OUT NOW: Ólafur Arnalds Cells

Mercury

Mercury samples fourteen unique acoustic sculptures. Explore over 600+ textures, tones, and pads—organic and synthesised in Solar, our new eDNA-powered plug-in.

  • Overview
  • Listen
  • Walkthrough
  • What's included
  • Tech specs
  • Unearthly sounds from Hollywood's secret weapon

    Mercury samples fourteen one-of-a-kind acoustic sculptures, hand-crafted by Hollywood’s premier instrument designer, Chas Smith. These creations painted the unearthly soundscapes of Dune and Interstellar, sang heroic anthems for Man of Steel and The Hunger Games, and textured terrors throughout the Saw film franchise.

    All told, this collection delivers 600+ textures, tones, and pads—organic and synthesised in Solar, our new eDNA-powered plug-in.

    • Hard drive delivery available at checkout
    • You can buy now and download any time

    Our dedicated plugin

    300 presets

    Dedicated plugin

    672 unique sounds

    eDNA interface

    Listen to Mercury

    Mercury only

    Mercury only

    No single human being would be crazy enough to design an instrument as illogical as this.

    Hans Zimmer

    Merucry Instrument
    The structures and materials used to build Mercury instruments

    Mercury was built with the idea that truly unique instruments should sound organic, not artificial. A bespoke collection of the most amazing, transcendent, and haunting musical textures and tones that you will ever find.

    Chas Smith has managed to create artistic evocative metallic sculptures that also happen to be the secret ingredient in the iconic scores of Hans Zimmer's Interstellar, Dune and Dunkirk, and in Charlie Clouser’s Saw

    Interstellar
    Dune
    Jigsaw
    Dunkirk

    Mercury’s Solar Orbit

    This library combines two dynamic forces: Mercury and Solar. One, a collection of pure, organic sounds; the other, a tool for reinventing them. The most up-to-date iteration of our eDNA technology, Solar is the host to Mercury’s organic ethereal samples and the eDNAs extensive warp and preset library.

    Mercury GUI
    Mercury Gui 01 Block

    Chas’ instruments have been a crucial part of the sonic landscape of all of my film scores, and although I’m a little sad that I will no longer have him all to myself, I am thrilled that he has finally succumbed to years of urging on my part and has at long last collaborated with Spitfire Audio

    Charlie Clouser

    Metallic material

    Jupiter by Trevor Horn

    Jupiter samples Trevor Horn’s personal collection of drums, synths, bass, piano and FX. Curated and processed by the iconic pop producer and hosted in our eDNA synth engine Solar, this library allows you to seamlessly blend the otherworldly textures of Chas Smith with Trevor Horn’s pop production expertise. 

    Left: A Mercury instrument. Right: Chas working on the instrument.

    Chas Smith is the KING of real-world acoustic sonic experimentation. He does things the hard way, and the results speak for themselves. His experience is unmatched, his imagination is boundless, and the combination of his diverse talents is superhuman. Due to his position in the timeline of history, it would simply not be possible for any living human to duplicate his journey or his results.  

    Chas wasn’t always a hotshot Hollywood musician. He started out as a union welder and fabricator, metalworking for the film industry, and received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement for the structural engineering of the Bulldog Motion Control Camera Crane. From Cal Arts to Image G, from Subotnick to Budd, from pedal steel to welding steel, his talents, influences, and abilities are truly one-of-a-kind.

    Left: Chas' workshop. Right: A Mercury instrument.

    What's included

    Instruments

    Bertoia

    Inconel rods with aluminium resonators on a turbine blade. Inspired by Harry Bertoia. 

    • Bowed 1
    • Bowed 2
    • Bowed 3
    • Bowed 4
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2
    • Texture 3
    • Texture 4
    • Texture 5
    • Texture 6

    Dado

    Machined steel plates that can spin over pickups.

    • Bowed 1
    • Hits 1
    • Scrape 1
    • Spin 1
    • Spin 2
    • Spin 3
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2

    Towers

    9 titanium rods, tuned to be “friendly" with each other, with titanium plates welded on each end.

    • Bells 1
    • Bells 2
    • Drone 1
    • Drone 2
    • Hits 1
    • Bowed 1
    • Ambience 1
    • Roll 1
    • Scrape 1
    • Spin 1

    Lockheed

    Titanium parts welded into a structure and a titanium sheet for the resonator.

    • Hits 1
    • Hits 2
    • Hits 3
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2
    • Texture 3
    • Texture 4
    • Texture 5
    • Texture 6
    • Texture 7
    • Bowed 1
    • Bowed 2

    Mantis

    Titanium parts welded into a suspended structure that rotate.

    • Hits 1
    • Hits 2
    • Hits 3
    • Hits 4
    • Hits 5
    • Scrape 1
    • Scrape 2
    • Swells
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2
    • Texture 3
    • Texture 4
    • Texture 5

    Copper Box

    Rods, plates and a folded horn resonator. Each rod is 36” long and the helix of rods continues under the resonator plates.

    • Bowed 1
    • Bowed 2
    • Bowed 3
    • Bowed 4
    • Ambience 1
    • Hits 1
    • Hits 2
    • Hits 3
    • Rolls
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2

    Paraboloid

    A titanium sheet with added rods.

    • Fingernails
    • Bowed 1
    • Bowed 2
    • Bowed 3
    • Hits 1
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2

    The Pez Eater

    Tuned steel rods and pickups.

    • Drone 1
    • Drone 2
    • Drone 3
    • Drone 4
    • Bowed 1
    • Hits 1

    Sceptre

    Saw blades, plates and things that can rotate.

    • Spin 1
    • Hits 1
    • Bowed 1
    • Bowed 2
    • Bowed 3
    • Bowed 4
    • Bowed 5

    AD

    Springs welded to the saw blades and stacked over pick-ups. 

    • Hits 1
    • Hits 2
    • Hits 3
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2

    Bass Tweed

    Rods, a plate and strings, mounted over resonators.

    • Bend 1
    • Bend 2
    • Long 1
    • Long 2
    • Long 3
    • Texture 1

    Que Lastas

    Stainless steel sheet suspended by nylon chords combined with bass strings from a grand piano.

    • Bowed 1
    • Bowed 2
    • Bowed 3
    • Bowed 4
    • Bowed 5
    • Texture 1


    Sonic experiments

    Using various types of metals, such as Aluminium, Titanium and Stainless Steel.

    Aluminium 

    • Hits 1
    • Hits 2
    • Hits 3
    • Texture 1
    • Texture 2

    Ti & SS

    • Hits 1
    • Hits 2
    • Texture 1
    • Waves 1
    • Waves 2
    • Scrape 1


    Warps

    Core

    The raw sounds as they were recorded

    Awash

    Layers of reverbs diffuse the sound and create lush atmospheres.

    Cascade

    Chains of delays create evolving textures with just a hint of rhythm.

    Destruct

    Eurorack and outboard units saturate and destroy.

    Molecule

    Granular effects completely rearrange and recombine the sound.

    Weight

    A series of sound design techniques and effects augment the low-end of the sounds

    Testimonials

    Many of these instruments produce sounds that are all but synonymous with films like Saw and Dune, and there’s no doubt that they perfectly capture the other-worldly sound of the supernatural or the extra-terrestrial

    Whether it is scoring horror, spicing up EDM compositions, or just seeking out an organic texture that’s unlike anything[...]Mercury presents a set of tools and sounds that immediately can serve as a launching point for your compositions.

    Sound Bytes Magazine

    Perfect for sci‑fi, fantasy, psychological dramas and imaginative horror productions, this strangely affecting library explores the outer reaches of resonant metallic overtones. In addition to reverberant clangs and monumental industrial noises, Mercury also excels at quiet, eerie and mysterious textures.

    FAQs

    Is the Kepler Mercury engine the same as this product?

    No, this library does not share any sounds, and contains all new content from Chas Smith.


    Why can't I see a 'Mercury' plugin in my DAW?

    This library is housed in our new Solar plugin, so instead of seeing a 'Mercury' plugin, you will need to select the 'Solar' plugin in your plugin list. 

    Read more FAQs for this product

    Tech specs

    Mac system requirements

    Mac OS X 10.15 to OS 13

    Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 minimum (quad-core), 8GB RAM

    Recommended: 2.8GHz I7 (six-core), 16GB RAM

    Both Intel and Apple Silicon/ARM are supported

    32-bit systems are not supported.

    PC system requirements

    Windows 10 or Windows 11 - (Latest Service Pack, 64-bit)

    Minimum: Intel 2.8 GHz i5 (quad-core) or AMD Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM

    Recommended: Intel Core i7 6th gen and later or AMD Ryzen 7, 16GB RAM

    32-bit systems are not supported.

    File size

    ~762 samples

    8.2 GB download size

    8.29 GB disk space required during install

    Mercury sounds great with…