What is the difference between Studio Orchestra Pro, Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Symphony Orchestra Pro?

At Spitfire Audio we currently have three professional orchestral libraries. These are: Studio Orchestra Professional, Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Provided in this article is a general overview of each product and their typical usage, as well as a comparison chart and a section chart, that outline the key differences between each product. 

If you are still undecided after reading, you can enter a support ticket using the help button below, where a support agent will be able to answer any further questions you have. 

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Studio Orchestra Professional

Typically, a Studio Orchestra Pro user will be someone who wants to add orchestral elements to Pop records, or create more of a dry, early-Hollywood sound, for a film or television score. With a smaller ensemble, Studio Orchestra Pro provides a slightly more intimate sound compared to the entire Symphony Orchestra and offers more control- with the ability to use Divisi across the sections of the orchestra. 

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Spitfire Symphony Orchestra

A typical SSO User will be someone who wishes to emulate the modern cinematic sound often produced at the Lyndhurst Hall. In context this would be used for orchestral mockups for modern cinematic scores, with many articulations included as well as larger brass sections, with a6: Horns, Trombones, and Trumpet.

Included as part of the pack is Masse, a unique Kontakt library that combines the sections of SSO together as Ensembles. Additionally, upgrading to Symphony Complete adds Spitfire Harp, Orchestral Grand Piano, and Spitfire Percussion to your arsenal.  

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BBC Symphony Orchestra Professional

Finally, a typical BBC SO Pro user will want to create large, orchestral scores, with greater depth and room ambience. This could be used for an orchestral score mockup as well as for modern cinematic orchestral elements. As part of BBC SO Pro, you will have access to other Orchestral instruments such as: Percussion, Timpani, Harp, and Celeste. 

Unlike our other Orchestral packs, BBC SO is contained within the Spitfire Plugin which gives you the ability to customise the user interface through our Technique Editor and switch to other versions the BBC SO library through Mode Switching. Additionally, BBC SO has dramatically more microphone options compared to our other libraries, as well as the unique offering of solo strings in the form of the String Leader patches. 

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General Comparison Chart

Category	Studio Orchestra Pro	Spitfire Symphony Orchestra	BBC Symphony Orchestra
Library Size	~425GB	~261Gb	~600GB
Plugin	Kontakt Player (Free download via Native Access)	Kontakt Player (Free download via Native Access)	Spitfire Plugin
RAM	Minimum 8GB	Minimum 8GB	Minimum 16GB
Microphone Signals	Close 1 Close 2 Tree 1 Tree 2 Ambient Outriggers Simon Rhodes Mix 1 Simon Rhodes Mix 2	Close Tree Ambient	Jake Jackson Mix 1 Jake Jackson Mix 2 Close  Tree Ambient  Outriggers Mono Leaders Close Wide Stereo  Mids Sides Balcony Spill Mics for each section Atmos Front Atmos Rear
Recording Location	Air Studios: Studio One	Air Lyndhurst Hall	Maida Vale Studios
Room Tone	Short and Tight	Large and Reverberant	Large and Tight
Extras	Muted Brass Mixes by Simon Rhodes	Muted Brass Additional Legacy Content Masse Ensemble	Mode Switching Solo Strings Mixes by Jake Jackson
Technique (Articulation) Customisation	No (Individual and Economic Patches Provided)	No (Individual and Economic Patches Provided)	Yes Find out more
Optional Hard Drive	HDD (for transfer to your SSD)	HDD (for transfer to your SSD)	SSD Find out more
Uses	Pop Music, Early-Hollywood Dry Scoring Stage for film/ television. Smaller Ensemble for tighter and intimate sound.	Orchestral mock-ups, orchestral scores, and modern film scores with a more cinematic sound.	Orchestral mock-ups, orchestral scores, and modern film scores with a more classical sound.

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Instrument Comparison Chart

Unique differences highlighted in bold.

Section	Studio Orchestra Pro	Spitfire Symphony Orchestra	BBC Symphony Orchestra
Strings	1st Violins:  16  8 4A (Divisi) 4B (Divisi) 2nd Violins:  12 6 3A (Divisi) 3B (Divisi) Violas:  12 6 3A (Divisi) 3B (Divisi) Celli:  12 6 3A (Divisi) 3B (Divisi) Basses:  4	1st Violins:  16  2nd Violins:  14 Violas:  12 Celli:  10 Basses:  8	1st Violins:  16  Violin Leader (Solo) 2nd Violins:  14 Violas:  12 Viola Leader (Solo) Celli:  10 Cello Leader (Solo) Basses:  8 Bass Leader (Solo)
Woodwinds	Piccolo Flute Flutes a3 Alto Flute Bass Flute Oboe Oboes a3 Cor Anglais Clarinet Clarinet a3 Bass Clarinet Contrabass Clarinet Bassoon Bassoons a3 Contrabassoon	Piccolo Flute Flutes a3 Alto Flute Bass Flute Oboe Oboes a3 Cor Anglais Clarinet Clarinet a2 Bass Clarinet Contrabass Clarinet Bassoon Bassoons a2	Piccolo Flute Flutes a3 Bass Flute Oboe Oboes a3 Cor Anglais Clarinet Clarinet a3 Bass Clarinet Contrabass Clarinet Bassoon Bassoons a3 Contrabassoon
Brass	Horn Solo 1  Horn Solo 2 Horns a4 Piccolo Trumpet Trumpet Solo 1 Trumpet Solo 2 Trumpets a2 Bass Trumpet Tenor Trombone Tenor Trombones a2 Bass Trombone  Bass Trombone a2 Contrabass Trombone Tuba  Contrabass Tuba Cimbasso Euphonium	Horn Horns a4 Horns a6 Trumpet Trumpet a2 Trumpets a6 Tenor Trombone Solo Tenor Trombones a2 Tenor Trombones a6 Bass Trombone  Bass Trombones a2 Contrabass Trombone Tuba  Contrabass Tuba Cimbasso Cimbassi a2	Horn Horns a4 Trumpet Trumpets a3 Tenor Trombone Tenor Trombones a3 Bass Trombones a2 Contrabass Trombone Tuba Contrabass Tuba
Percussion	No	Included in Symphony Complete Only	Tuned: Vibraphone Glockenspiel  Xylophone Marimba Tubular Bells Crotales Untuned:  Anvil Bass Drum 1 Bass Drum 2 Suspended Cymbal Military Drum Snare Drum 1 Snare Drum 2 Tam Tam Tambourine Tenor Drum Triangle Toys:  Castanets Woodblock Vibraslap Cowbell Sleigh Bells Short Guiro Long Guiro
Timpani	No	Included in Symphony Complete Only	Yes
Harp	No	Included in Symphony Complete Only	Yes
Celeste	No	No	Yes
Piano	No	Included in Symphony Complete Only	No
Ensemble Patches	No	Masse	No