LABS Foghorn
Key Features
- Sampled from the historic 1905 Sumburgh Foghorn at Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, Shetland, delivering authentically dark and cinematic brass tones
- Includes guttural low-end brass patches, ethereal rock cavern echoes, and a dedicated mechanical kit built from the foghorn's whirring machinery sounds
- Streamlined LABS interface with expression and dynamics sliders, plus reverb, delay, attack, and release controls for quick sound shaping
- Creates instant tension and atmospheric dread suitable for horror, thriller, sci-fi, and dark ambient scoring without complex layering or processing
- Featured sound source from Robert Eggers' Academy Award-nominated film The Lighthouse, lending real cinematic provenance to your productions
- Runs as a lightweight standalone LABS plugin in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX formats across all major 64-bit DAWs
Description
LABS Foghorn is a cinematic brass instrument built from recordings of the Sumburgh Foghorn at the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse in Shetland, Scotland. Originally constructed in 1905 to guide ships through dangerous fog, this real-world sound source gained notoriety after being featured in Robert Eggers' Academy Award-nominated film The Lighthouse.
Spitfire Audio's sound designers captured everything from the horn's guttural low-end brass tones to the otherworldly echoes created by surrounding caverns of rock. A separate mechanical kit patch uses the whirring, clanking sounds of the machinery that drives air through the horn, adding industrial texture and pre-horn tension to compositions.
The instrument runs inside the dedicated LABS plugin, which provides a streamlined interface with sliders for expression and dynamics, plus controls for reverb, delay, attack, and release. A customizable knob lets you shape the character of each patch to fit your project.
Rather than delivering clean, traditional brass tones, Foghorn specializes in dark and ominous atmospheres that surround the listener. The raw sonic material translates into sounds ranging from massive sub-bass drones to eerie, distant wails that instantly establish tension and unease.
Foghorn is available through the LABS platform (now part of Splice Instrument) as a VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin for 64-bit DAWs on macOS and Windows.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of sounds does LABS Foghorn include?
Foghorn includes deep, guttural brass tones sampled from the actual Sumburgh Foghorn, ethereal echoes captured from the surrounding rock caverns, and a mechanical kit patch built from the whirring machinery sounds that power the foghorn. Together they cover everything from massive sub-bass drones to eerie atmospheric textures.
Do I need a Spitfire Audio account to download LABS Foghorn?
LABS has migrated to Splice Instrument. You need a Splice account to download and install the LABS plugin and the Foghorn sound pack. The plugin and all LABS packs remain available at no cost.
Can LABS Foghorn be used for music genres outside of film scoring?
Absolutely. While it excels at cinematic and film scoring work, producers use it for dark ambient, industrial, drone, post-rock, and experimental electronic music. The raw foghorn tones and mechanical textures blend well with synthesizers and other sampled instruments for unique sound design.
What is the Sumburgh Foghorn that was sampled for this instrument?
The Sumburgh Foghorn is located at the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse on the southern tip of Shetland, Scotland. Built in 1905, it was designed to warn ships of dangerous coastal fog. Its uniquely terrifying sound became widely known after being featured in Robert Eggers' 2019 film The Lighthouse.
