Collaborating with names such as Tom Holkenborg, Harry Gregson-Williams, and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Orchestral Tools is a small, independent company whose instruments are used by A-list Hollywood composers and underground Berlin up-and-comers alike. When it comes to capturing orchestral music, there aren’t many locations in the world that can compete with Teldex Studio, situated in Berlin. Boasting ideal acoustics for orchestral recordings, it is the largest independent recording facility in Germany, and with a 455-square-metre live room it is almost the same size as Abbey Road’s Studio One.

The relationship between Orchestral Tools and Teldex began in 2012 when the first installation of the Berlin Series ‘Woodwinds’ was recorded there. Since then, Teldex Studio has become the sonic home for Orchestral Tools, and has allowed it to reach new levels of orchestral sampling, delivering rich, detailed, and flexible instrument collections that will add new depth to symphonic compositions. As well as this, the studio has possibly the largest collection of vintage Neumann microphones in the world, making it the perfect space for recording orchestral collections.

Recorded in Studio III at LA’s Sunset Sound studios, Gearbox offers lively percussion set with various drums, tambourine, claps, congas, and more. Gearbox is a versatile collection of body percussion and studio percussion instruments, expertly performed and played by multi-instrumentalist Aaron Williams of Aaron’s Grooves.

Gearbox can be accessed through the free SINEfactory library.

Producing inspiring sounds for composers, LABS plugins are created with sonic pioneers such as Hans Zimmer, and the world’s finest musicians and studios. LABS is a series of free software instruments that are presented by Spitfire Audio, and available in an easy-to-use, dedicated plug-in. The user interface is clutter-free and focused, and features simplified controls, sliders for expression and dynamics, and a knob that can be easily customised to the user’s personal workflow.

The Classic Synths plugin is a versatile toolbox of rare and iconic vintage synths, including a MOOG Minimoog, ARP Quadra, Sequential Pro-One, and a Roland Juno 60. Explore a range of unstable, wave-like pads, characterful bass sounds, and short, noisy plucks — all tweak-able with onboard filter and reverb controls.

Initially starting as a one-man show, the u-he company has been designing synths and effects since 2001. It now consists of a team of dedicated developers, musicians, designers, and creators, whose many viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences provide it with a rich, dynamic landscape. u-he’s plugins have the depth to satisfy the most discerning musicians, composers, and producers. The company also boasts an active and passionate group of customers and fans. This community is a place where users can get inspired or learn something new. 

TyrellN6 is a compact, sporty synth, and is a manifestation of concepts and ideas around hardware synths. The name Tyrell comes from a project by the German online magazine Amazona.de, where the plugin is exclusively available for download. Following a reader-survey in late 2010, a pool of ideas for a low-cost hardware analogue synth was compiled, and this was used by Mic ‘Moogulator’ Irmer to develop a powerful concept.

It was to be based on a design similar to Roland’s classic Juno 60 — where a few modules and novel features could be added without making the product too expensive — however, it soon became obvious that the hardware would have taken years to develop. U-he boss Urs then offered to turn the core design into a freeware soft-synth. A few weeks later TyrellN6 was out for beta testing, and after some bug-fixing and fine tuning the final release version was made available in April 2011.

To download TyrellN6, go to the Amazona TyrellN6 page. https://www.amazona.de/freeware-synthesizer-tyrell-n6-plugin-vst-au-win-mac/

Features:

• Virtual analogue with classic architecture plus extras
• 2 oscillators, noise, ring modulator
• 2 LFOs with 8 waveforms, host-syncable
• Audio source mixer with authentic overdrive and filter feedback
• Twin filter related to Diva (early model)
• Analogue-type ADSR envelopes, loopable or LFO-triggered
• Skinnable UI
• Over 580 factory presets

Producing inspiring sounds for composers, LABS plugins are created with sonic pioneers such as Hans Zimmer, and the world’s finest musicians and studios. LABS is a series of free software instruments that are presented by Spitfire Audio, and available in an easy-to-use, dedicated plug-in. The user interface is clutter-free and focused, and features simplified controls, sliders for expression and dynamics, and a knob that can be easily customised to the user’s personal workflow.

Housed in the prestigious Woodshed Recording studios in Malibu, this Yamaha C6 grand has been graced by hundreds of musical legends — from Lady Gaga, Paul Simon, Ariana Grande and Barbera Streisand, to Metallica, The Rza, and KoRn. Featuring just one preset, enjoy this piano in all its natural splendour, with pedal up/down controls and faithfully captured release triggers.

Pianobook is a community of composers, producers, and music makers connected together through a shared love of music creation. Founded by Christian Henson (co-founder of Spitfire Audio) in 2018, the site has now grown to over 1000 free virtual instruments and offers offering a huge catalogue of inspirational sounds.

The database is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers but with the whole community contributing at large by creating and sharing musical demos of the different instruments so users can browse sounds. After the launch it soon became clear that not everyone was in a position to have an access to a piano so the team decided to open the flood gates to all ‘instruments’ — from poorly played flutes to fire extinguishers.

The Pianobook community has come together to create the World’s Biggest Braaam. Samples collected across the globe have been packaged into both Kontakt and Decent Sampler formats so that everyone can easily use this incredible creation made by the community. The Kontakt version incorporates an adjustable ‘moon’ macro knob with unique processors and presets specific to the two versions, while the Decent Sampler version allows the user to fine tune parameters such as Drive, Reverb, and Tremolo.