Housed in the Museo Del Violini in the Italian city of Cremona – where traffic was literally brought to a halt to keep noise down during the recording sessions – and dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, the Stradivari ‘Vesuvius’ violin and ‘Stauffer’ cello, Amati ‘Stauffer’ violin and Guarneri ‘Prince Doria’ viola are provided as four separate solo instruments (averaging around 25GB each), rather than a single pre-blended NKI, for independent programming and editing. Produced by e-instruments, this sublime Kontakt Player library puts an exquisitely detailed chamber quartet at your beck and call, built on multisamples of “four of the world’s most valuable string instruments”. It might cost a fair bit, but you won’t find string sounds of such extreme scale anywhere else.

Hans Zimmer Strings sounds every bit as vast and cinematic as you’d hope, but is actually at its most impressive when that formidable density and depth are turned to less titanic sounds – sustained atmospheres, textural beds, dramatic builds, etc. Speaking of articulations, there are 147 of them, going far beyond the expected sustains, legatos and pizzicatos and into a wealth of expressive techniques and effects, including Con Sord, Sul Tasto, Flautando and Tremolo Harmonic Waves. At launch, it was also one of the first Spitfire libraries to run in the company’s own proprietary engine, rather than Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player, and the no-frills interface makes the instrument admirably easy to use, with its Expression and Dynamic sliders, assignable ‘big knob’ (Reverb, Vibrato, Tightness or Release), and straightforward Mixer and articulation switcher.

In every sense the biggest string library ever made, Spitfire’s Zimmer-endorsed instrument comprises a string orchestra of 140 violins, 40 violas, 140 cellos and 24 double basses, captured (at AIR Studios, no less) in over 366,000 samples across 26 mic channels, and weighing in at a drive-busting 251GB.

Kontakt string library