Yeah, the only decent orchestral samples is the stuff I got off of Darkesword's ripped SF site ><.  I'm broker than broke, so I can't get myself decent samples like Native, Korg, etc.  I do have several decent piano, brass and saxophone samples (though the saxes are a bit too play-back-ish). 
And yes those are dynamics, I payed attention to varying velocities to set the mood and whatnot.  Thanks for your comments Alex, it means a lot