# My $99 Dollar Orchestra Results



## ricz (Mar 15, 2017)

Hi all,

I thought I would share my results from the $99 Orchestra project. It was quite a long wait and the communication was frustrating, but I'm glad I did it. I don't have much experience scoring outside of my DAW at this point, so I found this to be a great learning opportunity. Quite intimidating to actually think about how a real group of people works! I knew going into it that the string sections were going to be too small to compete with the full brass, and perhaps I should have written taking this more into consideration. You write you learn! I'm going to work on the mix when I finally get Pro Tools (waiting for that pesky iLok 3 in the mail).

I added the percussion and a little bit of harp, and a tuba on a couple of the big chords. Some of the intonation in the live performance is a little painful.

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Score: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ya2vbmpey2inelq/Ric%20Zimmerman%20-%20Concert%20Score.pdf?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/ya2vbmpey2inelq/Ric Zimmerman - Concert Score.pdf?dl=0)

Thoughts and helpful tips welcome! Always learning.

Cheers,
Ric


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Mar 16, 2017)

Not bad for $99. Trust me, it can sound a lot worse in terms of the performance you get from the musicians. The mix is bit disconcerting. I'm not sure what sort of stems they give you so that you have something to work with. The individual elements sound nice but the brass feel closer and wider than the strings which is a bit confusing. I hope they give you enough flexibility to change that. You can also hear a lot of the room in the brass. I like the sound of the room but I wouldn't want that roomyness in the final mix.


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## calebfaith (Mar 16, 2017)

Nice score, it's great to hear real musicians  That's a bargain for $99! My opinion: I was wanting to hear an even bigger moment towards the end and I thought it could almost use a tad more reverb


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## ricz (Mar 16, 2017)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> Not bad for $99. Trust me, it can sound a lot worse in terms of the performance you get from the musicians. The mix is bit disconcerting. I'm not sure what sort of stems they give you so that you have something to work with. The individual elements sound nice but the brass feel closer and wider than the strings which is a bit confusing. I hope they give you enough flexibility to change that. You can also hear a lot of the room in the brass. I like the sound of the room but I wouldn't want that roomyness in the final mix.



Agreed. It looks like Decca Tree with section spots in the folder from what I can tell. I have no idea what kind of trickery would make the imaging match, but I will repost when I've had a chance to tweak it. They also used the V1 and V2 far L and far R (there's a name for this seating arrangement...can't remember)


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## jonathanparham (Mar 16, 2017)

Enjoyed the music. Cas you tell me what the $99 project is ?


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## Morodiene (Mar 16, 2017)

I'd like to hear more about this experience. You mention the wait was long and communication frustrating. I'd love to get more details and to know what you learned in the process.

I enjoyed your piece and loved being able to follow the score as well.


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## Mithrandir (Mar 16, 2017)

ricz said:


> Agreed. It looks like Decca Tree with section spots in the folder from what I can tell. I have no idea what kind of trickery would make the imaging match, but I will repost when I've had a chance to tweak it. They also used the V1 and V2 far L and far R (there's a name for this seating arrangement...can't remember)



Could I have a try at mixing the cue, pretty please?


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## zolhof (Mar 16, 2017)

I've heard some pretty bad results from the $99 orch, yours is definitely one of the best. Maybe the music helps? Lovely piece!


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## pz_music (Mar 16, 2017)

Thanks for sharing your piece! Pretty good results - I've been interested in trying the service but was a little bit concerned with not only the end results but also the service itself. Would be interesting to hear what you found frustrating etc.

Cheers!
Paul


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## patrick76 (Mar 16, 2017)

I stopped by to check out the results of the $99 dollar orchestra, but quickly forgot about that during my listening because I was very much enjoying your piece. Great work!


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## ricz (Mar 16, 2017)

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the piece! I had a lot of fun writing it.

The service: http://www.99dollarorchestra.com

It was originally started as an Indiegogo, which is how I bought in, offering 7 minute blocks ($99) with a 30 piece chamber orchestra. I paid the small premium for the 40 piece orchestra which beefed up the woefully small string sections, doubled the flute, clarinet and oboe and added a bass trombone and percussionist (which I taceted). 

The frustrating part of the experience entirely lay in communication. The due dates for the scores were poorly articulated, and there was never an explicit timeline for the recording dates. Thus, it was hard to know when and if the piece would be recorded and what the delivery mechanism would be. I began to grow quite impatient in not knowing and reached out via this forum, on the facebook page, through the live chat mechanism on the newly launched website, as well as via email and received no clarification for many weeks. I began to grow weary that this whole thing was in fact a scam and that I had wasted my time and money. Andre Miranda, the founder and from what I can tell only person on the other side of the service eventually reached out and said that my files would be delivered within a couple of days. Flash forward to two months later and he reached out again apologizing and saying that the piece would finally be recorded in their next session. I expressed my disappointment in the process so far and said that it would be great to record with the new and improved 'Epic Orchestra (adding strings, a tuba, harp, timpani, percussion and a bassoon) as a consolation prize for the grief. He agreed and told me to resubmit my score, which I promptly re-orchestrated. I received my stems/mix some weeks later and quickly discovered it was recorded with the original orchestration. I again expressed my disappointment and Andre responded by telling me it was a system error and that "here is a $99 coupon towards a future session"--there was no coupon attached, and I received no response to my pointing out of that fact. 

So there you have it. I am grateful for the experience to mess around with orchestration and have a recording with live players at a price point I can afford. Yes, it is arguable that you 'get what you pay for' but ultimately I am satisfied.

Morodiene, I hope this explains a bit. I also just learned a lot by thinking through writing for a severely misbalanced 'orchestra', sometimes successfully (V1V2VA in unison or octaves can almost hold their own against full brass) and other times less so. I am excited to continue to think about balance in a different way.

Mithrandir, by all means!

Cheers, guys and gals.
Ric


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## jonathanparham (Mar 17, 2017)

ricz said:


> I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the piece! I had a lot of fun writing it.
> 
> The service: http://www.99dollarorchestra.com
> 
> ...


Thanks for the thorough explanation. Enjoyed the music


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## Grim_Universe (Mar 17, 2017)

Great result for $99 orchestra! Congratulations.


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## mcalis (Mar 17, 2017)

ricz said:


> I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the piece! I had a lot of fun writing it.
> 
> The service: http://www.99dollarorchestra.com
> 
> ...


That sounds like a very painful process! I've often considered the $99 orchestra, but this makes me a little weary. It's not that I dont trust them, but they would do well to communicate better, if your story is anything to go by...


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