Spitfire Symphonic Extras

Home /
Experimental /
Spitfire Symphonic Extras

Add depth to your orchestral toolkit with rare and inspiring instruments

Symphonic Extras is a treasure trove of unique sounds that elevate your sound design above and beyond the palette of a typical orchestra. A celebration of the path less travelled, this collection explores unconventional sound sources that colour your compositions with intriguing timbres and textures, while pushing the boundaries of traditional instruments.

This remarkable suite of tuned percussion spans the metallic resonance of the Aluphone and Cimbalom to the haunting whispers of the Hg2O waterphone. Explore an experimental collection of Scraped Percussion (including a bowed bicycle wheel), as well as innovative takes on a prepared Piano, Steel Drums and, and the delicate beauty of a baroque Harpsichord.

Masterfully recorded in AIR’s Lyndhurst Hall by London’s first-call session musicians, this library perfectly complements the Albion range or Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, all instruments sharing the same stunning acoustics that have been heard on countless film scores.

Delve into a range of unconventional and extraordinary instruments that spark your most creative arrangements.

In this page:

Listen
Walkthrough
What's included
Tech specs

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

Students & educators save 30%

Download user manual

Includes Kontakt Player (free download)

Compatible with NKS

Spitfire Audio App required

91 presets

Tuned and untuned percussion

Kontakt Player

Listen to Spitfire Symphonic Extras

Harpsichord

An immaculately maintained baroque harpsichord, expertly played by Steven Devine. Explore a full complement of registrations, capturing every nuance of this captivating instrument.

Plucked Piano

Discover unique tones and experimental techniques with this prepared piano, performed by Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson. Equally as useful for tuned percussion sounds as it is as an organic string synthesiser, its long ringout, especially in the bass notes, adds a long, low tension to your compositions. Switch between tape and digital signals for added sonic flexibility.

Steel Drums

Another virtuoso of percussion, Frank Ricotti is recorded here with an immaculate performance of the Steel Drums, showcasing a wide range of textures from hauntingly beautiful soft layers through to searing metallic bite. As featured in Cliff Martinez’ superb score for the film Solaris, these instruments have been performed with some of the overtones gently restrained, capturing a familiar but distinct representation to the sound.

Aluphone

A truly unique and mesmerising instrument conjured from a row of tuned Aluminium bells and performed by legendary percussionist Paul Clarvis. This enchanting addition to the mallet family offers a magical, metallic texture, adding a touch of the extraordinary to your scores.

Cimbalom

This shimmering, spine-tingling tuned percussion instrument used in Hollywood scores for its mysterious, sinister sound, the Cimbalom can cut through the orchestra with its distinctive tone. The cimbalom, a type of concert hammered dulcimer, was popularised in part by composers like Kodály and Stravinsky and is now a film scoring staple for adding texture. This collection was performed by renowned player Greg Knowles (The Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings).

Scraped Percussion

A family of progressive, unconventional percussive sounds, created using imaginatively played percussion instruments and objects (including the Bicycle Wheel and Polystyrene Cup!) – scraped, rubbed, bowed and brushed by Paul Clarvis. A wonderful collection of exceptionally unusual percussion noises, Paul has explored each object and instrument.

This collection of extraordinary sounds gives a wealth of organic, real world content that I use regularly - both to expand the sound world of the orchestra with interesting substitutions, such as the Aluphone in place of the Celeste or Glockenspiel, or the Plucked Piano instead of the Harp - but also to add otherworldly sound design to my tracks.

Paul Thomson

Hg20

Lastly, Hg2O is Spitfire’s take on the Waterphone, a classic percussion instrument played by Paul Clarvis. While it earns its keep as a mainstay of vintage horror scores, we go beyond the tropes to reveal its inspirational beauty. The resonator is filled with water to give a vibrant, ethereal sound, which we sampled in detail, capturing both bowed and drummed performances, with and without movement. The resonant characteristics of the bowl and rods in combination with the movement of the water immediately evoke mystery and suspense, and the water level can be controlled for a dynamic range of sonic possibilities.

AIR Lyndhurst Hall

The Crown, Dune, The Zone of Interest, James Bond, Interstellar, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter, Call of Duty—all these scores were recorded in Lyndhurst Hall at London’s AIR Studios, Spitfire Audio’s spiritual home and a room where blockbuster scores are born. Architecturally unique, the acoustic properties of the interior of Lyndhurst Hall are renowned globally, loved by composers and musicians alike.

There is a gentle reverberation in the room that adds beauty to anything played there. The sound produced by a soloist, or a full symphonic orchestra expands and blooms inside the space, a truly versatile palette giving access to a range of textures from delicate and intimate to thunderous and epic.