Visceral, icy techniques from eight players — intimately recorded at the edge of silence at AIR Studios.

£29 / $29 / €29

 

Where sampling is concerned, it’s at the quietest of levels where the real magic happens…

Spitfire Audio is proud to present Originals Cinematic Frozen Strings — featuring eight of London’s finest string players (2,2,0,2,2) performing a selection of fragile, experimental techniques at the quietest of levels – intimately captured at the world famous Lyndhurst Hall, AIR Studios. These brand new recordings are inspired by the distinctly icy tones and unconventional playing techniques of Spitfire Audio’s bestselling Albion Tundra — this time featuring a much smaller section of players in contrast to Tundra’s 56-piece string section, and offering next-level detail and definition through a bespoke ‘Super Close’ signal. This versatile library can be used on its own for a distinctly raw, intimate sound, or to add clarity and texture to a larger ensemble – perfect for bringing atmospheric, icy magic to your compositions.

It features three signals — Close, Tree, and the aptly named Super Close, recorded using clip-on mics attached to the bridge of each instrument, providing an extremely detailed and precise sound. Designed for aspiring and established composers alike, it can be applied to any contemporary setting but is best suited to fragile, cold and haunting contexts, such as Scandi noir, or independent intimate dramas.

PRAISE FOR ORIGINALS CINEMATIC FROZEN STRINGS

“Cinematic Frozen Strings is an extremely useful toolkit for creative string articulations — it’s like a greatest hits of bowing techniques and subtle textures, which have become a staple of our craft. I especially like the Col Legno Tratto. Spitfire libraries were some of the first out of the gate to cover new ground with extended techniques, and I love how they continue to evolve with sonic quality and ease of use.” 

— Ronit Kirchman (The Sinner, Limetown)

“I’m really loving it. Throwing a whole bunch of distortion and reverb on the ‘Harmonic Tremolo’ to double a synth lead? Don’t mind if I do. And that ‘No Rosin’ patch is worth the price of admission alone.”

— Alex Weston (The Farewell, The Novice)

KEY FEATURES

— Eight players (2,2,0,2,2) – no violas, taking out the mid-section of the frequency map. Positioned in antiphon (at opposite sides of the room) 

— All newly recorded material

— Expertly recorded at Lyndhurst Hall, AIR Studios, home of blockbuster scores, using a range of carefully selected classic and rare vintage microphones 

— Designed for both aspiring and established media composers writing intimate scores, or wanting to add more detail and experimental techniques to larger ensembles 

— Suited to those who use Albion Tundra, Albion NEO or Originals Intimate Strings, and are looking for a smaller string section

— NKS compatible

— ~2.8GB

PRESETS (12)

— Long Flautando CS (con sord)

— Long Super Sul Tasto

— Long Col Legno Tratto

— Long Sul Tasto > Sul Pont  (transitioning from one technique to the other – a circular movement between the two articulations at different speeds with players out of sync)

— Long Sul Tasto > Flautando

— Long No Rosin

— Tremolo CS Sul Pont

— Harmonic Tremolo

— Short Brushed Spiccato CS

— Short Mandolin Pluck

— Short Col Legno

—Short Brushed Sul Tasto

SIGNALS (3) 

— Close – Valve spot mics summed together for a direct and upfront image of the string ensemble. Mics include rare vintage C12s, Gefell UM75s & Neumann U67s

— Tree – A Decca tree microphone array, giving a spacious sound and capturing the natural resonance of the room

— Super Close – featuring DPA clip-on mics attached to the bridge of each instrument, providing an extremely detailed and precise sound

CONTROLS (5)

— Expression – adjusts the level of the technique

— Dynamics – for long techniques this will increase or decrease the dynamic being played. For short techniques this will limit the lowest velocity playable, acting as a dynamic range compressor Reverb

Release – allows you to change the amount of release trigger you hear. Only applies to the long patches

Tightness – this cuts further into the note to make it tighter, but does reduce realism. Only applies to the Short patches

RECORDED AT THE EDGE OF SILENCE

What really makes this library stand out is its unique extended techniques and careful curation — born out of the concept behind our bestselling Albion Tundra library, it offers sophisticated, dynamic performances and subtle textures with an exceptional sense of depth combined with a uniquely fragile and visceral tone — fit for both small and widescreen settings. The plugin is designed to be incredibly useful and inspiring straight out of the box, with presets loading up with controls set in the way they are intended to be used. In contrast to Intimate Strings (which features 25 players), this library is more dynamic, raw, and visceral, captured with next-level intimacy and definition.

 

THE SPITFIRE AUDIO ORIGINALS SERIES

Originals is a series of inspiring sample libraries making rare and classic instruments accessible to all for just £29 / $29 / €29 —  meticulously sampled in authentic detail, with no compromise on recording quality. This is the 14th library in the series. It’s the perfect next step from Spitfire Audio’s free LABS series, particularly LABS Frozen Strings, offering composers more depth and more control over their sounds. NKS compatible and lightweight at under 3GB, users can tailor these sounds to suit a range of scoring styles and genres through a range of carefully curated signals, presets and controls. 

 

Learn More at: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/originals/#cinematic-frozen-strings