From lute to guitar
A history of fretted strings for contemporary composition and songwriting, Cetra offers a selection of instruments from the folk and classical traditions of Western Europe. Some are rare and antique, some are replicas of historical instruments, some of them early 20th century classics. All of them offer spirit, nuance, and detail for your songs, stories, scores, and productions.
Intro offer
€119.00
RRP: €149.00 | Ends October 22, 2025
Fretted string instruments from the classical and folk traditions of Western Europe.
Highlights
11 detailed instruments from lute to guitar
Automatic release sample selection for improved playability
Multiple articulations including chords, tremolos, mordents, fret noises
Spread and flicked chord options
4 mic positions
Recorded at SML Studios in Surrey, UK
The sound of Cetra
Cetra captures the rare and special magic of these instruments—all of them are highly dynamic and expressive, and excel particularly in the softer registers. Whether you're scoring a romance set in contemporary London, soundtracking the halls of medieval fantasy video games, or writing bluegrass-tinged songs, Cetra offers new and distinct sounds for setting scenes and building worlds.
A fretted history
"Every musical instrument forms a part of an evolutionary process... all these instruments are part of that process. Some have reached their evolutionary peak, others are a part of history." - Richard Harvey
The instruments recorded for Cetra represent this process. Some show specific eras, others show rare and lesser-known branches that this evolutionary process has taken. All the instruments were captured at their perfect vintage condition.
Instruments from Gothic folk tales
Almost all of the instruments in Cetra come from Richard Harvey's private collection. These are absolutely exquisite instruments at the pinnacle of their musical evolution. And while the originals are one-of-a-kind, Cetra puts them directly at your fingertips.
Mandolin
A 100 year-old Gibson A series with 4 courses of metal strings tuned in 5ths.
Baroque mandolin
Courses of gut or nylon strings and a deeper body for warm, rounded tone.
Alto mandola
An early 20th century Gibson, it's the viola equivalent of the mandolin family tuned a 5th lower.
Irish bouzouki
Also known as an octave mandolin or octave mandola, the bottom two courses are tuned in octaves.
Mandocello
This 100 year-old Gibson is the cello equivalent of the mandolin. Tuned in 5ths.
Lute
An instrument with a ribbed back for a distinctive and resonant sound, it has 6, 7, or 8 courses of gut strings.
Theorbo
At nearly 2 meters in length, the theorbo was designed to play in baritone and very low bass ranges.
Cittern
Historic and uniquely English, it has 5 courses of brass strings and is played with a plectrum.
Vintage acoustic guitar
This sunburst Gibson from 1953 is a parlor size guitar.
Tenor guitar in C
This Gibson from the 1930s is a parlor guitar usually tuned in 5ths.
Tenor guitar in G
A Dobro resonator from the 1930s with a tuning very popular in Celtic and folk music.
Created with Richard Harvey
Richard Harvey is a prolific composer and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with artists such as Hans Zimmer, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, and guitarist John Williams. He’s conducted, composed, orchestrated, and played on numerous film and television soundtracks, including The Lion King, The Little Prince, The Da Vinci Code, Prince Caspian, Disney's live action Mulan, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Richard is an expert player and collector of unique musical instruments, with an unparalleled collection of more than 700 instruments—old and new—from around the world. Richard has already worked with Orchestral Tools to create Phoenix Orchestra, Sangara, Svara, Andea, Abacus, and Monolith. With all of his Orchestral Tools projects, Richard is sharing his incredible instrument collection with the composer community.
More from Richard Harvey
Andea by Richard Harvey
South American instruments
Monolith by Richard Harvey
Cinematic traditional drums
Phoenix Orchestra
Authentic Chinese instruments
Abacus by Richard Harvey
Vintage children’s instruments
Sangara by Richard Harvey
Cinematic Southeast Asia
Runs in SINE
Mic merging
Preserve your system resources: Fine-tune your mix using multiple mic positions, then merge into a single channel within the player.
Greater usability
SINE is designed to complement the compositional workflow. Create on the fly with auto keyswitch options, and easy remapping tools.
Download single instruments
Choose only the instruments and mic positions that you currently need—no need to download the entire collection at once.
Spectrum
Cetra
From lute to guitar
SML Studio Surrey, London
Works with Orchestral Tools’ SINE Player—NOTE: Latest version required.
Size
85.5 GB of samples (25.5 GB SINEarc compressed)
24 bit / 48 KHz patches
SINE system requirements
Mac: macOS 10.15 or higher | Intel Core i5 or similar | Apple ARM chipsets supported | At least 8 GB RAM (16 GB+ recommended)
Windows: Windows 10 | Intel Core i5 or similar | At least 8 GB RAM (16 GB+ recommended)
Formats supported: Standalone, VST, VST3, AU, AAX