Abbey Road Orchestra: Basses

Name: Abbey Road Orchestra: Basses
Price: 209 USD
Author: Spitfire Audio

by Spitfire Audio · Instrument · Double bass section library

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Abbey Road Orchestra: Basses by Spitfire Audio

One section of Spitfire's modular Abbey Road Orchestra, recorded in Abbey Road Studio One with a double bass section and mixed by Grammy winner Simon Rhodes.

Core has one mix for $209; Professional adds 16 signals and extended techniques for $349.

Best for: Acoustic Instruments. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Jazz, Acoustic & Classical.

Keywords: strings, bass instrument, electric piano, modular, monophonic, acoustic drums, cinematic, epic, intimate, polish, sample-based, vintage.

What it does

Abbey Road Orchestra: Basses is one section of Abbey Road Orchestra, Spitfire's modular orchestra recorded section by section in Abbey Road Studio One. It is an 8-player double bass section, mixed by engineer Simon Rhodes, with legatos and a wide set of longs and shorts for anything from intimate to epic writing.

Legatos: speed-reactive Performance Legato and Lyrical Legato in Core; Professional has eight legato patches, including portamento and detaché styles.
Longs: long, flautando, tremolo, harmonics, trills (major and minor 2nds) and measured tremolo synced at 150 and 180 BPM.
Shorts: spiccatissimo, spiccato, staccato, marcato, pizzicato and col legno. Professional adds accented marcato, soft swell attacks and alternative attacks.
Core edition: one signal, Mix 1, Simon Rhodes' blend of tree, overheads, outriggers and spot mics.
Professional edition: 16 signals including two Simon Rhodes mixes, close, ribbons, tree, outriggers, ambients and vintage mics, plus the extended techniques.

Upgrade pricing is offered to existing Abbey Road Orchestra owners and students get 40% off; no demo is listed.

Source: Spitfire Audio product page

When to use it

Basses is the pick when you want a dedicated double bass section in the Abbey Road Studio One sound, to anchor other Abbey Road Orchestra sections or to add weight under another string library. Compared with BBC Symphony Orchestra Core and Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, it is one section rather than a whole orchestra, so it costs more per instrument but offers more legato styles and, in Professional, far more mic signals. Compared with Berlin Strings, which includes basses within a full string library, you buy only the low end. The Core edition is a light download, which makes it an easy add-on.

Best for: the low end of an orchestral string section, bass lines, pizzicato and low tremolo.
Genres: cinematic, TV and orchestral.
Look elsewhere if: you want a whole orchestra or full string section in one purchase; BBC Symphony Orchestra Core or Berlin Strings cost less than buying several sections.
Tip: Audio Plugin Guy stresses playing it with CC1 (expression), CC11 and CC21 (vibrato) and choosing attacks by velocity, rather than entering static notes.

What producers say

Reviews of the full Abbey Road strings praise the bass section's sound, with price, storage and a demanding playing style as the main caveats.

MusicRadar (reviewing Symphonic Strings Professional) singled out the "impressive Bass section", saying that paired with the cellos "the sonority and emotion that can be created is impressive".
Audio Plugin Guy rated the Symphonic Strings collection 4.3 out of 5, calling it among "the best-sounding and most polished string samples" and praising the velocity-selected soft, normal and marcato attacks.
Criticisms: Audio Plugin Guy noted a high barrier for beginners and a large Professional footprint; MusicRadar missed con sordino, ensemble patches and multitimbral use.

Where to buy

Spitfire Audio: $209 (Core edition: one mix by Simon Rhodes, about 2.46GB download)
Spitfire Audio: $209 (Professional edition: 16 signals and extended techniques, about 53.62GB download)

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