Spitfire samples historic Beatles piano in latest instrument, Mrs Mills Piano
The plug-in earned the endorsement of Paul McCartney himself.
Image: Spitfire Audio
Spitfire Audio has once again teamed up with Abbey Road Studios on its latest instrument, Mrs Mills Piano, which samples the historic piano heard on such Beatles hits as Penny Lane and With A Little Help From My Friends.
Mrs Mills Piano – which arrives under Spitfire’s Originals series – presents a 1905 Steinway Vertegrand recorded in Abbey Road’s Studio Two. It’s the same studio the Fab Four recorded most of their music between the years of 1962 and 1970.
Spitfire describes the piano as “full of character, charm and nostalgia” offering a “bright, metallic tone” thanks to its lacquered hammers.
The British software developer captured the piano in three different signal chains – Close, Room and Vintage – which users can blend on the plug-in. Close was captured with a pair of Neumann U67s; Room offers a combination of piano and room track by a pair of omni condensers, and Vintage involves the vintage AKG D19 dynamic, passed through a REDD.47 preamp and J37 tape machine.
The virtual instrument also includes built-in reverb, drawn from one of Abbey Road’s 1950s EMT plates for even greater studio authenticity.
Paul McCartney praised Spitfire’s software version of the piano, saying in a statement: “Really exciting for me to hear Spitfire’s sampling of what we used to call Mrs Mills piano from Abbey Road. It’s great to have it on my computer.”
Spitfire’s Originals: Mrs Mills Piano is available for £/€/$29.
Learn more at spitfireaudio.com
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