral library concept which I've encountered the very first time with Albion. For me this was a revolutionary find, since as a musician and composer who is not classically trained, I've always been quite "uninspired" when working with more traditional orchestral libraries which I've had before then. Unfortunately, I've finally took the plunge at the most inopportune time: in mid 2015., when its price for EU customers with VAT obligation was at its apex, and just before Spitfire decided to put it to pasture and replace it with Albion One. Still, I'm very glad I've purchased Albion Legacy and I still use it on a regular basis.

Since I'm trying to survive only from music for almost ten years now, my budget is often quite limited, but taking the advantage of every discount that was available, I've somehow managed to purchase quite a few of Spitfire libraries thus far, including Loegria, Tundra, Enigma, Earth, Artisan Cello and Violin, Felt Piano, Orchestral Grand and Aluphone. The thing is I just like the sound and feel of their libraries and they inspire me, not only due to the stellar resources they're made with but also due to their "imperfect sound and performance" credo that give every of their libraries such a unique charm.

I also have a majority of Spitfire Labs products for Kontakt and they often share similar traits with their more expensive brethren. In any case, I will likely purchase more of their products in the future, in accordance to my personal needs and abilities.

I still use Legacy, now that I think about it more than One!
 
Spitfire make some great libraries, no doubt, but they're certainly not alone in that. I own some great libraries from several companies, all of which I enjoy and appreciate. However, Spitfire do, to me at least, seem somehow different from the rest. It's a company that is so open and transparent, I feel like I know them personally, and support what they're doing, though I've never met any of them. To illustrate, ask yourself these questions about your favorite developers - I've answered below in relation to Spitfire, and could answer SOME questions positively for most companies, but I wouldn't be able to answer ALL questions for any other company:

- how many companies could you name the co-founders for? (Christian, Paul)
- how many could you name the sound engineer? (Jake Jackson)
- how many could you name the lead musicians for? (Oliver, Homay)
- how many could you name >1 support desk person for? (Ben, Jack)
- how many do you know that used to take charity donations, and now just pay it themselves?
- how many have free instrument giveaways, and you could genuinely produce decent music using only these instruments? (LABS)
- how many have produced libraries in collaboration with numerous artists you genuinely admire outside of samples (Eric Whitacre, Hans Zimmer, Olafur Arnolds)
- how many have developed a separate community-based sample library, that is made freely available to the public? (PianoBook)
- how many have a whole series of videos, with insights into studies, artists, and techniques? (Creative Cribs, 1-1 Interviews, Quick Tips)
- how many developers are active composers as well as sample developers? (Paul, Christian)
- how many have interesting competitions in which they give away their products (Apex; Christmas tombola)
- how many developers do you know who gave away their Mac to someone on Twitter (Christian)
- how many developers show you ways to develop music that could entirely negate their own company's profits? (Modular Mondays)
- how many have developed a separate vlog, only semi-related to the main company, and is not about selling more products, but mainly about supporting composers, and the issues they face? (Christian)
- how many developers arrange an impromptu meetup, go for a nice walk and a chat, film it so everyone can feel some level of participation, and then he pays for the beers in the pub? (Christian)
- how many could you answer positively for ALL of the above? (Me... just 1 - Spitfire!)
I was going to put together of list of all the things I like about Spitfire, but then I saw this post and it's even better than what I had in mind! I have to say that the Spitfire folks seem like some of the most honest (who else would do a blind reverb test?) and helpful (so many insightful videos) folks around. They have earned my trust (and a bunch of my money). Thank you, Spitfire!
 
Another word of appreciation for Spitfire ...

I had been having trouble getting Eric Whitacre Choir to run on my 2nd computer, even after a full re-download (ouch!). So earlier today (right around the closing of business London time) I finally wrote them a support request. Given the time of day, I figured they wouldn’t get to it until tomorrow at the very earliest, but within 30 minutes or so Sandy of SA replied, and with a rapid flurry of emails over the following 20 minutes or so, he resolved the issue for me. I found that very impressive indeed … thanks Sandy!
 
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Another word of appreciation for Spitfire ...

I had been having trouble getting Eric Whitacre Choir to run on my 2nd computer, even after a full re-download (ouch!). So earlier today (right around the closing of business London time) I finally wrote them a support request. Given the time of day, I figured they wouldn’t get to it until tomorrow at the very earliest, but within 30 minutes or so Sandy of SA replied, and with a rapid flurry of emails over the following 20 minutes or so, he resolved the issue for me. I found that very impressive indeed … thanks Sandy!

Thanks for the kind words! Sandy (despite his Scottish accent) actually works out of our New York office and we've got another Customer Experience employee starting very soon from there as well. This is specifically so that we can provide support and events "on the ground" in the US location and time zone. We know how many customers we have in the US (it's a lot), so it's important to us! Ben
 
Thanks for the kind words! Sandy (despite his Scottish accent) actually works out of our New York office and we've got another Customer Experience employee starting very soon from there as well. This is specifically so that we can provide support and events "on the ground" in the US location and time zone. We know how many customers we have in the US (it's a lot), so it's important to us! Ben
Sandy is one of the BEST in the industry!!!
 
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