!BACKGROUND! To match the stunning and much talked about marimba found in our full Orchestral Percussion !range. At last a dry version suitable for all applications played by a true master.! !SPITFIRE PRESENTS FRANK RICOTTI - MARIMBA! Frank Ricotti is one of Britain’s greatest percussionists and jazz vibraphonists. Growing up in a musical family, Ricotti followed in his father’s footsteps when he decided to take up percussion. While in his teens Frank followed the guidance of his teacher Bill Ashton, and embarked on a project that lead him to play in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Frank’s talents are shown in his ability to master a variety of percussion instruments, though he concentrates mostly on the vibraphone, as well as being a composer and arranger. From the late 1960s onward Frank has established himself as a popular studio musician. Frank has now both played and recorded with Dave Gelly, Meat Loaf, Graham Collier, The Pet Shop Boys, Neil Ardley, Freddie Mercury, Mike Gibbs, Tina Turner, Gordon Beck and Stan Tracey. Frank has recorded on a string of successful film and TV soundtracks, including; The Beiderbecke Affair, The Beach, The Bourne Ultimatum, !The Golden Compass, Fantastic Mr Fox, Puss in Boots and Skyfall.! The marimba is a direct descendant of the xylophone and looks very much like its ancestor. Although composers have written extensively for this instrument only since 1950, it has recently started to come into its own as part of the contemporary orchestra. The marimba’s rosewood bars, also arranged in the keyboard fashion, are of course graduated, but thinner, longer, and wider than the xylophone’s, and the resonators have always been part of its construction. The playing technique is identical to the xylophone’s, but the marimba’s mellower, deeper sound has generated a different kind of music. The size and range of the marimba is fairly standard (although the range of some marimbas goes down to A2 or even F2), and there are no transposition problems since it sounds an octave lower. The music can be notated on one or two staffs, in either the treble or bass !clef.! The lower register of this instrument is unique and especially beautiful; in the higher registers, the marimba’s tone resembles the xylophone’s. The most successfully used mallets for the marimba !are those made of yarn or soft rubber.! Engineered by Joe Rubel at Air-Edel Studios, one of the few remaining recording spaces in London's west end, Spitfire has recorded a pristinely maintained Marimba (with bass octave extension) deeply with up to 8 round robins, 4 dynamic layers, with a number of beaters, techniques and from a number of perspectives.! ! Spitfire is a collective of award winning composers and technologists. We don't just record and build samples we go further than that. We produce with great pride every single note, ushering the best out of the musician and curate each product with a set of articulations, sounds and performances that we know will give you the definitive take of this wonderful anthology. We engage our specialists not only as performers, but as technical advisers to give us a consensus based on !experience of what most composers want out of them, what DEFINES the instrument.! !FEATURES! Part of the Producer Portfolio which answers repeated requests for drier sounding more manipulatable samples, for more non-orchestral material, and for libraries that are affordable to all. Recorded by the Spitfire team in a number of smaller but excellent London studios, including the new Spitfire HQ in King’s Cross and their old favourite, the classic vintage studio Air-Edel in Marylebone. With a useful selection of classic/ vintage, modern, broad and room microphones, the Producer Portfolio features the talents of legendary musicians, producers, composers and programmers. With Spitfire’s existing orchestral and definitive ranges, we’re very proud of the “impression” that the hall at Air studios gives, but it’s not right for every application. With this new range, we have recorded in smaller spaces, close, mid range and room perspectives with carefully positioned, fine, ‘A class’ mics and pres to give you the raw materials you need to make these sounds your own.!.