Recording - January 2018 - 35

performance tips for making convincing
tracks. There are also pop-up bubbles
available within the user interface for
quick tips on more advanced functions.
In the Percussion Professional package,
you have the option of wandering into
some of the alternative subfolders. There
you will find that the UI morphs to support
more or fewer microphones, alternate
key mappings (including mappings for
NI Maschine users), and different combinations of instruments. There are also
'multi' setups that give you access to
more sophisticated Kontakt layouts. But
everything about this system is wired to
keep you focused on playability and the
flexibility of the sound recordings.

The sound and the fury

The sounds themselves are that special level of quality that I call "Spitfire
good." The range of the instrumentation-from Low Boom drums to the
clanking anvils-is so complete that it
could serve as an education in cinematic drum production. Individual hits
and rolls are combined with ensemble
recordings in a way that seem to be
directly connected to your touch. You
can also control playback responsiveness, which gives you the option of
playing quiet hits loudly, or from an artificially long distance away. The room
dynamics are spectacular, with close,
room and "surround" (which Spitfire
describes as rear-mounted) mics available for all sounds, and additional mics
(such as 'bottle', gallery, overheads,
and PZM recordings) available in the
Professional package.
As we've seen with other Spitfire libraries, the attention to recording detail
is what can make great sample libraries
shine, and this is no exception. The
sounds are meticulously recorded, with
phenomenal microphone selection and
placement. You're given the tools to mix
mic combinations (or even automate

them) to achieve the perfect sound. This
is especially important with this library,
since the nature of percussive sounds
means that the room is an active part of
the overall instrument sound. By combining a great room (at London's Air Studios), a spectacular mic collection,
and a pristine recording chain
(recorded through Neve preamps into
mastering-quality converters), the Hans
Zimmer collection puts an amazing set
of recordings under your fingertips.
But there is more than that: the level of
detail put into dynamics, mapping and
in-your-hands flexibility means that you
can get great results immediately, but still
have a ton of options for post-performance
tweaking. I especially appreciated the wide
dynamic range of some of the instruments;
lightly caressing the paper djuns or alternating between ensemble and solo tombeks,
I found more expressiveness in this percussion library than any other I've tried.
I also was entranced by some of the
additional mic options available in the
Professional package. The PZM mics
provided a completely different view
of both the drum and the space, while
the overheads seemed to manage just
the right balance of presence and openness. While all the additional recordings
greatly add to the size of the library,
there is a huge increase in flexibility that
comes with these extra sources.

Conclusion

There isn't much more I can say about
the quality of this library; it is so good that
it is easy to lose yourself in just testing out
all the variations of instruments, ensemble options, strike types, and mappings.
While it might seem extravagant to devote a lot of time, money, and computer
resources for a percussion library, working with the Hans Zimmer Percussion or
Percussion Professional instruments will
change your perspective... and maybe
change the way you make music!

Delivery: Download (132 GB) or shipped hard drive ($79 extra)
Formats: Windows 7+ or macOS 10.8+, Native Instruments Kontakt or Kontakt Player (latest

version recommended)
Copy Protection: serial number authorization via NI Service Center
Licensing: Sounds can be used royalty-free in original music recordings; no resale or repackaging in products for resale permitted
Documentation: inline contextual help, online user manual and resources/videos
Price: $599
More from: Spitfire Audio, www.spitfireaudio.com

RECORDING January 2018

http://www.royerlabs.com http://www.spitfireaudio.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2018