Abbey Road Orchestra: Flutes

Name: Abbey Road Orchestra: Flutes
Price: 99 USD
Author: Spitfire Audio

by Spitfire Audio · Instrument · Flute section library

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Abbey Road Orchestra: Flutes by Spitfire Audio

One section of Spitfire's modular Abbey Road Orchestra, recorded in Abbey Road Studio One with a pair of flutes (a2) and mixed by Grammy winner Simon Rhodes.

Core has one mix for $99; Professional adds 16 signals and extended techniques for $309.

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

Keywords: woodwinds, electric piano, monophonic, modular, sample-based, acoustic drums, airy, cinematic, polyphonic, tempo-synced, vintage.

What it does

Abbey Road Orchestra: Flutes is a flutes a2 section from Spitfire's modular Abbey Road Orchestra, "the professional composer series", where each section of the orchestra is recorded and sold on its own in Abbey Road Studio One. The focus is on realistic legato and expressive playing, with mixes crafted by engineer Simon Rhodes.

Legatos: Performance Legato, which reacts to how fast you play, and Lyrical Legato for slower melodic lines.
Longs: a polyphonic Long, Long (sfz) with an overblown attack, and an airy Long Flutter.
Trills and tremolo: trills in major 2nds, minor 2nds and minor 3rds, plus measured tremolo at 150 and 180 BPM that can sync to the DAW tempo.
Shorts: staccatissimo, staccato with an alternate version, marcato and tenuto.
Core edition: one signal, Mix 1, a full room blend by Simon Rhodes from Tree 1, overheads, outriggers and selected spot mics.
Professional edition: 16 signals, including two Simon Rhodes mixes, close, ribbons, tree, outriggers, ambients and vintage mics, plus eight legato articulations, alternative attacks, extended techniques and about 196,000 samples. Core owners can upgrade by paying the difference.

There is a 40% student discount; no trial is listed.

Source: Spitfire Audio product page

When to use it

Abbey Road Orchestra: Flutes is the pick when you want a deeply sampled flute section rather than flutes as one part of a bundle. Compared with the flutes in BBC Symphony Orchestra Core or Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, it has two legato types, sfz and flutter longs, trills and synced tremolo, all recorded in Abbey Road Studio One. The trade-off is that you buy one section at a time instead of a whole orchestra. Compared with Abbey Road One: Wondrous Flutes, it is a playable section with many articulations rather than a pre-blended colour patch.

Best for: exposed flute melodies, fast legato runs, trills and woodwind writing that needs detail.
Genres: cinematic, orchestral and TV scoring.
Look elsewhere if: you want a whole orchestra in one purchase; BBC Symphony Orchestra Core costs less than buying several sections.
Tip: start with Core and its single Rhodes mix; upgrade to Professional later only if you need separate mics or the extra legatos, since you pay just the difference.

What producers say

Early reactions are cautiously positive, with the debate centred on how breathy the flutes sound.

VI-Control thread users liked the "breathiness and clarity", saying it can cut through dynamic passages better than overly smooth libraries.
Criticisms: one experienced user felt the breath noise is overdone, suggesting it only as an occasional round robin, and asked for softer dynamics and more mic positions.

VI-Control discussion thread

Where to buy

Spitfire Audio: $99 (Core edition: one mix by Simon Rhodes, about 2.81GB download)
Spitfire Audio: $99 (Professional edition: 16 signals and extended techniques, about 44.84GB download)

Tutorials and reviews

Walkthrough: Abbey Road Orchestra Flutes

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