Spitfire Audio LABS
Hollywood-grade sampled instruments for the price of an email address
What it is
About Spitfire Audio LABS
LABS is Spitfire Audio's ongoing series of free, beautifully-recorded virtual instruments — strings, choirs, pianos, unconventional sound sources — distributed as standalone plugins or via Spitfire's own player. Aimed at composers who can't yet justify Spitfire's premium libraries, it's widely used as an entry point into cinematic and orchestral composition, and its instruments regularly turn up in professional film, TV and game scores despite being free. New instruments are released periodically, and some are retired, so the catalogue changes over time.
What you can do with it
Capabilities
Load high-quality sampled orchestral and cinematic instruments into a DAW
Layer LABS instruments with other libraries for film and game score composition
Use built-in performance controls (dynamics, articulation switching) for expressive playing
Sketch orchestral or cinematic ideas without owning a large sample library
Explore unconventional sound sources for sound design and texture work
How to learn it
Learning Resources
Browse Spitfire Audio's own YouTube channel with LABS walkthroughs
Review Spitfire's official documentation and quick-start guides on their site
Watch composer YouTube channels reviewing and demoing each LABS release
Load a LABS instrument into a DAW and build a short cue using only it
Pro Tip
LABS instruments are periodically retired from download — grab ones you like when they're released rather than assuming you can come back for them later.
Skills that use this tool
Roles that use this tool