Explore Multidimensional Sound Across a Wealth of Amps and Beyond
Spitfire Audio’s Aperture The Stack plug-in is a kaleidoscopic elucidation of daring multi-instrumental “what if?” propositions, converging into a nexus of boundary-pushing and imaginative performances. Unlike most Spitfire Audio libraries, Aperture The Stack is a bona fide plug-in — no Kontakt Player required. Instead, the minds of Spitfire Audio required a tailored solution to contain and control the ambitious multitudes of The Stack’s groundbreaking constellation of multidimensional sound. Studio scholars, synthesists, and live sound experts alike at Sweetwater are aghast at the ingenuity and innovation Spitfire Audio has put on display, with The Stack — curated configurations of electric guitars and basses, Eurorack modules, vintage analog synths, drum machines, and more were run through a staggering 4-layer rig of 56 guitar amps and four dedicated subs. This combinatorial explosion of latent sonic potential is attenuated through Spitfire Audio’s ingenious namesake aural architecture, the Aperture. Its 13 presets comprise curated combinations of effects, processors, instruments, and dynamics tools, pre-configured to maximize the full scope of the aperture-driven, record-breaking sonic deluge that is The Stack. To be clear, these aren’t one-to-one combinations of instrument and amp; The Stack dares you to imagine a swarm of synths slowly amplifying from a few amplifiers to the full 56-by-4 amp-sub armada, seamlessly scaled in ferocity and fervor by the streamlined Aperture model and six intuitive macros. Aperture The Stack is genuinely in a league of its own, unparalleled in its imagination and sonic prowess, and something that should wholeheartedly be heard — and experienced — firsthand.
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Imaginary architectures meet unreal instrumental possibilities.
Longtime collaborator and bona fide recording space legends AIR Studios operated as the site of Spitfire Audio’s most ambitious instrumental excursion, building the 4-tier rig inside the studio’s famed Lyndhurst Hall. If you’re unfamiliar with it, an aperture is a circular optical system that’s often used in cameras for the specific purpose of granularly increasing or decreasing the amount of light that can pass through the lens. Spitfire Audio began to wonder: what if we applied this to sound? A sonic aperture. In the case of The Stack, the aperture architecture throttles an interwoven array of dynamics, expression, and spatial scope from within the Lyndhurst Hall recording space. The tighter the aperture is, the closer you ‘are’ to the namesake 4-level stack. As the aperture opens, you’re pulling back from the wall. Still, in doing as much, the sound of additional amplifiers and subs is being added and blended to the overall mix, with the sonic dimensionality of the space becoming increasingly present. Opening the aperture summons rich timbres and blooming harmonics, resulting in a distinct immersion that transcends the mere capture of reverberation within a space. As Spitfire Audio themselves put it, “It’s not reverberation. It’s a vibrating room. It’s using AIR Studios as a big speaker cabinet.”
World record-breaking madness
Spitfire Audio’s concoction of amps and subs set a world record for the highest number of amplifiers recorded at once, but this was just a fun byproduct of their unwavering ambition. While it’s tempting to think that 13 preset sounds aren’t many, the reality is that a slew of gear, in daring combinations and configurations, comprise each preset, with extensive customization afforded via preset-specific articulations, techniques, modulation, effects, and more. Aperture The Stack doesn’t pull its punches in sheer sonic madness. An Analogue Solutions Colossus synthesizer is complemented by two Roland Juno-6s, two Black Corporation Deckard’s Dream MK2 synthesizer modules, eight Soma Laboratory Lyra-8 synth modules, and dual Sequential Prophet polyphonic synthesizers. Moreover, a modular rig and original Roland TR-808 drum machine are augmented by a selection of Afrorack Eurorack drum-synth modules, alongside four electric guitars, and two electric basses. What further distinguishes The Stack from other V.I.s that may come to mind is that it’s not an emulation — every facet of performance potential is the result of methodical curation and stylistic direction that recombines and reimagines the aural attributes of this diverse multi-instrumental menagerie, with each preset being an ambitious recombination of sound sources that become bona fide instruments unto themselves.
Spitfire Audio: virtual tools for weaving sonic colorful tapestries
As the constellation of technologies that allow us to ideate, record, perform, create, and reimagine music continues to grow, so does our artistic potential. Spitfire Audio sits at the nexus of power and possibility, with its expansive catalog of diverse and inspiring virtual instruments serving as tools for summiting uncharted peaks of sonic exploration. Across classical, experimental, esoteric, and international realms of orchestration, Spitfire Audio’s instrumental suite comprises an invigorating medley of evocative compositional capabilities. State-of-the-art capture technologies were wielded by daring musical minds, with the likes of Hans Zimmer, BT, Ólafur Arnalds, Evelyn Glennie, Lea Bertucci, and the London Contemporary Orchestra among the company’s pantheon of collaborators. Strings, brass, world percussion, keys, guitars, synths, effects — Spitfire Audio is your gateway to varying hues of masterfully designed and resynthesized cinematic sound.
Spitfire Audio Aperture The Stack Features:
- Imaginative virtual instrument blends vintage analog synths, drum machines, guitars, basses, Eurorack modules, and modular rigs into a multidimensional machine of seismic sonics
- World record-breaking 4-stage rigging comprises 56 total amplifiers and four subwoofers, resulting in an unbridled array of tone-crafting capabilities
- Captured in AIR Studios’ famed Lyndhurst Hall using state-of-the-art recording techniques to ensure the richness and complexity of this daring character is faithfully reproduced
- Aperture architecture meticulously throttles dynamics and expression controls to attenuate your proximity to the force, harmonic qualities, timbral makeup, and textures of The Stack
- Attenuating the Aperture adjusts your proximity to The Stack, allowing you to control multitudes of tonal, textural, and spatial properties via 1 parameter
- Streamlined UI and intuitive layout allow for extensive control configurations that are easily customized to suit
- NKS compatibility supports enhanced sonic interfacing with compatible controllers