Studio Orchestra Professional by Spitfire Audio Review
Today we are taking a look in our review at Studio Orchestra Professional by Spitfire Audio. The bundle Studio Orchestra Professional consists of the complete Studio Series suits producers and composers, especially at this aggressive price point. Spitfire Studio Brass Professional, Spitfire Studio Strings Professional, and Spitfire Studio Woodwind Professional are part of Studio Orchestra Professional. The three Studio Series libraries are known for their clear and crisp sound.
Installation
You use the download and install tool provided by Spitfire and register the downloaded libraries in Native Instruments Native Access using the provided serial. Kontakt or Kontakt Player 5.6.8 or higher is required.
Sound
With Studio Orchestra Professional you get three different specialized libraries: Spitfire Studio Brass Professional, Spitfire Studio Strings Professional, and Spitfire Studio Woodwind Professional. Let us look into each one.
Spitfire Studio Strings Professional
There are two versions available we are looking at Spitfire Studio Strings Professional. A core version called Spitfire Studio Strings (Core) is also available. You can upgrade for pretty much the delta between the price of both libraries. Speaking of the best time to buy, look out for wish list sale or go for bundled products which the company calls collection. I would recommend going for the professional version, you could start with the core version if it makes business sense to go that route.
Spitfire Studio Strings Professional – Core and Pro Version compared
| Spitfire Studio Strings (Core)Spitfire Studio Strings Professional148 articulations, across all instruments A limited selection of microphones Standard (8, 6, 6, 6, 4) player setup | 232 articulations, across all instruments An extensive selection of microphones Standard (8, 6, 6, 6, 4) player setup Large section (16, 12, 12, 12, 4) Two divisi sections (4, 3, 3, 3) |
Spitfire Studio Strings Professional Instruments
In this strings library, you have the choice between a wide range of instruments. The single instruments come with an extended range of articulation (compared to the core version) and what spitfire calls their extended techniques.
- 1st Violin
- 2nd Violins
- Violas
- Cellos
- Double Basses
Besides having access to 232 articulations you can leverage seven different microphones and two mixes. You can select any of the five microphone recordings in addition to the three available in the core version on top you get two carefully mixed versions.
Spitfire Studio Woodwinds Professional
There are two versions available we are looking at Spitfire Studio Woodwinds Professional. A core version called Spitfire Studio Woodwinds is also available. You can upgrade for pretty much the delta between the price of both libraries. Speaking of the best time to buy, look out for wish list sale or go for bundled products which the company calls collection. I would recommend going for the professional version, you could start with the core version if it makes business sense to go that route.
Spitfire Studio Woodwinds Core and Pro Version compared
| Spitfire Studio Woodwinds | Spitfire Studio Woodwinds Professional |
| 11 Instruments with 143 articulations 7 Solo instruments Tree 1 | 15 Instruments with 260 articulations 11 Solo instruments Close 1, Close 2, Tree 1, Tree 2, Ambients, Outriggers, Mix 1 and 2 |
Spitfire Studio Woodwinds Professional Instruments
In this woodwinds library, you have the choice between a wide range of instruments. The single instruments come with an extended range of articulation (compared to the core version) and what spitfire calls their extended techniques. Magnanimous pro points are the range of uniform articulations across 15 woodwinds instruments. Great Value for the money spend.
- Piccolo Flute
- Flute Solo
- Flutes a3
- Alto Flute
- Bass Flute
- Oboe Solo
- Oboes a3
- Cor Anglais
- Clarinet Solo
- Clarinets a3
- Bass Clarinet
- Contrabass Clarinet
- Bassoon Solo
- Bassoons a3
- Contrabassoon
Overall 15 instruments were recorded for this woods library with some instruments that you do not find in other libraries. The included articulation is very consistent, as long as the instruments to support the special articulation. The samples are wonderfully sensitive to expression control (use a controller for that) and extremely playable for lifelike lines.
Recorded microphones are a so-called Easy-Mix: you can control a more Closer or Far away tone. You also get two stereo mixes: one direct, one spatial or six microphone signals plus Close 1 & 2, Tree 1 & 2, Ambient and Outrigger. One main benefit of the higher priced version (Spitfire Studio Woodwinds Professional) is the flexibility and additionally recorded mics. The resulting sound and their differences are audible. It helps you to create easier and emotion with a flexible setup driven by the mics you can use.
Spitfire Studio Brass Professional
There are two versions available we are looking at Spitfire Studio Brass Professional. A reduced core version called Spitfire Studio Brass (Core) is also available. You can upgrade for pretty much the delta between the price of both libraries. Speaking of the best time to buy, look out for wish list sale or go for bundled products which the company calls collection. I would recommend going for the professional version, you could start with the core version if it makes business sense to go that route. There are plenty of Spitfire Audio Videos on Youtube to learn more about the library, keep in mind that Paul and Christian are also really excellent salespeople in their videos. As with many Spitfire products Spitfire Studio Brass Professional is extremely musical and valuable in a wide variety of styles and expand when you use further third-party effect plugins.
Spitfire Studio Brass Core and Pro Version compared
| Spitfire Studio Brass | Spitfire Studio Brass Professional |
| 8 instrument with 130 articulations 4 Solo instruments Limited Microphone positions | 17 instrument with 260 articulations 13 Solo instruments Full Microphone positions |
Spitfire Studio Brass Professional Instruments
In this brass library, you have the choice between a wide range of instruments. The single instruments come with an extended range of articulation (compared to the core version) and what spitfire calls their extended techniques. Studio Brass has plenty of muted articulations, which in other libraries are lacking or sold as a separate add-on.
- Horn Solo 1
- Horn Solo 2
- Horns a4
- Piccolo Trumpet
- Trumpet Solo 1
- Trumpet Solo 2
- Trumpets a2
- Bass Trumpet
- Tenor Trombone Solo
- Tenor Trombones a2
- Bass Trombone Solo
- Bass Trombones a2
- Contrabass Trombone
- Tuba
- Contrabass Tuba
- Cimbasso Euphonium
Microphones included are Decca Tree, two Close, two Tree, Ambient, Outriggers and two mixes produced by Abbey Road engineer Simon Rhodes. As expected by Spitfire the Professional version of Studio Brass includes a large range of articulation and so-called extended techniques. Compared to other libraries those normally included mysterious sounds are not part of this version. Overall you get all the common brass instruments and other less obvious characteristics. I found the enormous majority singing harmonious, really simple to play, and superbly recorded. Looking at the low dynamic layer the brass instruments are completely charming.
Recording space
AllSpitfire Studio Professional libraries have been recorded in Studio One at Air. Spitfire did push over the last years the fact that their more symphonic libraries are recorded in Lyndhurst Hall. All their Symphonic range have been recorded in Lyndhurst Hall which comes with a rich and big tone. The Spitfire Studio Series (Brass, Strings, and Wood) has been sampled in Studio One at Air which provides a sound that is drier and can be shaped easier plus it is a more focused and detailed sound. You get a so-called dry library as the room has very little reverberance. This library recorded in Studio One is an excellent choice for a composer who is in need to have further control over the resulting aspects of the character and tone.
Combining Symphonic and Studio Versions
If you do have access to Symphonic Strings Libraries you should look into combining a Symphonic version with the studio version. A Symphonic library would give you that ambient, lush, loose, symphonic, epic, film and cinematic sound. The studio library is intimate, private and dry. You may think TV, producing music, and ads are a good fit for Studio Libraries and a Symphonic library for epicness. The studio version is more defined and combining that with the more epic libraries. The result could be an epic score with some detailed voicing, just add some reverb, compression and mastering effect tools.
The complete Studio Series suits producers and composers, especially at this aggressive price point. Spitfire Studio Brass Professional, Spitfire Studio Strings Professional, and Spitfire Studio Woodwind Professional are as a combination a complete set, add percussion to have a small orchestra on hand. The three Studio Series libraries are known for their clear and crisp sound.
User interface & Usability
The UI is a classical Spitfire Audio interface and is in line with their other products released for some years. Now with Kontakt 6 and larger screen real estate, I would like to see Spitfire to upgrade their look and feel and as with their non-Kontakt libraries provide a UI that is just larger and offers more information which comes with easier to read for many as well. In these days their UI used on common high res screens is extremely small. The GUI cannot be scaled. Any composer who owns another Spitfire library will find their way around rather quickly.
Ostinatum feature
With the included Ostinatum feature you can create rhythmic patterns. Results are best with short articulations. It is all very tiny (see above) and you can think about it as a mixture between a limited sequencer and arpeggiator. The design asks for a tutorial video on how to use it.
Rating: Five out of five stars
Studio Orchestra Professional grants a remarkably wide spectrum of string, woods, and brass instruments. With this collection of three distinct libraries, you are more flexible at the end of the day and still can blend it with the symphonic line by Spitfire. If you purchase one of the Studio Professional or this collection versions during the regular “wish list” sale it is phenomenal for the price tag, for the normal price point it is a good investment when you need moderate established cinematic sound.
The Spitfire Studio range comes with exceptional tonal versatility, a unique acoustic color encompassing the sample, and is the main reason you need another String (or Brass or Woods) library. Remember that you can combine the Symphonic String Libraries recorded in Air Lyndhurst with this more comprehensive and right in your face library.
