Publisher : Spitfire Audio
Format : Kontakt (5.1.0+)
Quality : Stereo 48 kHz 24 bit
Description : Steel drums
These beautifully crafted steel drums, performed by renowned session percussionist Frank Ricotti, will add color and energy to your movie, TV and game soundtracks. Steel Drums also features a fantastic range of presets designed for use in modern R&B, pop and electronic music, all hosted in our popular eDNA engine for instant playback and control. From hauntingly beautiful soft layers to searing metallic stabs, this exciting addition to our range of percussion instruments was sampled on the world’s finest music recording stage – The Hall at Air Studios – and pairs perfectly with all of our orchestral libraries.
Spitfire Audio founder Christian Henson has always admired steel drums, known for their emotional sound, sub-bass harmonics and rich timbral and dynamic range. Having collaborated with Frank Ricotti on many percussion projects, including the original Hans Zimmer percussion, we returned to the Air Studios room to further expand our percussion range. Our goal was to record these steel drums for a variety of purposes, using different microphone positions to capture different angles. The Tree mic position is suitable for those who want to use steel drums in their orchestral soundtracks for films, games and television, while the Close and more concentrated positions are better suited for R&B and electronic tracks. We were able to convey a multi-faceted and moving sound from softer levels, all the way to louder and more dynamic layers creating a more traditional Caribbean sound.
Steel Drums comes in two interface options: a standard multimic interface designed for those familiar with our orchestral range, with the ability to instantly customize articulations and microphones. We’ve also loaded Steel Drums into our advanced eDNA engine with dozens of instantly playable presets designed by our award-winning team of composers, producers and audio engineers. Every note was recorded by Air Studios’ seasoned resident engineer Jake Jackson using a variety of treasured vintage microphones through Neve “Montserrat” preamps and a well-maintained Studer 2″ tape recorder, then transferred to digital at 96kHz resolution using the finest Prism AD converters.
In the Trinidadian tradition, bamboo sticks were used to strike kitchen utensils, trash cans and drums, which developed into the steel band movement in the 1930s and became a popular carnival instrument by the 1940s. In film soundtracks they can be found in original works by Jaco Pastorius, Cliff Martinez and Hans Zimmer, as well as popular dance and RnB tracks around the world. Percussionist Frank Ricotti is a living legend. In addition to being one of the most in-demand recording percussionists in the world, he has played on countless blockbuster movie soundtracks such as Inception, Skyfall, Twilight. Saga”, “Madagascar”, “Interstellar”, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and the Bourne film series.
