spitfire is the only company that can produce 24 different orchestral libraries and make you feel like you need every one of them.

I really appreciate their awareness about their customer profile. Not only providing some of the best VSTs but helping beginners to taste this amazing world with Labs. As one of them, I dare to wish you to release a church organ lab.

as a bbc pro owner, it’s so exciting to hear that you’re planning on continuing to work on it. I absolutely love it and think it’s brilliant, but at times I find myself wanting to use certain articulations which aren’t yet recorded - sul g in the violins for example. thanks so much christian and spitfire, love your work!!

I've got them all. BBCSO Pro, all 6 Albions, and the 5 Abbey Roads. Thank you, Spitfire Audio Summer Sale 2021!!

Thank you for this Chris! As a BBC Core owner I am considering upgrading to have access to all the close mics and sections leaders, what a great feature! And it's great to hear that you have still plans of adding to it in the future. It's such a shame the BBC is closing Maida Vale's down... So much history there, really heartbreaking. You guys did an incredible job at immortalising its voice, in all its glory with this incredible library! Thank you!

Would love an added multiple Con Sord option for the brass sections in the BBCSO. Leaders and sectional. (Straight Mute, Cup, Harmon, Bucket.). Also and horn bell up/down option. That would complete it well.

Really hoping BBC piano can become a reality! AR1 sounds amazing too, and even though BBC will be my main tool I'm looking forward to the AR1 Selections

Still happy I chose Albion ONE over the other two. It sounds soooo good... Even though it’s the oldest release. I just love that sound. The String Spiccatos are so awesome and epic.

Such a smart move to create this video. Can’t wait to get my hands on one of these. This has definitely helped with my decision making!

I just bought bbc so, I have no experience of composing but damn, I feel so inspired writing with it. Its an astonishing piece of gear for me.

Thanks Christian, great video, makes me realise I made the correct decision buying the BBC SO, it's more of. a statement about where I want to be rather than where I am now. Would be great to have a really big choir to go with it though, Eric Whitacre is great but, only quite a small choir. Be interested to see how the Abbey Road libraries develop. Take care, stay safe, and healthy, best wishes Terry

This video really helped me choose my first orchestra and I went with BBCSO! Love everything so far, but I’m really anticipating the piano to come soon!

BBCSO Core...please fix various intonation problems. Add extended woodwinds to Core edition (Bass Clarinet, English Horn etc.). Mutes for brass. Thanks.

This comparison video is very helpful! I own all three of the libraries compared and I’ll be downloading my copy of Abbey Road One today. Thanks Christian and Team Spitfire. Please keep making great tools for us composers and musicians...

BBC is so close to a perfect plugin for a "traditional" composer/orchestrator like myself. Would love to see muted brass options, and bass clarinet or contrabassoon (or to be cheeky both) added to core. There's notorious tuning issues with it too in various places. A Cor Anglais added to Pro (or also to Core, still being wishful!) would also make it a seriously heavy hitting product. There's a bit of a gap for plugins like this that can seriously compete with the likes of the VSL libraries but at a significantly smaller cost. SSO is "so nearly" a perfect plugin in but is rough around the edges. Can't fault the lovely sounds from these libraries though and look forward for whats to come!

I'd just like to take a moment to acknowledge that all of this is pure magic. I'm just getting back into writing and arranging after 25+ years away from it all. The last time I attempted to orchestrate on the computer was in college on an Amiga 500 with a Kawai K1. Loved it for what it was and when it was, but it left a lot to be desired. Fast forward to today... Unbelievable. Like - UNBELIEVABLE! Also - Spitfire recorded the Blue Devils drumline and released it as a standalone library. Rock. On.

Thank you for this - I am very happy to say that my choice of BBCSO clearly fits what I want to do the best! What a relief!

LABS is still one of my favorite Plugins, and I also Own BBC Discover wich is an AWESOME deal, btw, thank you so SO much for that, it was really worth the wait! This is on a whole other level and scale, but it is the definition of work and options for any composer of any genre, really (saying this as a mostly urban producer who dabbles in Orchestral compositions and some filmscore). It is truly something of huge value. Again, thanks for that exploration of the range, and for the awesome video. Cheers! 😁

Hey Spitfire! I want to thank you for your amazing work. Truly you are who inspire me to write music for the last two years. I started with BBCSO Discover and then bought BBCSO Core. This is the best thing in my music life. As I play anything from the orchestra it always inspires me to write something. Oh it is just so good I cannot say it in words...

So the big takeaway for BBSO users is that there are no plans to add substantially to the library as it currently exists. To my mind this is a betrayal of the explicit promise that was made when the library was launched. Remember the phrase "this is just the beginning" that was used multiple times in all the videos? It's still on the website. Well Spitfire never made good on that promise. Brass dynamics remain anaemic and patches are missing many important articulations . Don't bother looking for an e flat clarinet or Cor Anglais, you won't find one. Let alone 2nd or 3rd chair woodwinds and brass. The mallet percussion articulation choices are limited and inconsistent. And will remain so. How they can claim to be a complete orchestral library with these ongoing deficiencies is a mystery. For anyone who invested not only financially in this library, but also the time needed to integrate a new library into an existing set up, this is a profound disappointment. But seemingly remains consistent with Spitfire's overall philosophy which seems to be to rush out a product as quickly as possible, skimp on quality control and move as quickly as possible onto the next shiny new thing...

Been using LABS for quite some time. This will be my first "purchase". Giddy. !!

Since this was a big question mark to me I love to find this video which explained very well the differences and use cases. Thanks for that. I do not like the UI of Kontakt, everything is small and you cannot zoom. I would like to know if there are plans to spend the UI for Albion One in the style of BBCSO/Abbey Road (=dedicated plugin)? I think it would enhance the Albion One Library a lot.

I can see this being an ideal gateway library to get ideas down fast, then expanding them in BBCSO for nuance. Can’t wait! Thanks for this comparison. It answered a lot of queries that I had. 😁🎵

Christian, thanks for the explanation. Looking at all the Spitfire Libraries is becoming somewhat confusing given some of their overlaps in features. My concern with the Abbey Road One library is that the initial explanations seemed like you were leaving the Albion One and BBCSO libraries in the dust. As you mentioned, all of these libraries carry a high investment cost. As a customer, I am concerned when I make significant investments with a company only to have them discontinue products that were recently purchase. The same is true for purchasing a product that has no enhancement or upgrade future. It would be good to have a road map for your existing products that could be shared with your customers. Also, given the explanation you provided in the video above, it would be good if you could provide more write-ups of where the product it fits in your software portfolio and what would be some of the best applications in using the library for individual projects (as you did in this video).

I do love the new additions to AR1 , but what I would really love (and happily pay for) is just simply adding legato patches to the sections . Then AR1 would become unbeatable imo.

whould be awesome an upcoming update for BBCSO that includes piano and choirs

This IS the video we were waiting for. Much appreciated.

Christian, thanks so much! This is BRILLIANT and answers the questions we all had so well and with so much clarity.

Thanks for explaining the differences, very helpful and informative. Will you be giving Albion ONE its own player in future upgrades rather than sticking with Kontakt player? Can’t wait to see where this fabulous journey takes us. So exciting.

Great explanation and much appreciated. It was touch and go for a while that I had forked out for BBC SSO Core only for Abbey 1 to turn up - but your explanation confirmed/validated my purpose and choice. BUT this could have ended in tears so, a) can we trade versions (within a reasonable timeframe) b) try before we buy (I went with Discovery for a couple of months to road test my own limitations) and finally c) could you not share in advance your road map (if not then a) becomes more relevant) to avoid the heart palpitations Thanks again and keep up the great work PS Please consider an old farts discount as well as students and teachers! - need to stretch the pension pennies as far as possible these days! Thanks!

I used this video to go with AR1. Loving it so far!

This was super helpful! Thanks for clarifying things and especially talking about mixing things at the end.

Thanks for going through these 3 libraries. I always felt Albion one too pop lush being a trumpet and cornet player younger. Then I got the symphony studio entrance and that was too harsh even reverbing and hall corrected. And finally could buy bbcsopro New Year’s Eve made me damn happy and now seeing this video I now know I made right decision to get bbcsopro. Keep going strong Christian.

The vst that you use is so amazing. I never want to use Kontakt again when I have the opportunity to use a Spitfire Plugin.

Are there any plans to put the orchestra diagram as available UI for the core/pro editions. it seems such a streamlined, intuitive UI with no loss of power, why not use it throughout (its is because "professionals" think they are being patronised?)

I'm not a composer, nor am I a musician, but I dabble and find the ability to dabble good.

Are there any plans to record individual instruments for Abbey Road like you did for BBCSO?

Thanks for the breakdown. I can certainly now see why someone might want the choice between BBC or Abbey Road now. I'm glad to hear you will be updating BBC too. If I could make a request it would be to include some soft horns/brass into the articulations, it's really the only thing I can see that's missing from the library.

I jinxed this! I just commented on Dan Keen’s film asking for a BBCSO/Albion/Abbey Road comparison, and 10 minutes later....!

Thank you for making this video, I got lost already in these products.

I hope the piano for BBCSO (if it happens) is for the BBC Core as well.

Looking forward to explore world of BBC Discover and very tempting to buy Abbey Road ONE at once, despite the fact half an hour ago I was sure to buy Albion ONE! Thanks for useful video!

so excited to start working with Abbey Road One!!, thank you for creating such incredible resources for composers. I feel like libraries like these open a whole new world of possibilities :)

I'm most attracted to orchestration as a way to find my unique voice. The toolset I'm seeking is a complete set of solo and section symphonic instruments that blend well. From what's been said here, BBCSO is the closest to my aspiration; however, I understand it is missing some commonly used instruments such as english horn, muted brass, and others that have been mentioned. The ensemble concept doesn't appeal to me so while I'm happy to hear that you'll be adding more sessions to the Abbey Road collection, I'm concerned that the timeframe and final price of an Abbey Road full orchestra will be forever out of reach for me. My wish would be for a volume two of BBCSO, and a single bundle offered that would bring a complete pro orchestra within reach. I will be watching this space in the hopes of someday being able to work with these tools.

Thanks for making it easy to decide which plug in would work with my style of writing! Excellent video!

A detailed and brilliant presentation on what has been one of my greatest curiosities in implementing a variety of orchestral packages on a given project. Thank you for your clarity and valuable information, Christian!

Very helpful and inspiring! The videos you and Paul and the others at Spitfire are making truly make a difference. It is especially nice how you spend so much time with your audience and manifest a very personal approach in them. Almost creating a family-like atmosphere :). It actually encourages me to make an investment, too, both in terms of money, learning and supporting the work spiritually. Thank you!

Absolutely fantastic! Thank you soooo much for your very informative analysis of each of these marvelous sound libraries! Very helpful in finding my own voice and unique “sound”

20:08 Preset named "Concert Hall Vienna". As a Dutch, I'm proud that Pro-R is your favourite reverb.

Spitfire has earned my respect and loyalty. Now I am just making videos as a pass time. Once I make some cash I will definitely buy the Core version

I just acquired Orchestral foundations! I love it. I’m exited to see what direction the project takes!

Thanks for this, Christian! It answered every question I had! Looking forward to what's coming in the future!

This video just made me feel even more impatient to download my copy tomorrow 👍

LEGATO for abbey roads asap please, please!! Even as a paid bundle 49 dollars, we need it to work well please. Thank you guys❤️

watching my inbox for Abbey Rd to drop today!

All of them are top quality. Hats down to all of Spitfire Audio team !

You are so fantastic! You can inspire and give us the questions and answers that we are looking for. Now I want to buy them all!! :)

When will you be adding legato patches to the sections? this is extremely important for any option. thanks!

Thank you so much for all theses answers !! I pre-ordered the Abbeyroad One, I look foreward to get it tomorrow :D. I listened all your answers and I am still study the orchestration. As it has been announced, Abbeyroad one is the first pack of multiple other soundbanks which is coming, do you know if in the futur we would be able to use instruments one by one like the BBC SO ? Thanks to Spitfire for their job, thanks a lot for that very interesting video. Keep going guys :D !

Very interesting .. as a former DnB Artist with a couple of Releases in Germany and the UK back in the Days i have done String Sets sometimes After a Break i reactivated and upgraded my Studio now and i am working on new orchestral and Scoring music atm Thank you Christian for this summary .. i think ill have closer Look on Albion for my needs Cheers from Cologne.. Andreas aka Canoma

I need both! Abbey Road One and BBCSO!

The Abby pre-order allows us to pick one of two packs to be released next year. Do those split out the individual instruments? Right now, BBCSO is my only viable option (among those) because I’m an orchestrator. But if the Abby sections and solos were to be available soon, I’d be on board. “Years” is a little scary, though. I can’t be slogging on with ew for years until Abby Road has individual string parts.

Sir, the cinematic drums of Albion One, can I achieve those in Abbey Road?

Thank you Christian, as always perfectly explained! Albion and BBC already in the box, now to splash out on Abbey Road 1 and 2. Hours of fun. Thanks for the great discounts.

When will you be adding legato articulations to the strings section ? will this be early next year also? Thanks Shaun

BBCSO Core. hope you would add some articulations to strings bowed legato, runs measured tremolo, muted brass, add extended woodwinds Bass Clarinet, English Horn etc.

I get that BBC SO is distinguished here from the others by focus on *seperate* sections & ORCHESTRATION - *BUT!* - all the same - please add some ENSEMBLE patches/instruments for my £600+ BBC SO so it can be useful to sketch ideas polyphonically before moving to a full arrangement. Specially for users new to Spitfire products who BBC SO as their FIRST big orch library like me.

Hi Christian, I've got all the Albion library plus more Spitfire Audio stuff, so I'm a loyal customer. I understand all the changes you are doing (leaving Kontakt format for your own format), and the effort of recording in different rooms. But I have to say that I hardly understand what's going on from the "music production point of view". Rooms are different, number of mics, room decay is slightly longer or shorter, but it doesn't really tickle (me) to buy any of the new thing, cos sonically and fm the articulations point of view, are so similar that it's hard to understand who's who. Albion One, BBC one, Abbey Road, Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, Spitfire Studio Orchestra. Kind of similar roast cooked in different pans, quite complicated to choose which one and why. Albion always had a keyboard approach if compared with classic libraries, fine, but apart from that, I've to tell you that even with the finances available to buy right now a "new one", I'll be very confused, sorry. A bizarre thing: it's just a matter of personal taste but one of the Albion lib I use quite often, cos its difference on orchestral size, unique brass and wind, and basically overall different sound (Albion II Loegria), it's not even listed on the Spitfire Audio website anymore. Anyway, always looking forward to new Spitfire Audio release. Best …

A really measured response to the questions posed. Very much in that detailed orchestration camp so looking forward to what is on the horizon for Abbey Road in the future.

I bought Abbey Road One and I love the sound BUT....I approach my orchestrations with each instrument separately... So I really couldn't get separate woodwinds...I would like to have flute and clarinet as separate sample groups. Also violins and violas separated. It seems I have bought the wrong library. The horns work fairly well...I could get trumpets, french horns , and trombones separately. I watched videos previously but I didn't quite understand the concept.

smart, intelligent, and quite brilliant demonstration of some quite amazing products. Ambitious company with real integrity and future planning I have come across - up there with Universal audio in my books. Thanks for some great work all.

Wonderful, hearable (if there is such a word), not so subtle differences. Wish I could afford all three to put into my Logic playuground. (At age 79, that;s what I use all sounds for -- play, not pro.)

This a great vidéo, Thank you Christian ! This topic is so important an so well treated there (apart the nouns say a bit too fast for foreign people, you could insert the bank logo in the picture for us to know what bank you are speak about sometimes) that it should deserve a special page on the spitfire audio website and links to it on every sound bank pages because newcomers and even longtimers should know what was you purpose when creating these marvelous banks ! (The two handed or not is so crucial, to only cite one...) With your philosophy in mind, it's much more easy to know what bank to start and what bank to buy after. GREAT CONTENT ! THANKS !

Use 0:00 for the first time stamp so it shows up on the video's chapters

Can't wait for the modular version! 🤓😍🎉

Talk about having fun at your job. Spitfire should do more comparison videos for all their products.

I hope Spitfire will supply this year: An ensemble patch for BBCSO, faster loading times for their GUI. Perhaps some more features such as EQ's would be a useful addition. Could the interface possibly be made quicker to navigate directly to all articulations and mic positions without trawling through several clicks.

Well, from a consumer's point of view isn't it far better to get a library with a minimal or none of a room reverberation added to the instrument sound. I need the instrument only. And can add reverberation later (and have full control over it). If I need.

Looking forward to downloading my pre-ordered AR1 tomorrow! Then hoping for BBCSO Core on Black Friday :)

Excellent video! Thanks for the valuable comparison and examples.

Just ordered my copy! Stoked.

You explained everything in a great and clear way.. Thank you very much

Great video , very helpfull in order to choose a product, thanks spitfire

Thank you Christian for these explanations : very much appreciated 👏I have the full SSO packages and enjoying orchestration, mostly writing music, so what would be your advice ? to stick to SSO ? Do you plan to release AR with individual instruments & detailed articulations as in SSO ? because I really like how it sounds.

Quick question is that FabFilter reverb added to already wet signals or to dry (with less of the Abbey Roads etc room sound)?

Are all the Albion versions (one, neo etc) nks? Do these versions supported by komplete kontrol software and hardware?

Really excellent video. Thank you so much for all of the details!

Composer Christian again thanks so very much for your insights on your wonderful products from SpitFire! I will be investing/purchasing the BBC Symphony, Albion Symphony & the Abey Road Symphony sampling software libraries for my songwriting and film scoring projects. Long Live SpitFire Audio!! Much continued success with all of you musical works. You've got God's Greatness within you my fellow Artist!!

Love BBSCO, but I'm finding that I need some aggressive brass, given that the brass in BBSCO were recorded at lower dynamics. I was looking at the grand brass section of Abbey Road, especially as it seems to also work as a standalone and, at that price, it would be perfect, but from what I have heard, that also doesn't seem to be specifically for loud/aggressive brass.

Would love to use any of these plugins! Unfortunately, I don't have the money. Some day, perhaps.

Christian keeps mentioning he's a DnB producer, come on share your tunes mate, I'm keen to hear them!

thank you for such a powerful library rieview...

This video was much needed. It clarified the position on where each product sits and helps us determine which to go for according to our needs and wants. Thanks Christian. I purchased Albion One just a few days ago (just love the sound of it) but I’ve gone and emptied the wallet again on Abbey Road One and the two new modules which are absolutely awesome.

It really looks like Spitfire is selling the same things again and again and again, the difference being the room. It looks loke Spitfire spends 0 $ on R&D on sampling. Any research on which and how many pieces, existing or to create, in order for musicians to capture most, if not all notes to sample in a natural and musical way? Any r&d on software rendering much better musical parts with as little midi as possible, by studying how most pieces are rendered by the best musicians based on partitions only?

This is like comparing fine wines. Its all in the nuances.

really great video, helped clarify a lot of things for me :)

Any recomendation for a person (me) who owns the entire Metropolis Ark bundle,East West Opus diamond orchestra,Hollywood Choirs etc among others?....

Many thanks for addressing the ever present "will it mix well?" question!

Thanks Christian, a very well put together comparison of the 3 libraries. I have 2 of them and i always use Albion ONE with BBCSO and i will also use Abbey Road ONE with them when i get it. Each one has it's own characteristics so using them together just makes sense. I look forward to when i get Abbey Road ONE, it does sound very powerful :)

I'd like to see a string ensemble patch added to BBCSO. My perfect package would be BBCSO, but with separate instruments instead of one solo and an ensemble. i.e. flute 1, 2 and 3. Kind of like Orchestral Tools have done.