I am having trouble figuring out how to store and access this huge library on my computer.
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Product details
Brand: Spitfire Audio
Now with 36GB of extra content.
An industry standard, universal starting point for composers and music creators of every level, this all-in-one sample library features strings, brass, woodwind and percussion performed by the world-renowned BBC Symphony Orchestra — captured at London’s famous Maida Vale Studios — host to The Beatles, Hendrix and Bowie, and countless film scores.
This definitive collection of orchestral instruments captures a musical synergy from a collective of astoundingly accomplished players with over 90 years of heritage – made playable by all via our award-winning plugin designed by UsTwo. Start scoring with a wide range of articulations for each instrument, captured at the highest quality with a stunning selection of professionally mixed signals.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra series has something for everyone, available in three editions ( Discover, Core and Professional).
Now available through Rent-to-Own on Splice’s platform. Learn more
All reviews
Worth every positive reviews I read
I am a twice Grammy nominated jazz pianist. Covid effectively ended the life I had known for 40 years. Driven by the need to be creative and in effect, save my own life, I turned to my computer to make music for the first time in my life. My first exposure to Spitfire Audio was through the Labs series. I was astounded by SA providing these great tools for free. When it came time to get more serious about making music this way and begin purchasing samples libraries, I was very happy to give SA my business. Having used the free Discover version, it was a natural progression to then purchase the Core version of BBCSO. I was blown away by it from the start. As a relative beginner this served me well, but as my experience grew I knew that I would someday really want the Pro version. It's hard to express just how much the extra mic signals add to what is already an amazing product, but let me assure you, it is worth every penny even if you have to buy a new SSD to accommodate it. Thanks to SA offering big discounts with such regularity, this is an absolute no-brainer. I have only used the Pro version for about a week now and I'm so impressed, just as I was when I got Core two years ago. I feel creatively invigorated all over again. The upgrade from Core to Pro is worth every penny. I again want to thank Spitfire Audio for how much they've given to the larger community. I hope they continue to thrive during these difficult times.
I remember downloading the Spitfire Audio Free BBC SO Discover edition and being bowled over; then after a while I managed to summon up the readies to purchase the BBC SO Core edition - and I was like “What have I been doing with my life?” Core was like a whole new universe had opened up. Now, thanks to some good fortune, I finally have the Pro and - dear sweet leaping Jeebus - I am in heaven! The samples are as good as you’ve come to expect from Spitfire but the articulations, mic mixes etc utter brilliance. Just hope my composing is up to it! A totally excellent product. One word of warning: it’s big 638Gb so have a nice fresh shiny new SSD handy !
I had been looking for a package that would help me get started turning my compositions into high-quality renditions. For a long time, I weighed my options both within the Spitfire Audio family of products and with other products and finally decided to choose the Spitfire Audio BBCSO. It is my first experience with a professional-level library, but I have been far and away impressed with the quality and flexibility of the library. The sounds one is capable of producing with this collection of instruments is practically unlimited, and being able to make slight (or dramatic) alterations to the sound with the mic'ing options is what I was looking for. I much prefer the native Spitfire Audio plugin over Kontakt or other virtual instrument interfaces I have used so far. It does seem to have some small quirks that I can't be sure if they are either idiosyncrasies or bugs. Sometimes, scrollable option boxes will require two clicks (specifically, the keyswitch option for technique switching or the mic output selection). But overall, the plugin has always done its job and it has yet to crash my DAW.
Finally, reed instruments that sound like reed instruments instead of overblown harmonicas! And the individual sections and section leads make this the first virtual orchestra I'm inspired use as an orchestra. The user interface is nicely balanced between control and usability. I'm happy with it.
This is a great orchestral tool for composition, just make sure your computer can handle this monster lol
The best existing Orchestra
This has already replaced all my other orchestral libraries, even other Spitfire libraries. Simply stunning. I really enjoy the plug-in as well, very easy to use and navigate.
I could give 4 stars. Well 5 stars for the sound which is great. But when you use it, the app don't purge the articulations which are not used. So it becomes very heavy for the RAM. Ok, you can do it manually, but it takes time. And we don't have. ok I'm being too harsh but this is the point that absolutely needs to be improved.
good quality
Steven van der Merwe (22/01/2024). As a composer of classical genre music I was looking for realistic play-back for a major project that I'm embarking on. Spitfire BBCSO ticks all the boxes - AND it works so well with Dorico 5. No DAW for me thank you very much! Well done Spitfire - keep up the great workS
I got hooked on Spitfire Audio about two years ago and own several of their products, including BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover and Core. I recently decided to upgrade to Professional, and needless to say was not disappointed. Aside from some minor technical issues, my experience has been positive, both in using the plugin itself and in my purchase and reception of it. Designed for the more advanced composer, Professional is the complete set in the BBCSO series and has everything needed for a great sounding orchestral track. It contains all the instruments you’d find in an orchestra, most notably solo strings and bass woodwinds that are not included in Discover or Core. Each instrument has a fully adjustable dynamic range for loud or soft moments in a song, and is loaded with dozens of expressive articulations. Professional also features a wide selection of close, distant, and ambient microphone settings that really add to its musical versatility and sense of realism. I can sit for hours on end experimenting with these tools and figuring out how I can make my tracks sound a little better. The musical possibilities this plugin offers are virtually endless. My desktop computer didn’t have enough space for the plugin, so I ordered it on Spitfire’s external SSD drive. Delivery was fast, I ordered the drive on a Monday evening (10/23), and it arrived at my house on Wednesday afternoon (10/25). I like the little box it came in, it has a black cover with the Spitfire Audio writing on one side and the BBCSO logo on the other. When you take the cover off, the grey-colored box has a fancy little magnetic seal. The drive itself is also black and has the SA and BBCSO writing on either side. When I first inserted the drive into my desktop, the plugin took an abnormally long time to load onto my DAW; however, after switching some cords and outlets around, the plugin worked just fine. It’s rough on CPU, so be sure to turn off wifi and other apps, freeze your tracks, and use the plugin’s purge articulations feature. I sometimes have this problem during playback where there are clicking and popping noises, and one or more of my instruments will suddenly stop playing. I can freeze some tracks and work around it for now, but may consider upgrading to a better computer in the near future. A nice bonus when I bought the plugin was that I got it at a discount, even though I’d been saving up and was prepared to pay the full price. I’m not sure if that was because I had already owned the two previous BBCSO plugins or because there was a seasonal sale going on. In either case, I was more than happy to inadvertently save a few hundred dollars. With that being said, BBCSO Professional is a must-have for music enthusiasts. Many thanks to Spitfire Audio for taking the time to make this awesome plugin.
BBC Symphony Orchestra Professional was a great buy at the Black Friday $300.00 off price. It is usable on a late 2014 Mac mini with 8gb of ram using logic, but you have to be very careful how many articulations you use and disable those you don’t as well as watching how you use the mics. I can’t wait until I upgrade my computer to at least 32GB of ram and 1TB ssd hard drive. Be aware that you should have at least a 2tb external ssd to house the samples.
very comprehensive, amazing sounding library, with a great interface. i especially like the midi channel switching rather than key switches. one star off for the rather abrupt change from normal to tremolo; the transition could be smoother and there appear to be minor volume differences, but everything could be addressed in an update or tweak. overall, i'm very happy with this library, and i think it'll provide a strong foundation for my compositions going forward.
Amasing sound quality, so much realistic that I Re-enjoy using MIDI benefits for my composing work.
The quality of the samples is amazing. Being able to choose from a the great selection of mic positions is a great feature of this library. The organization of the plug-in functions makes using this product a breeze. The way the legato articulation responds to MIDI velocity and timing from keyboard input is very nice. BBCSO Pro is a fantastic library!
So far, loving the sounds! Due to travel, have not had much time to create anything with the library, but in auditioning the sounds, they’re great! Especially LOVE the “leader” patches! I believe they will add realism!!
A great product; it is taking me a while to learn to set it up and use it to best advantage, but with something this big and this sophisticated that's inevitable. The usual Spitfire Audio high sound quality and for something this big and packed with features it's reasonably easy to use. A delight to own, I won't need much in the way of software instruments for some time!
Totally awesome! The Horns have a weird distortion at full intensity, but again, it’s totally awesome.