# $99 Orchestra -- RIP OFF?



## ricz (Nov 22, 2016)

Hi folks,

Anybody had any luck communicating with / receiving files from the $99 orchestra? I have been trying to reach them unsuccessfully for several weeks through email, Facebook, Indiegogo _and_ their website and am beginning to get rather frustrated. Other clues lead me to believe this is not a totally uncommon experience?

Cheers,
Ric


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## Seycara (Nov 22, 2016)

ricz said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> Anybody had any luck communicating with / receiving files from the $99 orchestra? I have been trying to reach them unsuccessfully for several weeks through email, Facebook, Indiegogo _and_ their website and am beginning to get rather frustrated. Other clues lead me to believe this is not a totally uncommon experience?
> 
> ...



Hi Ric,

I've had quotes from them once for a video game soundtrack gig. My originally inquiry was responded to however further attempts to communicate and discuss quality issues were not addressed and the person communicating to me from WESO (Western European Scoring Orchestra, the actual name of the 99$ orchestra) basically disappeared. This made me end up just hiring local musicians and using libraries to complete the soundtrack deal but the ordeal with WESO did leave me a few weeks behind. I've heard from others that they do legitimate recording and is not a scam however from their sample recordings, the quality or the recording and players is dubious and my experience communicating them is a solid 0/10.

Just my 2 cents, hope you find what you're looking for


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## NoamL (Nov 22, 2016)

They are not a scam. But they're not good either.

I know the guy who runs it (we both went to NYU). He's a good guy, a real entrepreneur in his home country (Portugal) & has the best intentions with this project.

But in one sentence: You get what you pay for. There's a reason WESO is cheaper than the remote recording orchestras in the post-Soviet world. Just like there's a reason _*those*_ guys are cheaper than the LSO or unionized LA session players.

I contributed to WESO's original fundraiser in spring 2015. They drastically underestimated the headaches of communicating with 200+ customers who ordered customizable variants of the same product (so: par for the course of every Kickstarter). It took them several weeks after the recordings to get audio to their customers. Not a huge deal.

The main problem is that the recordings were simply not worthwhile for a working composer. The orchestra has decent players, but they're not good sightreaders. Anything technical, they stumbled and had to do pickups - and that eats into your precious 7 minutes or 30 minutes. The studio space is bad (or the mic setup is, I'm not qualified to say). Worst of all, they record in massive blocks of time which wears out their players fast, especially since so many of the pieces they record are poorly orchestrated amateur works.

This is what you can expect if you write something not terribly technical AND they do a good job on it:





My gut feeling is that a lot of WESO's business comes from composers who want to have at least one small live recording to put on their reel or their website's front page, etc. I would NOT recommend them for this purpose.


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## NoamL (Nov 22, 2016)

For those thinking about using WESO I strongly encourage you to instead contact *Mark Robertson *of *Allegro Entertainment*:

http://allegro-entertainment.com/about-us/

One of many music contractors out here in LA. I have run into him several times doing copyist work for composers on TV documentaries, low budget student films and even a Super Bowl commercial. Every time his players have done a bang-up job. Mark is a pro in every way and he also understands and wants to help rising composers so they can one day be his bread and butter clients. Working with him will be worth the extra money you spend.


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## Mike Marino (Nov 22, 2016)

NoamL said:


> But in one sentence: You get what you pay for.


That says it all.

I took part in their original fundraiser back in 2015 as well. It wasn't a good experience. I bought the little video add-on with a short 7-minute session. Glad I did because the string section was smaller than originally quoted. 5/4/3/4/1 ended up being 3/4/1/3/1. I contacted them about this issue (along with other issues) and while I initially heard back from them and that I'd be rescheduled for another session I never heard from them again, even after a few more follow-up emails. It was $125. The value of going through the process and having something recorded was arguably worth it...but I wouldn't do it again.

Here's a link to the video of the performance:
https://app.box.com/s/07mnyq4drnf4zg5pfciuftqrcau6u6b1


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## tav.one (Nov 22, 2016)

Good to know.

I'm not sure this thread belongs to Commercial Announcements, though.


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## ricz (Nov 22, 2016)

itstav said:


> Good to know.
> 
> I'm not sure this thread belongs to Commercial Announcements, though.



I really didn't know where to put it, my apologies. I thought since it was a service this might be the best fit.

Thanks for everyone's replies. The issue I'm having is that I paid for a session and sent my score and parts and then never heard anything again despite frequent contact. I'll continue to badger them.

Cheers,
Ric


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## N.Caffrey (Nov 23, 2016)

tried once this summer. NEVER again.. don't waste your money. friend had similar issues


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## Rasmus Hartvig (Nov 23, 2016)

I tried when they did their first campaign, but won't be doing it again. As an educational exercise it might be valuable, but don't count on an end product that can stand up to any kind of serious scrutiny. My piece were plagued by embarrassing intonation issues, flat out errors that wasn't corrected, and disappointing recording quality.
My experience echoes what has been said before: You get what you pay for.


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## Tatu (Nov 23, 2016)

Seems like there are some good experience based opinions, which suggest to look elsewhere. There should be a sticky listing worthwhile "remote orchestras".


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## Daniel F. (Nov 23, 2016)

The brass players seems not so good but the string section actually sounds a little bit good. Maybe not for fast spiccato lines but for more emotional parts. Wasn't there a thread with more examples from the 99 dollar orchestra or even a soundcloud playlist?


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## WhiteNoiz (Nov 23, 2016)

NoamL said:


> This is what you can expect if you write something not terribly technical AND they do a good job on it:




I had messed a bit with that one at the time it was posted. Here's again for comparison (you can definitely point some issues with it):
https://mega.nz/#!AUJyETYJ!f3H0lhybH3BIqqnM7mNeKDZAvDPaOshkgRIlAhnZzsQ

https://mega.nz/#!FNxxnLCa!lwo6VElSvw4CyMFFX6G1f04fU91Vn6gor6W6X15SF48 (With some samples layered)

(Yes, it's the exact same performance, with different processing)

The second sounds quite good to me. Dunno, to me it was always pretty apparent what you could expect (didn't risk it with the initial campaign). Maybe they should shape people's expectations better. In a tailored perspective, I think it could be useful. Anyway, not delivering at all is definitely unacceptable.

-
http://vi-control.net/community/threads/99-orchestra-my-results.48123/
http://vi-control.net/community/threads/live-orchestra-my-first-time.46387/
http://vi-control.net/community/threads/99-orchestra-–-main-theme-of-upcoming-game.51449/
The posted soundcloud playlist:
soundcloud.com/groups/99-orchestra-recordings (Doesn't work)



This seems to be a different setup:
soundcloud.com/user-158832336/sets/99-orchestra-featured-composer

...

Phew... Probably spent too much time on it already. :D


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## dimtsak (Nov 23, 2016)

Mike Marino said:


> Here's a link to the video of the performance:
> https://app.box.com/s/07mnyq4drnf4zg5pfciuftqrcau6u6b1



Thanks a lot for sharing the video Mike!
I am about to book my first session ever, for a small 1 minute and something piece.
It is 89 dollars for a 7 minute session right now, so i will give a try.
It is mostly for my education and the experience.

I hope they are improving every year, and obviously becoming more experienced.
Live video streaming is included in the price, so you can capture the session.


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## andremiranda2 (Dec 13, 2016)

Hey all, The $99 Orchestra is offering a special discount to everyone that wasn't happy with the results on the initial crowdfunding campaigns. We've set up a company, with customer service, we're offering a 56 piece orchestra instead of a 30 piece orchestra and for the composers who need the best quality we're also offering recording sessions in London with union musicians. Those are our premium sessions for pros exclusively. http://www.99dollarorchestra.com (www.99dollarorchestra.com)

If you weren't happy reach out to [email protected] or contact customer support at our website to get your discount cupon.


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## andremiranda2 (Dec 15, 2016)

I just want to point out that the first crowdfunding campaign was in early 2015 and now we're way past that and have matured the service. In our first campaign we also recorded music for 300+ composers and there was a lot of really great recordings and the majority of people got a great recording for $99 which is cool! If your recording didn't meet your expectations please contact customer support at http://www.99dollarorchestra.com (www.99dollarorchestra.com) Let's take care of it!


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## procreative (Dec 15, 2016)

As that great investment sage Warren Buffet said: "It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it".


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## ricz (Dec 24, 2016)

Despite reassurance from André that the engineer would be sending my files a few weeks ago, still nothing and no response to my emails since then inquiring about them.


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## toomanynotes (Dec 27, 2016)

Here here... you can talk to them with online chat at the webpage and also there is also a skype number. Very nice ppl. Though i havent had anything played.


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## CyberPunk (Jan 2, 2022)

ricz said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> Anybody had any luck communicating with / receiving files from the $99 orchestra? I have been trying to reach them unsuccessfully for several weeks through email, Facebook, Indiegogo _and_ their website and am beginning to get rather frustrated. Other clues lead me to believe this is not a totally uncommon experience?
> 
> ...


I remember hiring them, I paid for 3 different scores to be recorded and they only deliver 2 out of 3. Horribly performing, the musicians were making music playing the music in goofy ways. for example, if I had an octave in a passage they will play it glissandi, pitchy as well "you get what you paid for" I feel bad for the guy who put this project together he seemed to have noble intentions just not the right people around him.


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## Casiquire (Jan 2, 2022)

CyberPunk said:


> I remember hiring them, I paid for 3 different scores to be recorded and they only deliver 2 out of 3. Horribly performing, the musicians were making music playing the music in goofy ways. for example, if I had an octave in a passage they will play it glissandi, pitchy as well "you get what you paid for" I feel bad for the guy who put this project together he seemed to have noble intentions just not the right people around him.


Seems like they don't exist anymore


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## QuiteAlright (Jan 2, 2022)

This is interesting to hear about. I never saw any of the Kickstarter campaigns for this and it's a bit sad to hear that they couldn't deliver on all of their claims. But I can see why the concept is appealing. For that low of a price, I can easily see people lining up for a service like that if it worked well.


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## CyberPunk (Jan 2, 2022)

QuiteAlright said:


> This is interesting to hear about. I never saw any of the Kickstarter campaigns for this and it's a bit sad to hear that they couldn't deliver on all of their claims. But I can see why the concept is appealing. For that low of a price, I can easily see people lining up for a service like that if it worked well.


it was in Kickstarter and Indiegogo in different occasions


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## odod (Jan 3, 2022)

this one? 

`https://www.musiversal.com/`


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## CyberPunk (Jan 3, 2022)

odod said:


> this one?
> 
> `https://www.musiversal.com/`


No, I think this one is new. The 99 dollar orchestra is no longer


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## toomanynotes (Jan 7, 2022)

odod said:


> this one?
> 
> `https://www.musiversal.com/`


Yes it’s the same people. Same guys. Prices have gone up.


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## CyberPunk (Jan 7, 2022)

toomanynotes said:


> Yes it’s the same people. Same guys. Prices have gone up.


You are right


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## Daniel James (Jan 8, 2022)

NoamL said:


> r. There's a reason WESO is cheaper than the remote recording orchestras in the post-Soviet world. Just like there's a reason _*those*_ guys are cheaper than the LSO or unionized LA session players.


I get what you mean by that, but man, I have been recording with Budapest Scoring Orchestra a lot recently and they have really gotten good. Really good service too, particularly remote recording, which is how I do it. Fantastic cost for quality ratio for sure! and I am hearing that more and more from others too. 

-DJ


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## toomanynotes (Jan 9, 2022)

Back when they were called $99 Orchestra, I paid premium for London Union players. I had no issue, hell I even attended. I enjoyed the experience, though that day, damn union rules prohibited the string players from playing with the brass on a particular hour…..why you ask?
Musician Union says everyone needs a tea break. Therefore a few of us had to have strings recorded separately from the brass due to time constraints and budget ; Sounded great nevertheless.


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## Haakond (Jan 9, 2022)

toomanynotes said:


> Yes it’s the same people. Same guys. Prices have gone up.


I have subscribed to Musiversal for a month now, and I am enjoying it. You get 30 mins each session where the musicians record what you need. They also get preparation time, so they are prepared each session.


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## toomanynotes (Jan 9, 2022)

Haakond said:


> I have subscribed to Musiversal for a month now, and I am enjoying it. You get 30 mins each session where the musicians record what you need. They also get preparation time, so they are prepared each session.


It's unfortunate some people have had issues, but myself only positive experiences! I haven't the need for the monthly sub, glad it's working out for you!


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