The Crow Hill Company has released Orchestral FX, a free strings-focused virtual instrument designed to bring haunting, cinematic textures to your productions. Ideal for horror-inspired projects, Orchestral FX is crafted with a Halloween theme in mind, making it perfect for eerie soundscapes and intense dramatic effects. The plugin captures the essence of classic horror scores, delivering ominous orchestral stabs and unsettling string sounds that instantly evoke images of gothic settings and suspenseful scenes.
Personal Review
In the introductory video, Christian Henson, founder of The Crow Hill Company, describes Orchestral FX as “30 string players in a very gothic hall in Glasgow doing one thing, and one thing very well.” True to that description, Orchestral FX sounds like something out of a vintage horror movie. With intense stabs and chilling atmospheres reminiscent of Psycho’s iconic scenes, this instrument has a truly classic horror vibe. It’s an exceptional tool for producers looking to add dark, cinematic tension to their tracks.
Features
Orchestral FX follows the signature control layout of Crow Hill’s Vaults series:
- Preset Selector – Quickly switch between curated presets.
- Distance – Adjusts proximity from a close sound to a distant, wide soundscape.
- Aberrate – A “reverse pitch echo” effect that adds a surreal, otherworldly quality, described as reminiscent of Star Trek.
- Additional Controls:
- Chatter – Adds subtle, unpredictable movement to the sound.
- Spook – Enhances eerie textures for a more haunting effect.
- Echo – Adds traditional echo for more depth.
- Splosh – Adds a layered, atmospheric texture to the sound.
Each of these controls allows for fine-tuning of the horror-themed sound, offering a wide range of terrifying, suspenseful tones for sound design.
System Requirements
Orchestral FX is available for both macOS and Windows in the following formats:
- AU
- VST3
- VST
- AAX
Download Link
Download Orchestral FX for free from The Crow Hill Company’s Vaults page. Hurry—like other Vaults releases, it’s only available for six months!