Windforce - Fantasy Genre

Sorry, poor choice of word mate. ;D I mean disconnected instead of distant. If the melody line up high on the 1st violins on the main sections isn’t doubled an octave below then it sounds too disconnected for most music.

Ok thanks…was wondering what the 2nd violins were for…Kevin

Well the string section is spread out from left to right on the stage/recording environment. The violinists get split into two sections first and foremost for balance from left to right in the stereo field. But secondly so that even if the string section isn’t playing divisi they can play 5 different notes to make up a chord/harmony. In full orchestras on stage, if you youtube, to the left/left center there will be 16 1st violinists and 14 2nd violinists. The reason there are 2 more in the 1st violin section is because they typically take the higher line of the melody so it cuts through more.

There are different ways to score strings of course. Sometimes a cello melody up high can sound wonderful with violins sustaining chords down low. But generally from 1st vln, 2nd vln, vla, cl and db, the notes will be distributed by pitch from high to low in the aforementioned order. When you use 8Dio Adagio you’ll need 2x violins and have one panned further left and one left center. Though in pop strings seem to not be spread so far left and right, but one can still hear they are divided, I mean…they must be due to the physics of the universe that dictates umpteen humans can’t all sit at the exact same spot. ;p

cheers Jonathan…just finishing a song now that has not got strings but intend to use 8dio and LASS on my next effort, so may take a while…Kevin

I’m just now listening to this.

Wow.

In my opinion, Alicia’s Keys is fine for what you are doing. What you are missing is a bit more reverb on the piano only. Get it to float a bit, but be sure you don’t add so much that it gets lost in the mix.

Hi Jonathan,

thanks for the “String Only” version… very interesting for me!

Best regards
Chris

So I downloaded the track, and it sounds amazing on my brand new IEMs. I agree with foolomon, maybe the piano could use a little bit more reverb, but I really think that sample fits perfect. The mix is great, those drums mixed with the fast strings creates an awesome feeling. If I could change one thing it would be to bring that synth up in the mix a little… :smiley:
Can’t wait to hear it with the vocal, that should polish it off nicely :wink: Awesome job as usual!

like this one … very good and epic. could easily pass of for gaming , film etc as it stands. Joe public would not know anything different from real players.

This piece sounds very polished and utterly perfect. The samples are undoubtedly a big factor, but I know it’s owed in no small part to your own technique and writing skills. I found the strings only version pretty insightful, again no where near a fair comparison to these sh*tty HALion SE samples I’m working with. I’m a big fan of the underlying rhythm you used with Stormdrum; it definitely added urgency. Alicia Keys piano has one of the more colourful tonal characters of the piano libraries out there, so I certainly say it gets the job done with attitude as always. Reverb is always such a subjective subject which everyone has an opinion about, it’s your piece so always do what fits your taste.

what can i say ,excellent composing and arranging just wow.

Great orchestration and love the piano part but the sample isn’t great on it, If you want I would be happy to convert to a better sound if you’d like me to just PM me. Can’t wait to hear vocals
Kenny

You are great at working with the big orchestra libraries! Sound is great.

I actually just use the gold (cheaper versions with just the main mic position) versions of the libraries but the hollywood series is very good yes, even somewhat still stands up against 8Dio’s Adagio library, though it is noticeably inferior compared side-by-side but yeah a world apart from the Halion SE ones. :blush: If you can spot the EWQL hollywood libraries at -50% off then the gold versions are pretty cheap for what you get. :smiley:

Cheers Kenny and yeah the piano lacks that kind of weight/body to the sound as I knew you would notice being a piano master. :smiley: Thanks for the offer very much, but sealed this project off for now.



Cheers, pleased with the orchestration and expression, though still with earphones so I’m sceptical as to whether the mix/master actually sounds alright. ;D

Added an additional synth now that gave it that extra rhythmic quality, though not gonna make them louder. :wink:

Hi Jonathan

I see you have removed the strings only version. Wanted to ask you, I listened to it some time ago but it sounded like the strings version was in a different key. Am I mistaken? Just curious why, not criticizing you. I’m a big admirer of your music. Looking forward to the vocal version.

I bought EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold but do regret that they don’t give choirs with the gold and platinum versions. I wonder why they do that? I’ll have to buy choirs at a later date, waiting for a discount offer.

Michael

PS Did you enter the Hans Zimmer competition?

I will happily upload soloed sections of any section again if you’d like, just let me know. The original composition was written in C minor, by the time I uploaded the strings only version I was in C# minor and when I was discussing it with the vocalist it was too low for her preferred range so we agreed upon E minor.

The best option is to get the complete composers collection 2 with the hollywood series. It’s the most effective cost-to-benefit purchase of any company imo. I just use the gold versions of the hollywood series and they sound alright, though a bit dated now. The choir program is nice for the price, however if you already own the full version of Kontakt I’d recommend getting Strezov Sampling Storm Choir 2 library instead as it’s recent (end of last year I believe) and EWQL’s choir library is now ancient and riddled with poor programming and bugs. For example I can’t change tempo without giving it a few bars in advance (which is very problematic for writing) without it causing stuck notes and varying the tempo in a way that mimics a conductor breathes that extra bit of life into the samples/piece, though I’d use a metronome for this piece anyway if it were recorded live.

Nah and for various reasons; I’m under an exclusive production music contract so even if I did actually win I couldn’t legally work for them. I’m new to production music so doubt I would even win anyway, there are far more qualified composers. I think the few people that have been doing this for over a decade will have the biggest chance as they know exactly what kinds of things production music companies look for and also how to actually pull it off. I wouldn’t enter a competition that is to arrange a melody/theme/piece that someone else wrote, it just doesn’t get me excited and music excites me, not the reward (though the two overlap naturally.)

good stuff !!

i would lift the piano gradually also from 2.00 - 2.10

i will also make the velocity of the piano notes “not the same”

great effort :exclamation:

Thanks mbr, nothing I try with NI Alicia’s Keys makes it seem to blend well with an approximate 100 person orchestra. It just seems to sound very hollow, for want of a better word. the velocities are actually varied from 5-20. The dynamic levels sound a bit odd at certain points, like too much of a leap. I’d bet something like 8Dio’s Steinway piano libraries would have the right kind of sound.