Abbey Road Orchestra: Bassoons Professional

Comprehensive Articulations For Complete Control

Abbey Road Orchestra: Bassoons Professional shares the same comprehensive collection of articulations as the rest of the Woodwinds family, ensuring familiarity and consistent playability across your arrangements. This extensive suite includes:

Legato Techniques

Performance Legato (Extended)

Our most advanced legato ever, dynamically reacting in real-time to playing speed for agile, expressive lines, capable of intricate passages. Includes marcato and soft entries for single notes.

Lyrical Legato (Extended)

A relaxed legato, ideally suited for slower, more flowing melody lines that evoke a smooth, sustained feel, complete with marcato and soft entries.

Legato Runs

An agile patch specifically engineered for very fast passages and flourishes, optimized for intervals up to a minor 3rd, perfect for nimble, bubbling figures.

Legato Slurred

Features slurred intervals performed with a 'moderate tempo' feel for sweeping, connected melody lines.

Legato Allegro

A sprightly, 'uptempo' legato patch with slurred intervals, ideal for quicker or arpeggiated ostinato material, adding energy and clarity to faster passages.

Long Techniques

Long (Extended)

A polyphonic sustained longs patch, with additional soft and marcato styles for note entries triggered by key velocity, offering greater dynamic control over sustained foundational notes.

Long (sfz)

Characterised by an overblown, strong initial attack, immediately followed by a sustained softer dynamic, creating an impactful yet controlled entry.

Trills (Major 2nds, Minor 2nds, Minor 3rds)

Rapid alternating between two notes, available in various intervals to add tension, embellishment, or a vibrant buzz.

Short Techniques

Staccatissimo

A very short and crisp note length, functioning as a sprightly "all-purpose" short articulation, ideal for precise, detached passages, perfect for playful, spiky phrases.

Staccato

A general purpose short note length, sounding clearly detached with a slight accent, providing a versatile short note option for punchy rhythmic figures.

Staccato (alt)

An alternative take on a general purpose short note length, sounding clearly detached with a slight accent

Marcato

Performed with a strong accented front to the note, longer than 'staccato', with Timed Release triggers for greater control over decay, providing definite, asserted attacks.

Tenuto

Performed with a small accented front to the note, shorter than 'marcato', providing a slightly less aggressive attack, for notes that are held for their full value with subtle emphasis.

Short Double Tongue, Short Triple Tongue, Short Quad Tongue

These rapid articulations, achieved by multi-tonguing, each with different 'landing' note lengths, allow for highly articulate and fast rhythmic passages, from whimsical bursts to driving ostinatos.

Microphone Signals

The Professional version offers 16 curated microphone signals, including two hand-crafted mixes by Simon Rhodes , providing an almost limitless amount of possibilities for sonic customisation. From classic Decca Trees to rare vintage microphones like the RM1B, you have microscopic control over your mix. This allows you to sculpt the true character of the bassoon, from its woody thrum to its reedy keen and mellow, slightly nasal upper range, fitting seamlessly into any production and achieving precise spatial and timbral characteristics.

Mix 1

A full-sounding room mix by Simon Rhodes, formed from Tree 1, Overheads, Outriggers 1, and a curated blend of spots.

Mix 2

A tighter mix by Simon Rhodes, formed from Tree 2, Mids and Outriggers 2 with a curated blend of spots.

Close

Small diaphragm condenser mics placed on each desk and summed capturing a detailed and articulate close image.

Close Ribbons

A combination of ribbon mics placed on each desk capturing a warm and rounded close image.

Pop Main

A cardioid stereo valve mic placed above the section and panned centrally for a flexible image not restricted to the orchestral layout.

Pop Room

Omnidirectional condenser mics placed either side of the section to add additional roominess and space to the Pop Main signal.

Tree 1

A decca tree formed of Abbey Road’s finest trio of classic valve omnidirectional microphones creating a lush and full sound.

Tree 2

A tighter, closer decca tree formed from mics with a more directional pattern, suited to faster, more detailed material.

Outriggers 1

Used in conjunction with either tree to obtain a wider image. This pair utilises omnidirectional mics to reproduce the full width of Studio One.

Outriggers 2

Used together with either tree to obtain a wider image. This pair uses mics with a more directional pattern, pulling the edges of the room inwards.

Mids

A pair of valve REDD mics placed between the conductor and the source which adds extra focus to the sound when combined with the Tree and Outriggers.

Ambients

A pristine pair of small diaphragm omnidirectional microphones to the rear of the room for a natural ambience.

Vintage 1

A pair of original 1940s RM1B ribbon microphones placed in front of the conductor to create a vintage scoring stage sound

Vintage 2

A pair of classic 44BX ribbon microphones placed by the conductor for an alternative vintage scoring stage sound

Leader

A single microphone placed on the section leader, used to add additional focus above the full section if required.

Spill

A summation of spot mics placed around the other sections. These capture the natural 'spill' from the source across the orchestra for added realism.