USER MANUAL

BBC SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
CORE
CONTENTS

Introduction 3
Welcome 4
Downloading & Installing 5
The Spitfire App Preferences 6
The Dedicated Plugin 7
Have A Look Around 8
Preset Selector 10
Main Controls 12
Technique Selector 13
Effects 15
Technique Editor 16
Top Menu 17
The String Section 18
The Brass Section 21
The Woodwind Section 22
Recording the BBC SO 23
Techniques 24
Appendix A - FAQ and Troubleshooting 27
Appendix B - Techniques/Mics/Mixes 31
Appendix C - Default CC Mappings 36

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 2 USER MANUAL

INTRODUCTION

In partnership with BBC Studios and the world-famous BBC Symphony

Orchestra, Spitfire Audio has captured what no other sample library has
before: the musical synergy of a family of astoundingly accomplished players
with a 90-year heritage of performances and recordings, expertly recorded
at London’s famous Maida Vale Studios — home of the BBCSO, and host to
The Beatles, Hendrix and Bowie. Our most expansive and ambitious project
to date, this landmark library is the stuff of composing dreams: strings, brass,
woodwind and percussion, presented in our award-winning dedicated plugin.

The Core edition has been curated to offer our acclaimed BBC Symphony
Orchestra in a smaller, streamlined package, featuring a large selection of
instruments performing the full range of articulations, with one mix signal
— interchangeable with our Discover and Professional editions through our
groundbreaking mode-switching technology.

QUICK SPECS
MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
• Mac OS X 10.10 - Mac OS 12 • Disk space required: 26 GB
• Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 (quad-core), 8GB
RAM • Disk space required during install: 26 GB
• Recommended: 2.8GHz i7 (six-core), 16GB
RAM • 305 Techniques
• Apple Silicon Supported (v.1.4.0 and
above) • 41 Instruments
• Digital Audio Workstation must be 64bit.
• Dedicated plugin (AU, VST2, VST3, AAX)
PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
• Windows 7 - Windows 11 • Deep sampled: multiple instruments,
• Minimum: Intel Core 2.8GHz i5 (quad-core) techniques, dynamics, round robins,
8GB RAM release triggers, and true recorded
• Recommended: Intel 2.8GHzi7 (six-core) legato.
16GB RAM
• (latest Service Pack, 64-bit)
• Digital Audio Workstation must be 64bit.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 3 USER MANUAL

WELCOME

A TRULY COHESIVE SOUND without taking up too much hard drive space.
For more control, detail and versatility, as
“To suddenly have all I need at my fingertips well as soloists, see the Professional edition.
Discover is free for owners of BBC Symphony
in one single plugin is a game changer.” Orchestra Core — see FAQs for more details.
– Christian Henson, Spitfire Audio Founder
MODE SWITCHING TECHNOLOGY
For the first time, we have captured a
full orchestra: outstanding players who It’s now easier than ever to share and collabo-
have developed a precise musical affinity, rate with fellow composers, collaborators and
rehearsing and performing some of the directors — whatever edition of BBCSO you
most challenging orchestral works together, own. Our groundbreaking mode switching
week in, week out, to create a truly cohesive technology makes each edition of BBC Sym-
sound. phony Orchestra interchangeable, so you can
mock up your scores quickly and with ease.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the musical For example, start writing a piece of music
beating heart of the BBC itself – the oldest using Discover, and finish it in the Core or
entertainment organisation in the world, Professional edition, with a fuller range of in-
trusted and respected globally. With a struments, capabilities and versatility. It also
performance heritage nearly a century old, works the other way around: write a piece in
it boasts Sir Adrian Boult, Arturo Toscanini the Professional edition and a collaborator
and Sir Colin Davis among its historical can open it in Discover, play what you’ve writ-
conductors, championing new classical ten (with the sounds intelligently substituted),
music and composers at the BBC Proms and and add to it. When you reopen their edited
beyond, and selling out concert halls the version, you will hear their additions along-
world over. Every note has been expertly side your original composition – with your
sampled at Maida Vale Studios, a world-class full selection of instruments, articulations and
recording space with a rich musical history. signals.
Built in 1909, it was one of the BBC’s earliest
premises — the centre of the BBC News
operation during World War II, and the home
of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 1934.

THE CORE EDITION

Created as a universal starting point for

composers and music creators of every
level, BBC Symphony Orchestra now
comes in three editions: Discover, Core
and Professional. Core features the same
outstanding recording quality as Professional
in a more streamlined, affordable package.
Offering a large range of instruments
performing all articulations, with one
mix signal, Core has been designed for
composers wanting to create instantly
professional sounding orchestral music,

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 4 USER MANUAL

DOWNLOADING & INSTALLING

Thank you for buying BBC Symphony Orchestra. If you are a total newbie to this kind of thing you
can get up to speed here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/about/

First though, grab the ‘Spitfire Audio App’ from this link, this app will enable you to download the
library: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/library-manager/

THE SPITFIRE AUDIO APP 2. FILTERS Clicking these filters will quickly
display products you’ve yet to install, those
When you launch the app you will be already installed, and any available updates.
prompted to login using the same details Clicking again will remove the filter.
you use at our site. Then you’ll see the page
pictured below: 3. LIBRARY All libraries and plugins in your
collection will appear with their artwork on
the My Products tab. Clicking this artwork
will open the product page. This is a great
place to find information such as system
requirements and instructions as well as
Reset and Repair options.

4. INSTALL/UPDATE buttons allow you to

quickly start a download directly from the My
Products tab, instead of clicking through to
the Library. Next to the button the size of the
download is shown.
1. TABS the default tab is My Products, which
shows all of the libraries on your Spitfire
Account. Downloads will show currently
downloading products.

1 2

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 5 USER MANUAL

THE SPITFIRE APP PREFERENCES

If this is your first time using the Spitfire

Audio App for a download you may wish to
first navigate to the Settings tab. Here you
can set the Default Content location for
where you wish to download your libraries.
You can also you can set the default VST2
install location to the folder where your DAW
expects to find VST files.

Here you can also enable Auto Login to save

time in future.

Once you are happy with your preferences,

simply click the Install button for the library.
This is either directly on My Products tab
under the library artwork, or it can be found
by clicking on the library image and clicking
the install button on the page that appears.

Clicking either of these will prompt you for a

location, the default content location in your
preferences will be suggested but you can
select any suitable location. If installing from
a hard drive, ensure that you choose the
drive as the location.

Once you are happy with the location click

Download. Ensure for BBC SO, all five boxes
are checked.

After clicking install you will be directed to

the Downloads tab where you can watch the
progress if you like. You can of course leave
the Downloads tab and start other downloads
but at this point you should leave the Spitfire
App open until the download completes.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 6 USER MANUAL

THE DEDICATED PLUGIN

Unlike many Spitfire libraries, you don’t need

Kontakt Player or the full Kontakt to run this
library. BBC Symphony Orchestra is its own,
all new, self contained plugin built for VST,
AU and AAX, so once you’ve downloaded
and installed you’re ready to go.

LOGIC PRO X

• On a fresh project, a track dialogue box will

automatically pop up

• Choose ‘Software Instrument’, and then

look beneath the ‘Instrument’ dropdown

• Select AU Instruments > Spitfire Audio >

BBC Symphony Orchestra.

CUBASE

• Right-click the track window and choose

‘Add Instrument Track’

• Underneath the ‘Instrument’ dropdown,

choose BBC Symphony Orchestra

• Select ‘Add Track’

PRO TOOLS

• Go to the ‘Track’ menu at the top of the

screen, and select ‘New’

• In the pop-up, select Stereo and Instrument

Track, and press ‘Create’

• In the first Insert slot, select multichannel

plug-in and ‘Instrument’

• You should see the BBC Symphony

Orchestra available as an option

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 7 USER MANUAL

HAVE A LOOK AROUND

THE BBC SO INTERFACE

OPENING YOUR FIRST PRESETS 1. TOP MENU

When you first open BBC Symphony 2. PRESET SELECTOR

Orchestra, this is what you will see. It opens
with a blank preset, so you can load any 3. MAIN CONTROLS
preset you choose first.
4. TECHNIQUE SELECTOR

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 8 USER MANUAL

 5

5. CONTROLLERS

6. KEYBOARD & INFO

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 9 USER MANUAL

PRESET SELECTOR

2
4 5 6 8

1. PRESET NAME
4. INSTRUMENT GROUP
Here you can see the currently selected
preset. As you scroll through the available presets,
the instrument group is displayed here.
2. CLEAR FILTERS
5. PREVIEW
Click here to show all instruments at once.
Play back a short example of the preset
3. FILTERS without having to load it! Enormously helpful
when choosing a sound.
Click on a filter to only show those presets.
The filters are subtractive, so selecting 6. PRESET LIST
“Strings” and “1st Violin” will show you only Scroll through the list of presets here.
the 1st Violin presets. Click the “Clear” Double-click to load a preset or click the
button to return to a view of all presets. ‘Load’ button.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 10 USER MANUAL

7. NEXT, PREVIOUS AND SAVE

With the presets view collapsed, you will

be able to see the Next, Previous and Save
icons. Next and Previous will simply send
you to the next available preset - if you have
a filter enabled, you will scroll through the
filtered set of presets. Save allows you to
save your own preset, click save, name the
preset and it will appear under the “user”
filter.

8. INFORMATION

Hover over on the “i” icon to see some

information about the preset.

9. LOAD

Select a preset and then press “load” (or

double-click the preset).

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 11 USER MANUAL

MAIN CONTROLS

1 2 3 3.1

1. VOLUME

Often referred to as “Expression” in our

Kontakt Libraries, this is a simple level
control for you to adjust along with...

2. DYNAMICS

Adjust the dynamic layer that you are playing

here, use in conjunction with the volume to
make your performances sound so much
more musical than before!

3. KNOB

The configurable knob allows you to control

any of the other available parameters for the
particular technique.

Hover over the knob and it will turn black.

3.1 CLICK: Click and you will be able to

assign any of the remaining available
controls to the knob.

Right click on any of these controls to assign

them to a MIDI controller. Remember that if
you assign a MIDI controller to a parameter
via the knob, the MIDI controller will follow
the parameter rather than being permanently
assigned to the knob.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 12 USER MANUAL

TECHNIQUE SELECTOR

2 4 5

1 13
6

8
9
10
11

1. TECHNIQUE SWITCHER 6. TECHNIQUE TRIGGER

Click to select a technique. Shift-Click to With the technique trigger section you can
select multiple techniques. The black dot choose to trigger techniques using various
in the top left shows which technique(s) parameters:
will play, the black outline shows which
technique will be affected by any changes KEYSWITCH: Pick a key on the keyboard
you make to the other options in this page. that will select this technique. The selected
keys will show up in green for unselected
2. VIEW SELECT techniques and in orange for selected
techniques.
Choose between the Technique Selector and
Effects. The Effects are covered in different CC RANGE: Choose a CC# and a range of
chapters of this manual. values (or a single value) for the control that
you want to trigger this technique.
3. TECHNIQUE NAVIGATION
VEL. RANGE: Switch technique based on
how hard you are playing! You might want
Click the right arrow to access additional
to trigger longs when playing softly and
techniques.
pizzicato when playing hard.

4. KEYSWITCH ADJUST MIDI CHANNEL: Switch techniques based on

the incoming MIDI channel.
Click and drag to move the keyswitches to
the left or right on your keyboard. SPEED: Switch technique based on the
speed of playing. Specify the time interval
5. LOCK between notes to switch to a particular
technique.
Click here to lock off the technique section
and prevent any unwanted changes.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 13 USER MANUAL

7. ACTIVATE LAYER -2: This option will play the round
robins from the tone BELOW the key played
Choose between “NORMAL” and “LATCH” for but transposed UP so that it plays at the right
your technique switching. pitch.

8. ROUND ROBINS 12. TRANSPOSE

Round robins are a way to ensure that Transpose the instrument up or down in 1
repeated notes don’t sound robotic and semitone increments.
unnatural. We record the same note multiple
times and then cycle through them. Here you 13. TECHNIQUE EDITOR
can choose to reduce the number of round
robins that are being used. Opens the Techniques Editor, allowing you to
customise and edit your preset (see pg. 18).
9. RESET ON TRANSPORT

If you’re worried about the effect of the

round robins making each run through of
your session sound different, you can choose
to reset the round robins using the DAW
transport.

10. RESET FROM KEY

You can also reset the round robins using a

keyswitch. Choose that keyswitch here.

11. OPTIONS

NEIGHBOUR ZONE RR: Double the number

of round robins by “stealing” notes from
neighbouring notes and transposing them to
match the pitch.

LAYER X2: Thicken the sound by layering

round robins on top of one another. This
option will play round robins 1/2 followed by
3/4, effectively halving the number of round
robins.

LAYER X2 (NO SKIP): Same as above but this

time you will be playing 1/2 followed by 2/3
and so on, meaning that you will not halve
the number of round robins available.

LAYER +2: This option will play the round

robins from the tone above the key played
but transposed down so that it plays at the
right pitch.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 14 USER MANUAL

EFFECTS

3 4 5 6 7 8

1. VIEW SELECT 6. VIBRATO

Choose between the Technique Selector, Where appropriate, this crossfades from no
Mixer and Effects, the Technique Selector (senza) to lots (molto) of vibrato.
and Mixer are covered in different chapters
of this manual. 7. TIGHTNESS

2. TECHNIQUE NAME The start of a short note is often not the start
of the ‘sound’ of the instrument. This cuts
3. RELEASE further into the note to make it tighter. But
does detract from realism. Worth tightening
Allows you to change the amount of release up when playing in, then loosening and
trigger you and your listeners hear. This only putting a negative delay into your DAW to
applies to Long techniques. compensate for ultimate reality!

4. SPEED 8. REVERB
Controls the speed of specific intervals. You can add additional reverb to the sound
here.
5. VARIATION

On certain patches this will trigger a

different variation of the same technique. For
example, on a ‘multi-tongue’ patch you can
go from double-tongued, triple-tongued, and
finally quadruple-tongued by increasing the
slider.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 15 USER MANUAL

TECHNIQUE EDITOR

The Technique Editor will allow you to both add and remove techniques from your current preset,
as well as re-arranging the order of the techniques to your own personal preference. This is
opened by selecting the pencil icon (see pg. 13).

• The left ‘Instruments’ panel allows you to • Once you’re done, click ‘Save’. If you have
filter between all available techniques for made a mistake and don’t want to save,
this specific preset. choose ‘Cancel’ instead to go back to your
previous setting.
• The central ‘Techniques’ panel shows all
available techniques for each preset. Click
the ‘+’ to add techniques back into your
current preset.

• The panel on the right is where your

current articulations are displayed. Click
and drag these to re-arrange the order. By
selecting the ‘x’ in the top-right corners, you
can remove a technique from your preset.
Click the ‘trash-can’ in the upper corner to
remove all techniques completely in a single
click.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 16 USER MANUAL

TOP MENU

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1. LED 7. MODE

Shows when an instrument is loaded by Select which mode of the plugin you would
lighting solid green. If this is flashing, your like to be active, choosing from Professional,
instrument is not fully loaded yet. Core, or Discover.

2. CPU METER 8. MIDI CH

An indication of how much your CPU is being Set the MIDI channel that will control the
taxed, the green flash next to the CPU meter instrument here. If in doubt select “all” so
will turn red when you are overloading it. that the instrument will react to any incoming
MIDI messages.
3. DISK METER
9. TUNE
How hard are you taxing your hard drive? If
this is close to, or going over 100% it’s time Move this knob to tune in semitone
to consider a faster drive. See next page for increments, shift-click to move in increments
settings that can help get the most out of a of 0.01 of a semitone. Alt-click to reset to
slower drive. default.

4. MEMORY 10. PAN

This shows how much RAM you are currently Pan the whole plug-in left and right in the
using in this instance of BBC Symphony stereo field. Alt-click to reset to centre.
Orchestra. While the preset is loading,
this will show the instrument loading into 11. VOLUME
memory.
Control the overall volume of the instrument.
5. VOICES
12. LEVEL
Shows how many voices are being used at
any one time. A visual indication of the level of the
instrument.
6. REFRESH

Refresh the instrument, alt-click to refresh

the whole plug-in. This can be useful if you
have hanging MIDI notes or have moved
samples in your file system. Right click this
for additional options, such as switching all
instances to a different mode.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 17 USER MANUAL

13. PRESET SETTINGS C. DEFAULT SIZE — Set whether the
instrument opens up collapsed or expanded
by default.
A
D. DEFAULT SCALE — How big the
B
instrument is when you open it as a fraction
C of its original size. Here you can “get” the
D current scale of the instrument or change
the value and press set to change the scale
of the instrument. Press “save” to save the
A. VELOCITY MAPPED TO DYNAMICS — current scale as the default and press “reset”
Here you can choose from up to 4 different to change the current scale to the default
behaviours for the Dynamics fader. 1) Full value..
Velocity Range. 2) Velocity Mapped to
Dynamics. 3) Compressed Velocity High. 4) E. SHOW KEYSWITCHES — When this option
Compressed Velocity Low. These settings is on, presets that have multiple techniques
will change how hard you need to hit the will show available keyswitches in red and
keyboard to trigger different layers. Velocity the currently selected technique(s) in yellow.
mapped to dynamics will allow you to control
short note velocity with the mod wheel. F. UNLOAD WITH MIXER FADER — Toggle
this to unload data from RAM when fader is
B. VELOCITY RESPONSE — Pick from pulled down to the bottom.
4 different velocity curves to suit your
controller. G. GAIN UNITS — Toggle this if you want
your gain to be displayed in dB instead of as
C. RESET CC MAPPINGS — Clicking on this a percentage.
will reset all of the CC mappings for this
instrument to the defaults - useful if you’ve
got yourself in a mess!
B
D. SHORT RELEASES — Dropdown for
options to edit the release time of short C
techniques only.

14. PLUGIN SETTINGS D

F
A

A. COPY SETTINGS — Common Controller

I
values will transfer over to other Spitfire
plugins.

B. HELP TEXT — Turn this on to display

parameter information in the bottom left
corner of the plug in.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 18 USER MANUAL

H. MAKE CONTROLS GLOBAL — Common
Controller values will remain when switching
techniques.

I. DISABLE HOST AUTOMATION — Turn this

on to enable the Host Automation from the
DAW.

J. MAXIMUM VOICES — Enter the maximum

number of voices that can play at once. More
voices = More CPU and memory used.

K. PRELOAD SIZE — The minimum number

of sample values preloaded into memory for
each audio recording. Increase for slower
hard drives. Default is 12888.

L. STREAM BUFFER SIZE — The number of

sample values kept in memory for each audio
recording stream at any time. Increase for
slower hard drives. Default is 65536.

M. DEFAULT PRESET — Choose a preset that

you wish the plug in to load by default on
launch

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 19 USER MANUAL

THE STRING SECTION

1st Violins & Leader G3 C#7 16 players 1 ST VIOLIN SECTION

Usually the largest of the String sections,

with the widest expected range. They sit to
the left of the conductor and their principal
player is referred to as the Orchestra ‘leader’.

2nd Violins & Leader G3 C#7 14 players 2 ND VIOLIN SECTION

Exactly the same instruments as the 1st

Violins, but in a slightly more ‘supporting’
role. These players are situated to the right
of the 1st Violins, and the left of the Violas.

Violas & Leader C3 F#6 12 players VIOLA SECTION

Similar in shape, but much larger in size than

a Violin. These sit straight ahead and slightly
to the right of the conductor. They often play
the simpler more ‘pedalling’ harmonic lines.

Celli & Leader C2 A#5 10 players CELLO SECTION

Arguably the most versatile of the String

instruments, with a huge range from very low
to heartbreaking highs. They sit to the right
of the conductor and in front of the Basses.

Contrabasses & Leader C1 F#3 8 players CONTRABASS SECTION

Huge and monstrous instruments that sit to

the right of the conductor and behind the
Cellos. These all had the low C extension,
hence the range.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 20 USER MANUAL

THE BRASS SECTION

Solo Horn & a4 E2 F5 4 players FRENCH HORNS

Available as solo and a4, Horns are the most

stately and noble of the brass family – similar
in range and timbral diversity to the cello.
Many would say that Horns are the principals
of the brass choir.

Solo Trumpet & a3 E3 C6 3 players TRUMPETS

Available as solo and a3, the Trumpets are

the highest member of the Brass family. From
plaintive and anthemic solo lines in it’s mid
range to blistering mariachi up in the top.
Great in octave unisons with the Horns!

Solo Trombone & a3 G1 D5 3 players TENOR TROMBONES

Available as solo and a3, the Tenor Trombone

is a deeply versatile Brass instrument.
Providing plenty of warmth and depth when
played in the lower dynamics, and rasping
tones in the higher.

Bass Trombones a2 E1 G4 2 players BASS TROMBONES

Because of it’s different bore size, the timbre

of the Bass Trombone differs from the Tenor.
Great for lower passages, but also in unison
blend with the Tenor.

Tuba D1 E4 1 player TUBA

It doesn’t get more noble than a Tuba.

From super fat bottom end and chocolatey
harmonic potential, to a rasping lion from the
depths of hell.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 21 USER MANUAL

THE WOODWIND SECTION

Piccolo D5 C8 1 player PICCOLO

The Piccolo is a half sized Flute that plays an

octave higher than written. The loudest and
highest instrument in the orchestra, can cut
through an entire orchestra with ease!

Solo Flute & a3 B3 C7 3 players FLUTES

Available as solo and a3, the C Flute is

massively dynamic and versatile. Suitable
for carrying sweet and lyrical melodies, or
within section work. Try in unison with your
1st Violins!

Solo Oboe & a3 B3 F6 3 players OBOES

Available as solo or a3, the Oboe is a

double-reed instrument that is less dynamic
than other Woodwind cousins. It’s a beautiful
lyrical instrument with ‘period’ connotations,
and also works great as a bright section
texture.

Solo Clarinet & a3 D3 E6 3 players CLARINETS

Available as solo and a3, the Clarinet is a

single reed instrument with a very regal tone.
When used solo it can have a very period
drama sound to it.

Bassoon & a3 Bb1 D5 3 players BASSOONS

Available as solo and a3, the Bassoon is yet

another versatile instrument that is often
painted into a staccato comedy corner. As
Stravinsky proved with “The Rite of Spring”, it
can be hauntingly melodic.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 22 USER MANUAL

RECORDING THE BBC SO

NOTE: MICROPHONES AND SOME INSTRUMENTS DISPLAYED HERE ARE ONLY AVAILABLE IN BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PROFESSIONAL.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 23 USER MANUAL

TECHNIQUES

LEGATO AND LEGATO (EXTENDED) SLURRED or ‘Fingered’ is the most basic

type of transition, where the player will
Legato in the context of a sample instrument simply add or remove their finger whilst
refers to the technique of capturing the the bow continues without change. These
sound of an instrument moving from one will trigger on the higher velocity transition
note to the next. Capturing these intervals values.
can be extremely useful in adding realism,
but does need to be played monophonic LONG (+ CS)
(one note at a time).
The most vanilla of the long notes that we
To trigger these transitions, you must make record, a standard sustained note. This is
sure that you hold down the first note whist the basic playing style, recorded both with
playing the key of the second note. As and without vibrato. Long CS (short for Con
long as you overlap the notes, the engine Sordino) is the muted variant of this patch.
will know that you want to trigger a legato A small rubber mute is attached onto the
transition. bridge, giving a dampened effect to the
strings.
In the BBC Symphony Orchestra we recorded
many different types of transition, which vary FLAUTANDO
across the different families.
This refers to a soft ‘flute-like’ way of
If you see the ‘Legato (extended)’ techniques performing on a stringed instrument. Often
available in anything other than Strings, the bow will be near or over the fingerboard,
this means that the patch will have playable which gives off a very different character
‘short’ notes built in which respond to the to the sound from the usual bow position.
way you play. If you play a short snappy Sometimes we describe this to played as
note on your keyboard, a short note will ‘harmonic-like’, and this helps steer them
trigger. The Strings have this programmed towards a more ‘glassy’ and delicate, often
automatically, even without the (extended) non-vibrato sound.
tag.
SPICCATO (+ CS)
As well as this, the extended patches
also often have another type of transition This articulation can vary! For us, our
featured. For example, the Flute Legato Spiccato aim to capture a very nice ‘tight’
(extended) technique will have playable runs sound, with the bow bouncing off the string.
recorded, which will trigger based on the This creates a sound that can be used either
speed of playing. as a nice short staccatissimo, but also as a
sequence of fast short notes or an ostinato
Within the String family, we’ve recorded a
couple of specific transitions:
STACCATO
PORTAMENTO is the technique of ‘gliding’
Staccato in notation refers to a ‘shortened
from one note to another without defining
and detached’ style of playing. In the case
the intermediate notes, resulting in a smooth
of samples, this usually refers to a single but
slide between two pitches. This is commonly
defined short note.
used on larger intervals across different
strings. These trigger when moving to
another note at lower velocity.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 24 USER MANUAL

PIZZICATO (+ BARTOK) some middle ground between Flautando and
Plucking the strings with the finger. The your standard sustained note!
Bartok variant is where the player plucks
so hard that the string actually ‘snaps’ HARMONICS
back onto the fingerboard, producing a
characteristic percussive sound. Definitely If a player holds down lightly on the string
use this one sparingly, unless you want your a perfect fourth interval up from the note
players to develop blisters! they are fingering, you hear what is called an
‘artificial harmonic’ sound - two octaves up
COL LEGNO from the note being fingered. This is called
‘artificial’ to distinguish it from the natural
Col Legno means ‘with wood’. This style harmonic series of the open string. These
of playing is to turn the bow over and ‘natural’ harmonics can be heard by moving
hit the string with the wood of the bow. the finger up and down the string while
Usually players will bring a practice of less lightly bowing. Available as both short and
expensive bow for this, as their main bows long techniques.
can cost thousands!
MARCATO ATTACK
SUL PONT
Quite simply, played with a very heavy and
Short for ‘sul ponticello’, meaning to play on accented abrupt start to a note. Great for
the bridge. Here the players bow very close layering, or for extra bite in a phrase.
to the bridge, which produces a brittle and
edgy sound. Always reminds us of nails on a STACCATISSIMO
chalkboard!
The shortest of the short notes. Similar to
TREMOLO (+ CS & SUL PONT) Staccato, just more snappy and short!

A tremolo is where a player rapidly moves MARCATO

the bow whilst keeping the left hand on the
same notes. The effect is a shimmering one Different to the Marcato Attack variant, and
when played soft, and a very aggressive and also not specific to Strings. Marcato in our
tense sound when played loud. CS refers to samples refers to the longest of our short
the muted variant, and Sul Pont refers to the notes, and has a slightly harder attack whilst
Sul Pont variant. maintaining a round shape to the note start.
Think of this as the longest note in a fanfare
TRILLS passage.

A trill is where a player alternates between CUIVRE

two notes. These work great as accented
performance embellishments, or you can Literally French for ‘brassy’ - this refers to a
play them very softly to create unique and style of playing where the player will go for
interesting textures. a much edgier, more nasal and aggressive
sound than usual. In some cases we ask the
SUL TASTO players to simply play as loud and brassy
as they can! Think of this as the ‘top layer’
To play with the bow over the fingerboard, in brass instruments. If you’re going for
producing a thinner and more delicate tone. something even brassier, try adding some
This is different from Flautando, in that it is saturation to the highs for a very hyped
not specifically required to be ‘flute-like’, and sound!
therefore is more of a soft and delicate, yet
still ‘normale’ sounding tone. Think of this as

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 25 USER MANUAL

SFORZANDO

Sforzando, or ‘Sfz’ indicates a forceful

accent. In the case of our patches, you get
a heavily accented note, which will then
quickly drop to a softer layer, similar to Sfp in
notation.

FLUTTER

The player rolls a silent ‘R’ with the mouth

whilst playing, giving a unique airflow that
creates a very characteristic sound.

MULTITONGUE

One of our favourite tools! We record double,

triple, and quadruple tongued notes. You
select which one you want to use by using
the Variation slider. If you hit the keyboard
hard, you’ll get a longer more ‘accented’
final notes. If you hit softer, you get a very
‘tight’ final note. This combination makes the
patch very versatile!

RIPS / FALLS

Either a sweep ‘up’ to the target note, or a

fall down to the target note. Sometimes there
are different speeds for this, controlled with
the variation slider.

JANUARY 2021 UPDATE

LONG (MUTED)
A long sustained note, with added mutes
for a quieter timbre. Often associated with
comedy.

STACCATISSIMO (MUTED)
A short and sharp technique, tightened up
with the addition of a Mute.

MARCATO (MUTED)
A longer short note, with the addition of a
mute. This note has an abrupt start with a
more gentle decay.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 26 USER MANUAL

APPENDIX A —
FAQS AND TROUBLESHOOTING

Q: WHAT ARE THE SYSTEM

REQUIREMENTS? Q: I SEE A RED EXCLAMATION
MARK IN THE TOP LEFT OF BBC
MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN?
Mac OS X 10.10 - Mac OS 12
Click on the red circle to see the Error
Minimum: 2.8GHz i5 (quad-core), 8GB RAM
Number you have activated. In the error
message is a “Let’s Fix This” link- which will
Recommended: 2.8GHz i7 (six-core), 16GB
take you to our dedicated support page with
RAM
relevant instructions on how to fix.
If the instructions do not help, please click on
Apple Silicon Supported (v.1.2.2 and above)
the Show Log hyperlink, to be linked to the error
log on your system. You should attach this to
Digital Audio Workstation must be 64bit.
a support ticket, which can be created by
clicking the “Help” button on our support
PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
website.
Windows 7 - Windows 11 (latest Service Pack,
64-bit) Q: CAN I INSTALL ON MORE THAN
ONE COMPUTER?
Digital Audio Workstation must be 64bit.
With our products you have two licenses.
Minimum: Intel Core 2.8GHz i5 (quad-core) This means that you are allowed to download
8GB RAM and install on two computers you own- for
example your main rig and your mobile rig.
Recommended: Intel 2.8GHzi7 (six-core)
16GB RAM If you have purchased the library on an SSD
Drive, download the library onto the drive
Q: I WANT TO RESET MY BBC SO following the instructions in the video first,
before copying that folder over to your
SETTINGS TO THE DEFAULT
second hard drive.
You can delete the BBC SymphonyOrchestra.
Please note that the plugin currently cannot
settings file to reset the settings to default.
share a location between two devices. You
This is located at Users/username/Music/
will need a dedicated hard drive for each of
Spitfire Audio/Settings on a Mac and C:\
the two machines you install the library on.
Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Spitfire
Audio\Settings on a PC.

Q: MY LIST OF PRESETS IS EMPTY,

HOW DO I SOLVE THIS?

This can occur if you have not installed both

the Library content and the plugin to the
same location. Most likely, the install button
in your Application will be red, and you can
follow the advice linked here to fix it.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 27 USER MANUAL

Q: I CAN’T SEE THIS IN THE
KONTAKT LIBRARIES PANE AND • If downloading onto an external drive, make
sure you have formatted this drive correctly for
WHEN I TRY AND LOAD IT INTO
your operating system.
KONTAKT IT SAYS NO LIBRARY
FOUND • If the download appears to be slow or
stuck, please see our article here for further
This library does not run in Kontakt, it is a advice.
standalone plug-in that you can run in your
chosen DAW. You can also run the library via • If the download fails, check your
Komplete Kontrol. connection and make sure you are not using
a Proxy Server or LAN that may be blocking
Q: HOW DO I DOWNLOAD the Application from installing the library. If
PRODUCTS ON MAC OSX 10.9? that is not the case, contact our support team.

No, we are currently only compatible with Q: WHY IS MY DOWNLOAD SPEED

Mac OSX 10.10 - Mac OS 12 SLOWER THAN MY INTERNET
SPEED?
Q: HOW DO I AUTHORIZE MY
PRODUCT WITHOUT AN INTERNET We have no control over how fast a library
CONNECTION? is installed, as our downloads are hosted by
3rd party servers. Therefore, the amount of
Internet is required in order to authorise and active users of that server in your territory
install our libraries. Once installed, you do can affect the overall download speed.
not need to be connected to the internet to
use our plugins in your DAW. For this reason, we recommend installing
overnight for the fastest download speeds.
Q: HOW CAN I REDOWNLOAD A Switching severs can help with download
PRODUCT OR UPDATE? speed. You can change servers in the
Settings Tab, General- under Use Cloudfront
You can redownload a product in the Spitfire CDN?
Audio App by using the Reset tool found in
the cog menu on the product page. By toggling this off you will also cancel the
current download, but if you select install
Once you select reset, you have a choice of again and select the correct location- the
resetting the library to the Latest Update to install will pick up from where it left off.
reinstall the last update available. Or select
Entirely to reinstall the whole library again. Q: CAN I TRY BEFORE I BUY?

Note that you can only reset a library once It is not possible to trial our products. In the
after the initial installation before an error walkthroughs provided for each library, we
letting you know you have run out of resets typically do not add any additional effects or
will appear. Contact our support team for further processing, so you can here the library in its
resets. raw form.

Q: DIFFICULTIES IN DOWNLOADING /
INSTALLING

Customers may find that they have some

difficulties in the downloading process. If you
find that you are having some trouble, please
check the list below for possible causes:

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 28 USER MANUAL

Q: MY LIBRARIES ARE NOT SHOWING Q: CAN I DOWNLOAD ON A PC,
UP IN MY SPITFIRE APP THEN TRANSFER TO A MAC OR VICE
VERSA?
First, you should check you have not used
the search bar or any of the other filters, Yes, you can copy the library folder and
which can block the library from appearing. plugin files over to the second machine
and then use the “Repair” and “Locate
If this is not the case, it is most likely the Library” features in the Spitfire Audio App.
case that the order has not been processed Please note that although the majority of
yet, or the order was placed on a different the download can be done on a separate
account. machine, you will always need an internet
connection to finish the authorisation
Orders typically process after 20 minutes, process.
but can take up to 24 hours in busy periods-
and you should wait for this period of time Q: I’VE FORGOTTEN MY PASSWORD?
before contacting our team.
Click here to reset your password.
If you have duplicate accounts you wish to
merge, this is possible provided you can If the password reset is not successful,
auticate the merge request from both email please contact our support team.
accounts. Contact our support team for merge
requests.
Q: I HAVE FOUND A BUG
Q: HOW DO I UPDATE MY If you think you have found an issue with one
PRODUCTS? of our products, please contact our support
team and supply us with the following:
If an update is available this will show in
the Application where the Install button • A screenshot of the preset you are using
was previously. When you update a library,
ensure to select the correct parent location • An audio file that demonstrates the issue
for the library folder in order to install the
update correctly. Click here to see how to • A MIDI file of the audio file, so that we
reinstall an update on a second install. can test this with the latest plugin

Q: WHERE IS THE DOWNLOAD LINK? • A video file, should the issue not be
demostratable via audio.
If you have applied for the free version of
BBC SO Discover, this will be delivered Q: WHERE CAN I FIND A
exactly 14 days after you complete your CHANGELOG?
application. You will be alerted via email
when your download is ready in the A HTML changelog listing all bug fixes and
Application. Do not contact our support team improvements can be found in the BBC
unless the 14 day period has passed.
Symphony Orchestra documents folder.
If you have order BBC SO Discover via the
regular payment method, the order will
typically process in 20 minutes. This can
take up to 24 hours during busier sales
periods, so please wait for that period of
time before contacting our support team.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 29 USER MANUAL

Q: WHAT IS YOUR REFUNDS /
RETURNS POLICY?

If you contact our support team within 14

days of placing your order, and have not
completed the library installation, you can
apply for a refund.

If you have downloaded the product in full,

or have contacted us after more than 14 days
since you placed your order, we will not be
able to consider a refund. This is outline in
our EULA.

We do not offer any discounts or returns

should you find any defects or issues with
our products. Instead, we are commited to
fixing and updating any products that are
currently live on our site. Please report all
issues directly to our support team as we
may miss reports that are made elsewhere.

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 30 USER MANUAL

APPENDIX B —
TECHNIQUES/MICS/MIXES

INSTRUMENTS: VIOLAS (12)

• Legato (Portamento & Slurred)
STRINGS: • Long
• Long CS
VIOLINS 1 (16) • Long Flautando
• Legato (Portamento & Slurred) • Spiccato
• Long • Staccato
• Long CS • Pizzicato
• Long Flautando • Col Legno
• Spiccato • Tremolo
• Staccato • Trill Major 2nd
• Pizzicato • Trill Minor 2nd
• Col Legno • Long Sul Tasto
• Tremolo • Long Harmonics
• Trill Major 2nd • Short Harmonics
• Trill Minor 2nd • Bartok Pizzicato
• Long Sul Tasto • Long Marcato Attack
• Long Harmonics • Tremolo Sul Pont
• Short Harmonics • Tremolo CS
• Bartok Pizzicato • Long Sul Pont
• Long Marcato Attack • Spiccato CS
• Tremolo Sul Pont
• Tremolo CS CELLI (10)
• Long Sul Pont • Legato (Portamento & Slurred)
• Spiccato CS • Long
• Long CS
VIOLINS 2 (14) • Long Flautando
• Legato (Portamento & Slurred) • Spiccato
• Long • Staccato
• Long CS • Pizzicato
• Long Flautando • Col Legno
• Spiccato • Tremolo
• Staccato • Trill Major 2nd
• Pizzicato • Trill Minor 2nd
• Col Legno • Long Sul Tasto
• Tremolo • Long Harmonics
• Trill Major 2nd • Short Harmonics
• Trill Minor 2nd • Bartok Pizzicato
• Long Sul Tasto • Long Marcato Attack
• Long Harmonics • Tremolo Sul Pont
• Short Harmonics • Tremolo CS
• Bartok Pizzicato • Long Sul Pont
• Long Marcato Attack • Spiccato CS
• Tremolo Sul Pont
• Tremolo CS
• Long Sul Pont
• Spiccato CS

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 31 USER MANUAL

BASSES (8) • Marcato
• Legato (Portamento & Slurred) • Long Flutter
• Long • Multi-tongue
• Long CS • Rips
• Long Flautando • Falls
• Spiccato
• Staccato OBOE
• Pizzicato • Legato
• Col Legno • Legato (Extended)
• Tremolo • Long
• Trill Major 2nd • Trill Major 2nd
• Trill Minor 2nd • Trill Minor 2nd
• Long Sul Tasto • Staccatissimo
• Long Harmonics • Tenuto
• Short Harmonics • Marcato
• Bartok Pizzicato • Multi-tongue
• Long Marcato Attack
• Tremolo Sul Pont OBOES A3 (3)
• Tremolo CS • Legato
• Long Sul Pont • Long
• Spiccato CS • Trill Major 2nd
• Trill Minor 2nd
WOODWINDS • Staccatissimo
• Tenuto
FLUTE • Marcato
• Legato (Extended — Slurred & Fast Runs) • Multi-tongue
• Long
• Trill Major 2nd CLARINET
• Trill Minor 2nd • Legato
• Staccatissimo • Legato (Extended)
• Tenuto • Long
• Marcato • Trill Major 2nd
• Long Flutter • Trill Minor 2nd
• Multi-tongue • Staccatissimo
• Tenuto
FLUTES A3 (3) • Marcato
• Legato (Extended) • Long Flutter
• Long • Multi-tongue
• Trill Major 2nd
• Trill Minor 2nd CLARINETS A3 (3)
• Staccatissimo • Legato
• Tenuto • Long
• Marcato • Trill Major 2nd
• Long Flutter • Trill Minor 2nd
• Multi-tongue • Staccatissimo
• Tenuto
PICCOLO • Marcato
• Legato (Extended) • Long Flutter
• Long • Multi-tongue
• Trill Major 2nd
• Trill Minor 2nd
• Staccatissimo
• Tenuto

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 32 USER MANUAL

BASSOON TRUMPET
• Legato • Legato
• Legato (Extended) • Legato (Extended)
• Long • Long
• Trill Major 2nd • Staccatissimo
• Trill Minor 2nd • Marcato
• Staccatissimo • Long Cuivre
• Tenuto • Long Sfz
• Marcato • Long Flutter
• Long Flutter • Multi-tongue
• Trill Major 2nd
BASSOONS A3 (3) • Trill Minor 2nd
• Legato • Long (Muted)
• Long • Staccatissimo (Muted)
• Trill Major 2nd • Marcato (Muted)
• Trill Minor 2nd
• Staccatissimo TRUMPETS A3 (3)
• Tenuto • Legato
• Marcato • Long
• Long Flutter • Staccatissimo
• Marcato
BRASS • Long Cuivre
• Long Sfz
HORN • Long Flutter
• Legato • Multi-tongue
• Legato (Extended) • Trill Major 2nd
• Long • Trill Minor 2nd
• Staccatissimo • Long (Muted)
• Marcato • Staccatissimo (Muted)
• Long Cuivre • Marcato (Muted)
• Long Sfz
• Long Flutter TENOR TROMBONE
• Multi-tongue • Legato
• Trill Major 2nd • Legato (Extended)
• Trill Minor 2nd • Long
• HORNS A4 (4) • Staccatissimo
• Legato • Marcato
• Long • Long Cuivre
• Staccatissimo • Long Sfz
• Marcato • Long Flutter
• Long Cuivre • Multi-tongue
• Long Sfz • Long (Muted)
• Long Flutter • Staccatissimo (Muted)
• Multi-tongue • Marcato (Muted)
• Trill Major 2nd
• Trill Minor 2nd
• Long (Muted)
• Staccatissimo (Muted)
• Marcato (Muted)

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 33 USER MANUAL

TENOR TROMBONES A3 (3) TIMPANI
• Legato • Hits
• Long • Rolls
• Staccatissimo • Hits Soft
• Marcato • Rolls Soft
• Long Cuivre • Hits Hotrods
• Long Sfz • Long Rolls Hotrods
• Long Flutter • Hits Damped
• Multi-tongue • Hits Super Damped
• Long (Muted) • Hotrods Hits Damped
• Staccatissimo (Muted) • Hits Damped Soft
• Marcato (Muted)
TUBULAR BELLS
BASS TROMBONES A2 (2) • Hits
• Legato • Rolls
• Long • Hits Damped
• Staccatissimo
• Marcato VIBRAPHONE
• Long Cuivre • Hits
• Long Sfz
• Long Flutter XYLOPHONE
• Multi-tongue • Hits
• Long (Muted) • Rolls
• Staccatissimo (Muted)
• Marcato (Muted) UNTUNED ANVIL
• Hit
PERCUSSION • Hit Choked

TUNED CELESTE BASS DRUM 1

• Sustained • Hit
• Damped • Hard Sticks
• Damped Medium • Hit Damped
• Hand Muted Hit
HARP • Roll Hard
• Sustained • Roll Soft
• Damped
• Damped Medium BASS DRUM 2
• Bisbigliando Trem • Hit
• Gliss FX • Hit Damped
• Roll
MARIMBA • Super Ball
• Hits
• Rolls CYMBAL
• Crash
CROTALES • Crash Muted
• Hits • Crash Hard Stick
• Hits Bowed • Crash Hard Stick Muted
• Roll
GLOCKENSPIEL • Bowed
• Hits • Crescendo
• Rolls

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 34 USER MANUAL

MILITARY DRUM
• Hit TRIANGLE
• Rimshot • Open Hit
• Short Ruff • Hit Muted
• Side Stick Hit • Roll
• Roll
• MICS & MIXES
PIATTI
• Choked Hit SIGNALS
• Clash Hit • Mix 1 (Full)
• Short Roll

SNARE 1
• Hit
• Rimshot
• Short Ruff
• Side Stick Hit
• Roll

SNARE 2
• Hit
• Rimshot
• Short Ruff
• Side Stick Hit
• Roll

TAM TAM
• Hit Damped
• Hit
• Roll
• Bowed
• Crescendo

TAMBOURINE
• Hit
• Shake
• Roll

TENOR DRUM
• Hit
• Rimshot
• Short Ruff
• Side Stick Hit
• Roll

TOYS
• Castanets
• Woodblock
• Vibraslap
• Cowbell
• Sleigh Bells
• Short Guiro
• Long Guiro

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 35 USER MANUAL

APPENDIX C —
DEFAULT CC MAPPINGS

Dynamics 1
Global Gain 7
Global Pan 10
Expression 11
Release 17
Tighness 18
Reverb 19
Variation 20
Vibrato 21

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CORE 36 USER MANUAL