Hello. I know this question will be a liyttle bit tricky.
I have compose several trio for piano, violin and cello ensemble. I don't have a lot of budget to do a recording with real musicians. I would like to record the piano with a real pianist with a virtual piano and record the violin and the cello ensemble myself with virtual instruments. I know several good virtual instruments. What are the best piano and strings ensemble available in the market and is it possible with a lot of work to do a very good recording.

Actually, the piano would be the easier instrument to sequence. It basically makes one sound. The stringed instruments have an enormous variety of articulations and playing techniques. There ARE sample libraries which offer lots of these, but the sequencing is terribly laborious. What have you got available already? Even the more affordable sample sets generally have some Key Switch controls, letting you get your feet wet with detailled sequencing techniques.

No chance of getting some friendly musicians interested in this project?

(Rule #1 of practical composition. Write for the musicians you have available!)

Thank's for your reply. Yes, i know that virtual instruments don't replace real musicians. I have a pianist for recording but i need a string ensembles (7 violins and 3 cellos). I don't have the budget for. So my other solution is virtual instruments.

Would it be worthwhile considering employing one violinist & one cellist to do multiple overdubs? Not the same as a true ensemble, but still? Or a violinist & cellist to add realism to a virtual ensemble?

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...speaking at length about something is no guarantee that understanding is advanced.

This trio has now become a hendectet? :-)

I still reckon you should try to interest a local community orchestra or college. No-one would need paying. You'll also get invaluable feedback on the playability of your parts, your grasp of string notation... And, most important, your music will LIVE!

Live players are always the best but in some situations, it will be necessary to use other solutions. Doubling the samples with live players is a good compromise. If i use samples for strings ensemble, what is the best samples you have use for a job ? I know that LA scoring strings and cinematic strings are a good choice.

Quote Redolasido:

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Live players are always the best but in some situations, it will be necessary to use other solutions. Doubling the samples with live players is a good compromise. If i use samples for strings ensemble, what is the best samples you have use for a job ? I know that LA scoring strings and cinematic strings are a good choice.

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Well, how much do you want to spend? :-) What platform will you be working on? Was the score written in Finale or Sibelius - if so, what dissatisfies you about that program's rendition?

How much do you know about all the different techniques and articulation that make up a realistic string performance? Look down the bottom of this page:
http://audiobro.com/la-scoring-strings/
for the list of available articulations. Do you know what they're all about?

I'm not trying to put you down - just finding out where you're at :-)

My budget is for buying Vienna imperial piano, the pianist and for the rest, i will check the possibility. I have write the trio so the piano can be play alone without other instrumentist. I have check LA scoring strings articulations and indeed, it's a lot of possibility.
Is there other piano samples program that are the same level of Vienna imperial ?

Some people speak highly of the East-West pianos. I'm fond of the piano on my Kurzweil PC3X keyboard. And it's a nice weighted 88-note keyboard for a pianist to play. What will you be using?

Thank's for your suggestions, i will take a look for east-west piano.
I will rent a piano for the recording session, probably a Roland or Yamaha controller because i have a very cheap controller, a M-Audio and it's not a good choice for that project.

There are quite a few amateur/semi pro orchestras that actively look out for new music. The director of such an ensemble would be able to tell you from a computer rendition of your music (provide a score and a CD) whether they'd be prepared to play it through for you to hear what is sounds like on real instruments, and advise on printing parts and all the stuff you need to do to get something off your computer and onto music stands. It seems like a huge mountain to climb but until you do it you really aren't composing for those instruments. Most musicians are quite accommodating to beginners if they know you're serious about what you do.

If you manage to get this to happen, take along a handheld recorder and you have a recording of it, too. If you're not very experienced at scoring, the bits where they stop will be as educational as the bits they play well!

It's far easier to get a dozen players just to play something than to fart about for weeks planning a studio-based substitute. Plus you'll get three or four times as many reactions to your composition.

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There are quite a few amateur/semi pro orchestras that actively look out for new music.

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And quite a lot of would-be recording engineers who would enjoy setting up mountains of gear!

Take your little Zoom along as well though - these recordings can sometimes be spectacular technical disasters!

I've often thought that to justify their funding, professional orchestra should run sessions where they play anything put in front of them that has been adequately scored and copied. You book a slot in the monthly? session and they give your music ten minutes playing time. British orchestras are probably the best sight-readers in the world, and if the tape is running you'd have a hugely useful recording to take home and see how it compares with what you thought it would sound like, or what it sounded like on Sibelius.

Granted, a lot of it will be pretty ropy, but if the music passes the test of having a score and decent parts it would raise the bar high enough not to be a total disaster. And it would make a change from playing Brahms 4 yet again. PLus, occasionally there might be a spectacular 'discovery".

Or am I now so mad and senile I can't see the obvious flaws? (sorry for hijacking the thread).