Online strings recording

[Buschmann]

Hi there,

I need to record a string quartet for a pop project. In lack of local people I seek online providers. Does anybody have experiences worth sharing?

[SillyMidOn]

Richard Curran:

http://www.rickcurran.co.uk

He is really good, I gave him one heck of a tricky track to play once. Have used him on several projects.

[SillyMidOn]

That's odd, doesn't happen when I try and load his page.

You can also find his info here:

http://www.sessionexchange.org/richard-curran

[Thomas Mavian]

You have to stop doing those server attacks Anders

[Erik Cordes]

My friend Frank van Essen provides such services. He is working with high profile (Dutch) clients. https://www.stringsattached.nl.

[SillyMidOn]

This US company records with the "proper" 4 players for a quartet, so not multi-tracked. Makes it more expensive, but it's worth a look:

http://www.esessionstrings.com/team/index.html

[Alex A]

So how much are we looking at approximately for having a 3 minute piece for string quartet recorded using the above services? I've never used any before and I've gotten really tired of trying to mock stuff like this up.

[SillyMidOn]

Rick Curran charges £150 flat fee per track, and he will play in V1 V2 VA and CELLO.

If you want to use the live strings to add realism to existing VI strings, then he can layer his live strings as well for the same price (so V1 x3, V2 x 3 etc)

With Esessions, I only have quotes for doing an 13 track album, they quoted $5000 for an actual string quartet tripled (if that makes sense), so that's $384 per track, which if you consider you are getting 4 actual players interacting is very decent. But contact them directly to get a specific quote for your needs, the price is probably higher if it's a one-pff track. OR $4000 for a tripled quartet which is typically done with overdubs with 2-3 players.

On a slight tangent, I do find from different projects though where I used a fully recorded string quartet (not my choice), that if you want to layer live strings with VI strings, then having them individually recorded and layered rather then all 4 players at the same time is much better as you have more control. A string quartet will always sound like a strings quartet, not a section - you need at least 3 players per instrument to get some sort of thicker sound.

US players are generally more expensive as their Union rates are higher than in the UK.

Hope that helps.

[Hannes_F]

Interesting thread. As a strings player who provides such a service I have visited the websites mentioned here and asked myself whom I would hire in case I needed it. Here are some thoughts that might help:

- I would try to concentrate on the provided audio demos. Every recordist / group / provider have their signature in terms of playing quality, recording, delivered sound. This is what ultimately counts, not the pretty pictures, references, recommendations, any written text. If possible I would decide based on a blind AB test.

- Still centered on the audio demos: Playing style and overall musicality. How 'thick' or how 'transparent' do you want your strings parts to be? How important are overall musicality and liveliness to you? Do you want it to be more 'sample-like, just without the artifacts' or do you want to feel more 'real and breathing musicians'? How important is it to you that the musicians can feel and deliver an arc? The recordings and offerings are really different in that regard and you decide what is best for your project

- To the more technical aspects: consider that some players have a typical turnaround time / waiting list (I do) and others promise same day delivery (tbh I have rescued many deadlines but don't know how same day delivery on a regular basis could ever work). In case you have a hard deadline it would be good to include that right into your request since it might affect the price.

- Don't get hung up on studio equipment too much. I have my share of top quality microphones and preamps (no name-dropping here) but that is the easy part. The hard part is in the understanding of the music, the playing, the studio acoustics and in the amount of time the provider is willing to invest into the editing as a standard before sending any versions or stems.

All the best for your project, Hannes

[Daryl]

The UK rate for library music is a flat rate of £150 per player, per session, with a couple of caveats:

1. The Leader will probably want 25-50% extra
2. A session is 3 hours
3. You can do up to 20 minutes of music in each session
4. The Cellist will charge you porterage
5. You can't do overdubs in the same session.

You can get it cheaper if it is a commercial recording with no sync rights, but the saving is probably not worth the hassle.

[kpc]

This is really great information. Thanks everyone.

The UK rate for library music is a flat rate of £150 per player, per session, with a couple of caveats:
1. The Leader will probably want 25-50% extra

2. A session is 3 hours

3. You can do up to 20 minutes of music in each session

4. The Cellist will charge you porterage

5. You can't do overdubs in the same session.

This is a great "template" for me as I am putting together a budget for live horn players. Using Local guys/friends so this gives me a good idea about what is fair to compensate them and how much to expect to get done in allotted time. These guys are good players, but probably not up to the speed of the folks you are talking about Daryl. But still, it gives me a great baseline. Thanks!

(Question: by overdubs, do you mean doubling parts, and going back to fix or add something? So for instance, you can't let the session end 1/2 an hour early and ask the cellos to stick around and do a couple solo things, or add something extra? Just curious.)

[Daryl]

Overdub means playing on top of something that they have already recorded. Tracking, if you like. There is obviously no problem with re-takes for mistakes.

[kpc]

Overdub means playing on top of something that they have already recorded. Tracking, if you like. There is obviously no problem with re-takes for mistakes.

Thanks, Daryl - that is what I thought, but just wanted to make sure I was understanding you correctly.

Cheers

[Alex A]

Thanks for all the valuable info everyone.

Rick Curran charges £150 flat fee per track, and he will play in V1 V2 VA and CELLO.

That sounds sweet, considering my piece is s%&*t and I am only going to use it as part of a portfolio.