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Spitfire Audio Abbey Road Orchestra: Metal Percussion

ALittleNightMusic said:
Surprised that people are still surprised at the cost of these. Even Spitfire has said on this forum that they are intentionally high end libraries, really meant for a very specific segment of their existing user base.
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It's a forum ;) You get diverse opinions. We have people complaining about missing RR etc, and then we have people complaining about the size of a library. We have people who want everything in one chunk and others who want everything broken down (maybe even a la card). And, of course, different opinions about costs.
What I find tiring is that all those aspects seem to dominate threads now. There seems to be less and less room to talk about the actual library. Okay, enough moaning for a Tuesday :)
 
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Didn't read all 15 pages of this thread, just wanted to say that it's a great sounding library, very responsive, very playable. Combining all small metals in one patch is something I'm particularly fond of, because it increases their chance to be actually used.

What I do not understand, though, is that they didn't include the pre-recorded cymbal swells from the AROOF. I even think that they recorded/edited the cymbals slightly differently, because even the "low" cymbal doesn't sound so "thick and powerful" as the low cymbal in AROOF. This is for me a minor disappointment because I really think those cymbals in AROOF are the best cymbal samples that I ever heard and I expected them to be included and maybe more of them in the flagship library. As it is, I will continue using AROOF cymbals despite the terrible articulation layout across the octaves.

To end this post with something upbeat: The triangles sound great!
 
xanderscores said:
Didn't read all 15 pages of this thread, just wanted to say that it's a great sounding library, very responsive, very playable. Combining all small metals in one patch is something I'm particularly fond of, because it increases their chance to be actually used.

What I do not understand, though, is that they didn't include the pre-recorded cymbal swells from the AROOF. I even think that they recorded/edited the cymbals slightly differently, because even the "low" cymbal doesn't sound so "thick and powerful" as the low cymbal in AROOF. This is for me a minor disappointment because I really think those cymbals in AROOF are the best cymbal samples that I ever heard and I expected them to be included and maybe more of them in the flagship library. As it is, I will continue using AROOF cymbals despite the terrible articulation layout across the octaves.

To end this post with something upbeat: The triangles sound great!
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I agree, the suspended cymbals that I like the most are the AROOF ones, despite their limited programming and bad layout.

I've tried quite a few (AROOF, ARO, OT Berlin Perc, SF Joby Burgess Perc, Project SAM Pandora, VSL BBO Quasar...), and for me the richest sound is from AROOF cymbals, closely followed by OT Berlin Percussion (the Sabian 20" sounds amazing), although you have to work a bit on the microphones to get them close to those of AROOF.

Those by AR Orchestra Perc sound smoother and more subtle, with many details (+ mallets, brushes, sticks, bows...), I think they can be combined with AROOF (layering) or used according to the needs of each track. The ARO Perc cymbals become more thick and powerful if you activate the Pop Close mic in addition with Out 1. or 2.
 
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What are the alternatives if you want a library of this depth with all the stick/rod/brush/hands/superball options in the tonal variations the mics offer? That's what seems special about these ARO percussion libraries, to me. I haven't bought any of them yet, but after watching this walkthrough, the library seems fantastic...what I wish my other expensive libraries offered.
 
Alex Niedt said:
What are the alternatives if you want a library of this depth with all the stick/rod/brush/hands/superball options in the tonal variations the mics offer? That's what seems special about these ARO percussion libraries, to me. I haven't bought any of them yet, but after watching this walkthrough, the library seems fantastic...what I wish my other expensive libraries offered.
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Spitfire already sells what they call the "definitive symphonic percussion" with their Joby Burgess Percussion Library, which sells for $399. It doesn't have the same depth, but has much greater breadth.
 
Iondot said:
Spitfire already sells what they call the "definitive symphonic percussion" with their Joby Burgess Percussion Library, which sells for $399. It doesn't have the same depth, but has much greater breadth.
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Yeah, I own that. Definitely not comparable. I'm asking for other libraries with the options/depth present in ARO perc libraries.
 
Rudianos said:
Definitive always changes with technology. Definitive is a word for the moment only. ARO is the new standard IMO. In 10 years there will be something else maybe. 3d interactive something or other LOL
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Still says definitive on the site, at this moment.
 
for anyone waiting for the rest....


Spitfire Audio Abbey Road Orchestra: Metal Percussion
 
So I bought this, and it's basically how I wish every library was set up. The range of sounds you can get depending on mic selection is insane. In some cases, it's practically like having even more versions of the instruments. The Pop Close mic is really what makes this my dream perc library. I always want to be able to use orchestral-leaning perc libraries in more pop-oriented stuff, and this immediately makes that work without struggle. I also much prefer this library to the vibe of the Synchron Perc stuff I own. These recordings are just so pleasing to the ear. Instruments that are often full of harshness and unpleasant ringing overtones in other libraries are crystal clear and smooth here (looking at you, finger cymbals).

I will never understand the complaints about "too many mics" (though I agree users should have the ability to download only what they want). With proper mic selection, you can make these sounds work in any situation without hammering them with additional processing.

I always complain about the Spitfire Player, and while the general space utilization complaints remain, the easy toggles for lay-out and mapping are nice, and they've definitely made some progress in certain areas (though you wouldn't know it without clicking on a bunch of stuff and combing through preferences).

Is the price high? Even at the $349 intro, yes. Is there a better alternative for me? No. I'll likely end up buying this entire line during sales.
 
I had been skeptical that I would buy the ARO Metals library, but after listening to the walk-through and comparing to the existing libraries I had (with respect to metals) -- I decided to purchase. After having it for a while, I can vouch for it being extremely playable and chock-full of very different sounds based on the mic positions and articulations. Particularly nice, is how many brush and scrapes they have across multiple instruments. In fact, the whole ARO offerings with brushes on so many instruments is what really attracted me to this library. The only other library I have with brushes is probably Moon Kits from Soniccouture. This library isn't cheap, but I likely won't be buying any other metalic percussion libraries in the distant future due to how detailed this one is. (Though, shout out for Wrongtools Torus, too).

For what it's worth, the Spitfire Player has been rock solid for all the ARO modules released thus far for me.
 
Am I the only one who wishes the Abbey Road perc series would just be split up into Orchestral Perc and Epic/Cinematic Perc (eg. taikos, toms, etc.)?
I just need a good orchestral perc lib and AR sounds so good for perc 😩
 
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