dannthr

If no one's offered, I can help you guys mix this crazy shit. I might be interested in putting together an arrangement as well--what kind of time-line are you looking at for arrangements?

Yes, groove is the best way to put it! Whether it's actual swing, or ghost notes, or a natural but consistent performance timing--it's the drummer's job to groove! Some DAWs have a tempo detection algorithm. You'll have to investigate whether or not yours does.

This is a perception thing. Why don't you do this: Start out writing on the grid, quantized. If you feel like it would be more natural to slow down, adjust the tempo map. There is no natural performance where the tempo stays exactly the same. If you feel like you need to adjust the sloppiness of the player, tweak the note timings. Bottom line: A fucking great drummer drumming on a click track will be extremely precise. Don't EVER make the same hit sound the same twice in a row. Trust your ear but stay on the grid. If you're slipping off the grid it's because you're not using the tools you have--if you need to, remap the tempo with some kind of beat detective.

Yeah, you have some good stuff to start out with already--I would take a look at Komplete from Native-Instruments. Also, Cubase vs FLStudio--doesn't make a fucking difference if all your making is dance music. With that said, there are lots of reasons I would recommend Cubase OVER FLStudio--for general production purposes and for video game music.

Great cue, Luiza, and congratulations on getting into Berklee. I made two tutorial videos to demonstrate using The Trumpet by Sample-Modeling, but both times FRAPS took a shit on me. So I will have to skip that and just type it out and say this: Never leave any of the control parameters still--a human never stops moving, so you don't just set it and go, you have to always move. There are 4 or 5 parameters you want to have control over to properly program your sequence: By Default they are: MIDI Velocity - Controls the attack and transition speed of the note MIDI CC 11 - Controls the dynamic shape of the instrument, absolutely vital that you NEVER have lines in this, always draw curves. MIDI CC 1 - Vibrato Intensity, let this swell with the player's inflection of the longer notes, letting the player create more intense vibrato as part of his/her expressive playing (always think about programming in terms of an actual player--when in doubt, REFERENCE a live recording) MIDI CC 19 - Vibrato speed, find the song's tempo and match that for your baseline, then go high when you feel like the player is more anxious or energetic about the note, and slow it down when they're trying to pull us in MIDI CC 21 - Growl, use sparingly and as an expression either to dirty the attack and go away, or to only appear on a strong note dig MIDI CC 24 - Dynamics to Pitch modulation, this parameter is vital for simulating the pitchiness of a player hitting a note hard, so use this to help naturalize your pitches--find a mid-low base level and then tweak it high alacarte. I use all of these parameters every time I program for The Trumpet or the other Sample-Modeling Brass instruments. Finally, I felt like you could have balanced the instruments a little better--the piano is really receded and quiet, though most pianists would consider themselves the kings of the rhythm section. Keep up the good work.

That may be, but it's not healthy FOR your crack addiction. That rock isn't going to buy itself.

Yeah, but even for synth stuff, I would argue that you still get a lot more for your money when you spend it: Zebra 2 and Diva by U-he, and to some extent Omnisphere by Spectrasonics and Tremor from FXPansion. I think they're worth it and I would prefer to use them over the free stuff that comes with the various DAWs. Also, Kontakt and Reaktor from Komplete are ridiculously important for creating and designing your own custom sounds. If I were recommending a synth and effects bundle for creating awesome stuff: Instruments: U-he Diva (beautiful analog synth emulation) *U-he Dark Zebra (flexible, do-everything modular synth) *FXPansion Tremor (drum synthesizer for creating custom drum sounds) *New Sonic Arts Granite (granular resynthesizer) *Native-Instruments Komplete FXPansion Geist (amazing drum sampler/beat slicer/drum machine/pattern editor) #Spectrasonics Omnisphere #iZotope Iris *Essential #Neat but not essential Effects worth considering: FXPansion Etch iZotope Trash 2 FXPansion Maul 2CAudio B2 FXPansion Bloom Fabfilter Saturn PSP Audio N20 Virsyn KLON Virsyn MATRIX And more! Woooo. That's a pretty penny there.

A single day in the life of a freelance composer is a lot like any other job you might imagine where someone works from home in a home office. You wake up, do your morning routine, you mentally prepare yourself for your work day--if you're organized, you'll get dressed like you're leaving your house--you start working. You work throughout the day in a routine that you're either comfortable with or are disciplined toward. When a deadline is looming nearby you will work late into the night or even just straight through the night. But as a freelance professional with experience, you know when you're going to be less and less creative and you know when you should just go to sleep. Another composer I spoke to is brilliantly disciplined in a way I'd like to be--he works for 1.5 hours, takes a half hour break, works for 1.5 hours, takes a half hour break, works for 1.5 hours, takes a half our break, etc, throughout their work day, putting in 8 to 10 hours as needed. I think this is a great idea that I'd like to adopt because as creative professionals, we need to be revitalized and refreshed mentally so that we can continue to be creative throughout our workday; as audio professionals, it's important to give our ears the rest they need so that we can continue to hear accurately and objectively; and as home-office professionals, we need to have a good excuse to leave our homes, take walks, exercise, or otherwise engage with the world outside of our little studio space. But it's difficult to pry yourself away from a project when you're on a roll and for me, I don't like to stop if I'm writing--I don't like to interrupt that process. Now, the tasks I might be taking on at any given time would be relevant to the phase of production I'm in. In the beginning, there's a lot of planning and either managing, organizing, or creating spreadsheets; managing, organizing, or creating schedules--assessing and prioritizing tasks according to the schedule (do I need to record something? do I need production time post-recording?), assessing and prioritizing tasks according to the needs of the project; etc. For me, I can usually nail down my overall composition in a couple of hours in a detailed sketch or partial sketch--it gets worse if there are timing issues, like having to sync to video (I don't do a lot of film work). The bulk of my time is spent polishing and mixing my production. I give myself 6-20 hours for each minute of music I work on, which by some standards is a lot, but part of that has to do with my "artistic integrity" and part of that has to do with my experience level. A TV composer working on a current production could be expected to write about 10 minutes of music a day, which is why TV music often sounds like shit. John Williams claims to write about 2 minutes of music a day, which in my opinion is pretty phenomenal because of the quality of his product--though, he also works closely with orchestrators, which means he doesn't have to spend time on engraving and copying and stuff like that, and he does a lot of orchestra stuff, so he doesn't spend a ton of time on production and engineering (and why would he if he's got cats like Shawn Murphy mixing his work). Generally speaking, the people who churn out a lot of content every day don't tend to make very good content--but they might be making a lot of money. If you do 10 minutes of really shitty music for 150-400 bucks a minute, every day, you're talking about maybe a few thousand a day--that's pretty good money, even if it's not great money per minute. But turning out bad music might mean your clients won't return, which is really important, and also, there's like, your artistic pride and shit. Video games often pay a per minute rate with a half up front, half on delivery deal. TV can be all over the map. They might pay a low up front flat fee and you're expected to hopefully make money on the back-end through performance royalties. Same with library music, you might be involved with a music library system, and if they're the type to solicit music from you (which means you're good or they really like your shit), they'll pay you a small upfront flat fee. But mostly, especially if you're a nobody, you submit unsolicited music to libraries and hope they pick you up and list you in their library, and at best you're only looking at making money when people license your track. This can mean that you're working hard at making no money, or it could mean you make one track that gets used over and over and over, like the Requiem for a Dream track. Getting music in a TV series opening titles is GREAT, it means you make money every time the show plays anywhere in the world (that pays royalties). If the show goes into syndication, you could make money for years off that one track. It's kind of like winning the lotto. Working in film, you usually get a single project fee that's based off the film's budget. If it's a low/no budget film, you're talking about peanuts. And to me, Indie Film Directors can be a pain in the ass. They often are very DIY, so they like to put their fingers everywhere and can be really demanding. Also, they don't always understand that cool tricks can't be overused. One of the worst things to do is impress an indie film director with a neat musical trick or sound trick, because they'll more often than not ask for it EVERYWHERE. A freelance composer who gets a lot of work will often have an assistant who works at their studio. They might have a studio in an apartment attached to their home, or they might have a garage studio, or in rare cases, an actually separate office space/studio. A freelance composer who gets a little more work than they can handle and who has a recognizable name will also have a ghost writer who works in their studio with them or who they go to with frequency for ghost writing remotely. A lot of younger composers will make their first substantial industry connections by being the assistant of another working composer. It's also likely that the assistant is getting paid almost nothing and is also there to learn how to work in the business. Sometimes freelance composers will have their spouse or partner also help with the business--especially if they get a lot of work and need someone to manage administrative tasks, scheduling, accounting, whatever. Again, it's a lot like any other home-office based work environment or business. Depending on how much work your character is getting, and the quality of that work, may vary the environment and how they spend their day. It's also very common for freelancers to have a supporting job in education, at a college or through private instruction; or to have some other job as well. There was a time when I was freelancing where I was also taking work with a temp agency as it allowed me to dynamically manage whether or not I was working in an office somewhere or if I didn't have time because I was working on projects. Right now, I teach at a college, so my creative work has been moved to nights and weekends as needed. I hope that offers some insight into the working environment and daily experience of a working composer.

Both excellent libraries. Though, the time you'll save with programming the Brass will be diverted into mixing it. LASS is GREAT, but requires a lot of EQ massaging to fix some harsh phase issues.

Some weird phase cancelling cross-talk between the channels? That's weird. Have you tried pushing the plug in to make sure it's seated all the way into the phone jack? Are you using an adapter? If so, are you sure the adapter is TRS (Tip Ring and Sleeve, not just Tip Sleeve)? You got me, man. Though, if you replace them, unless you're really attached to the AKG sound, you might want to think about maybe these guys: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SRH440/ They have a replaceable cable (for like 15 bucks).

When you want to make money. That's when you start using quality samples. When you want to make a job of it. Composition skill is a never-ending staircase--there is always up. In the beginning, each step to a new level is small and easy, you can make breakthroughs with relatively minimal energy and effort. But for me, it takes months or years to work to the next level. There is always up and always someone to be inspired by, always. This aspiration really has nothing to do with making money. Higher quality virtual instruments are about saving time and reaching higher production value with less effort OR designing production sounds with more flexibility. You spend money on virtual instruments when you want to make money. If you're not interested in making money, then the only reason to do it is for your own ear pleasure--and that's not a decision other people can make for you. And let me tell you what: It doesn't end. I am constantly sacrificing entertainment opportunities and travel opportunities to acquire tools. Even now I'm contemplating buying a bicycle or buying 2CAudio's B2 reverb plug-in. I live in LA and I don't have a car, so a bike would be nice--but B2 will let me do this specific thing I want to do with my existing tools that I haven't been able to do with any of my current reverbs (at least not to satisfaction). Do you want to live like this? Like me? Constantly under pressure to sound your best as quickly as possible? Because this shit stresses me out. But also, it SOUNDS AWESOME!

No worries, man, and thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it. This is something for which we all have passion and despite the fact that sometimes the result is strong words on a forum, it's really a great thing to have and to see. Passion will elevate our industry.

I love the thread! Spooky, is there a mailing list for this project? Paid for VGMusic is VGMusic to my ears!

Awesome, man! Opportunities have to be taken and that means action. You're young and doing work before college--you're on a great track! I can't recall how many dead projects I've worked on--both paid and unpaid. When you're starting out, attach yourself to as many projects as you can get your hands on. More important than the project going somewhere is the experience and the network you grow as you go. One of the earliest student projects I worked on went to a contest and never won anything--you can download it for free now--but despite that, the designer is a level designer at EA now and that's just one more person in my network of cool people. Everything is a networking opportunity, take it!

You can be a musician and hang out with a bikini model, as long as they're your sister and they're only letting you crash at their place because you're a hopeless loser. Of course, the snowman of cocaine is how you lost your house in the first place, but that's a story for another time.

I don't know what you think is wrong with your music, but you're an idiot for not charging for it. There's some good stuff in there. I really enjoyed "The Impact." If you create music for a game, and that game is sold, and the developer is making money off the sale of that game, there is absolutely no reason but for the developer's own greed that you don't see a piece of that. It's success is due in part to your work. There should be a VERY good reason why you refuse payment on a service and it should be rare. Indie game development, in a lot of ways, is venture capitalism. Spooky mentioned investors, but money is not the only way to invest in a product. If you work on a project with no upfront payment, you are making an investment in that project, you should expect returns--it's good to expect returns, it's good for the business as well to be able to provide returns on investments. I don't know what art rates are like for game assets. I do remember, however, that 6-7 years ago, pro comic book art rates were page based depending on what you were doing--pencils, inks, flats, colors, pin-ups vs sequentials, etc. It was like there were three tiers: The newbie rate, the standard rate, and the superstar rate. It's kind of like that for music, but the three rates are WILDLY different. Even in AAA games, you usually see a swing between $600-$1500/min depending on the studio budget and who the composer is--and there are other issues at that level as well because music is also performance based. You might see one composer negotiate $1500/min, but they're responsible for using their rate to budget production, whereas you might see a composer negotiate $1000/min and the studio will pay for production fees like hiring an orchestra. Music is inherently more than just the art supplies, it's performance oriented and the costs surrounding the production of music can grow exponentially. Consistent AAA game work is required just to have an agent. The landscape for agencies has really changed over the last 5-6 years. It used to be that there was basically one guy who represented everyone--you can probably see the problems that might cause, and it did cause those problems. Now that one guy is too old to really do business, and when the recession made the game industry look like one of the only growing entertainment sectors, film and TV agencies, like film and TV composers, really wanted a slice of that pie. I don't know what the numbers are on representation, I know it's not all of them, but there's a good number and agencies, like with acting, have their downsides--especially if/when another composer is the agencies higher priority. But the software industry doesn't talk the same language as Hollywood, there's a big disconnect between those two worlds and the composer sits between them. GDC: Artists are hired at GDC, Programmers are hired at GDC. You have to be impressive, though, for sure, your shit has to really stand out, but it happens. GDC is important for composers--yeah, it'll make you feel small, and intimidated, but at the end of the day, the gatekeepers to composition work don't post job listings for composers. Networking is more important for the composer than I would say any other discipline. General job listings for composers to work with AAA studios are extremely rare--I've probably seen maybe one every other year pop up. Private job postings for composers are a bit more common, they usually appear on private mailing lists or places where you have to network to get access to--however, what usually happens is that the gatekeepers for composer jobs (Music Supervisors, Audio Directors, Audio Producers) usually just ask themselves "who do I know that is perfect for game?" And they will know enough people to come up with a name. Your job as a composer is to be known, to be known very well, and to be known for a specific sound. That's how they'll remember you and that's how you get work. As Mark happily pointed out, I haven't done a ton of work, but I didn't audition to work on Monkey Island--the Music Supervisor at LucasArts, who I knew from GANG, who I had chatted with some frequency on AIM, and who I met on a few occasions at GDC came to me "I have a project with you in mind." He'd heard my stuff because I wasn't shy about it, but I wasn't pushy either, and he knew what I could do. Network, but when you do, look good, be friendly. Meteo knows how valuable a network is, I've heard him talk about his network before and the kinds of opportunities he's encountered--he just needed to be reminded. I believe Meteo could be more successful in games than he is now, but do I believe he's doing everything in his power to achieve that? No, I don't. Again, my biggest gripe is a composer who under-values their own music. I agree about finicky clients--and I've met my fair share of indie game devs who really don't think there's much more value in music than that convention suggests they have it (a lot of those guys shut soundtracks off and listen to metalcore or something when playing the games they like)--but I still say, unless you know what the game is about or what kind of soundtrack they're looking for, you're really not going to have enough context to post rates. Also, I would counter suggest that if they dig your music and aren't intimidated, the question "what are your rates?" is a great lead-in to an email conversation that would never occur if your rates are posted outright. I think it's better business to not post them at all and recommend against it.

Bullshit. I have never seen you at the Game Developer's Conference. I've seen Zircon (Andrew Aversa), I've seen BustaTunez (Will Roget), I've seen BigGiantCircles (Jimmy Hinson), I've seen Danny B there, I've seen Virt (Jake Kaufman) there--I have never seen you there. There are three things you need to get work as a composer in the Game Industry (and really, any of the media industries): 1) The Ability to Deliver a Product on time and of high production value. This doesn't mean creative, it means you deliver product that is appropriate. You could be a genius composer, but if you can't meet a deadline, you're useless. Your product has to demonstrate high production value, not high creativity--though, for self-respect you should aspire to high creativity, but it's not necessary. 2) Apparent Talent To the potential client or employer, you have to appear as though you're talented. When it comes to AAA shit, this usually comes in the form of a credit list. But all you need is for the potential employer to believe in you and be willing to stake their job on hiring you (which is no small thing to ask unless you're a superstar already). 3) A Great Professional Network that works for you. You could be the best composer on the fucking planet, but if no one knows who you are then you will never, ever "make it." You HAVE to network, you have to network for YEARS. You have to demonstrate the first two items every time you network, but you have to do it in a way that is sociable, amiable, and accessible--in other words, they have to like you. If you're missing any ONE of these items, you will NEVER get hired. I have never seen you at a professional networking event and I have never seen you at the most important professional networking event: The Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. You have to TRY, man--otherwise you're leaving your shit to the whimsy of dumb luck. And two things: if what you said about Jake is true, that's a shame, it really is--it's a shame he worked that cheap and it's a shame that everyone knows it now. My contracts have Non-Disclosure Agreements because posting your rates is an absolute mistake. You will NEVER be able to increase your rates if someone is looking you up on a forum and finding your rates on some old assed thread. If any of you have posted rates, take them down--I have talked to composers who posted rates and years later still get new clients trying to hire them at those rates. My thing: I HATE per minute rate structures. It doesn't respect the budget, it doesn't respect the project, it doesn't respect the music. It's shit and it treats music like it's fast-food in a mall food court. I have worked on low budget games, but when the client trusts me, I've consulted on the design of the music for those games (from an overall project fee perspective)--creating a musical design where quantity is not a relevant hindrance to a good soundtrack that works for the game and fits. I would much rather a potential client approach me by saying look, here's the game, this is the budget we have for audio, what can you do for me? That allows me to use my creativity to design an audio vision that works for their game and within their budget constraints. That is a much more appropriate and rational method of determining whether or not a creative professional has the IDEAS you want them to have.

First of all, Spooky, I appreciate your candor. Yes, but you can't appreciate the meaning of that sentiment until you fully understand the scope of the product. $100 can seem like a lot when we're talking about a plate of food. This relative perspective of value is mutable and informed by experiences. And I encourage that behavior on student projects, on learning projects, on portfolio projects--but if the client is making money on the product, be paid SOMETHING. Negotiate back-end, sure, do it, if they don't have an upfront budget or if they've spent all their money on art assets, then by all means negotiate back-end--but never, ever sell your music for nothing. You shouldn't have to teach them about anything but the game--you're hiring an EXPERT. Not necessarily. The biggest problem I see with indie game developers and music economy is that they don't know the best solution for music implementation for their project--they assume a model based on other games, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's best for THEIR game. Try $350,000 for the Fable II Main Theme (and nothing more). I can't tell you how to manage your budget and I am biased toward the value of music (obviously), but my feeling is this: If there are segments of your game where the quality of the music is not important, then maybe those segments would do better WITHOUT music. So many developers are driven by conventional design practices, that they forget that they don't need to have everything going all the time. This is about your priorities and design vision, not about consumers. My problem is not about the general public's undervalue of music, my problem is with composers undervaluing music. I have had clients make the active choice to prefer quality over quantity when negotiating with me, and I think it's worked to the benefit of the game's production value. It is how we make it. If you're serious, I'd be happy to talk to you about your game. Email me, if you're serious. He was, that's how I found out about it--AIM confessions--my life is a showtime original series . This is not just about money, resource allocation, etc; this is about you, your creation, making something not because it sells units, but because you're proud to have lived that creation through. My biggest problem with Indies is that they think small instead of elegant. They're obsessed with selling units and trying to appeal to as many people as possible instead of just creating something beautiful that they're proud to fucking say is theirs. I don't know what kind of game you're making, but if you charge thousands for your art, then you're like me--you're going to make sure that your creation is the best it can be--you're giving up your favorite shows, you're sacrificing sleep, you're working your ass off because it's important to you and sacrificing your own quality of life to make it happen. Why would you expect anything less from any one else on your team? You hire someone for $50/min, they're not going to be missing sleep, they're not going to be skipping Game of Thrones, especially if they're adults. For someone like me, that's like an hour (maybe two) of my time, right? It'd be the same for you. That's bullshit. How could you put something out there that is totally out of balance in quality and be proud of it? Thank about that, man. You want to have every piece of your final production to be on par with every other piece of your production. Quality and consistency IS value. If that's how you feel about your game and development process, then whatever, who wants to work on a game where quality is only addressed when unit sales are a factor. Fuck that. Who wants to work on a project where the development leaders assume quality is unattainable for an indie--there's no creativity there, no passion--that's boring. I didn't become a composer so I could work on boring shit. That speaks more to a lack of appreciation for art than a strong appreciation for it. I will agree that the temporal aspect of music as an art form does request patience from the evaluator but I think that you and I can both agree and DeviantArt will stand as evidence for the fact that there are a ton of really shitty artists out there, and a ton of really shitty artists doing 3D art who have no fucking foundational sense when it comes to creating models. And some of those people get hired. I would argue that recognizing decent to good concept art, like music, takes little insight--recognizing GREAT concept art requires insight, just like recognizing GREAT music. I would submit SWTOR as a great example of fantastic music and really lackluster character/armor design. It takes a lot of work and man hours to design sound effects and produce music as well. Purchasing assets from a sound effects library is like purchasing a DAZ model. Sure, you can do it, but don't expect it to look good. All I see is an argument for quality over substandard results--to go with the premium because in the end it'll turn out better--but I will say that a lot of the oversight issues that I've seen when it comes to outsourcing like that have to do with both standards of quality as well as lack of insight into the tools and implementation practices of the internal studio. Music is always outsourced and is constantly substandard and ignorant of internal implementation practices. Where are you getting this information? Fixed.

PM me your AIM or Skype and I'll add you as a buddy--you can email me too, if you like. I'll always try my best to reply!

I agree, and there will always be under-cutters. I remember I did a spec demo for a gig years ago that claimed they were going to pay $400/min for music--they advertised that as their rate. They loved my demo so much that they just started showing it around to other composers asking if they could do that style for less money--they eventually found a composer who would do the work for free/credit. A buyer's market, indeed.

Everyone has to pay their dues, even the clients. Money is not the only way to value a job, absolutely not, and I laude the OP for not trying to get shit for free right off the bat. But I had to speak in the face of misinformation: $50-100/min is by absolutely no means what "most people" charge and the problem is NOT your fault, XPRTNovice--it's every one else's. No one wants to say what they charge, they keep it a secret, because they don't want other people undercutting them. The problem is that the composer/client relationship is skewed to the benefit of the client, because they shop composers and search for the best price they can get away with (and why the fuck not? they're creating a product, they need to keep their development costs as low as possible). See, the thing is that the new indie client doesn't necessarily know how much stuff costs, you teach them. When you say "most people" charge $50-100/min you're teaching him how much it costs and when you do it in a thread like this, you're teaching a community of eager and novice game composers that those rates are the usual. They're not. They are absolutely not. My first indie gig, 6 years ago, I charged more than that. There is no "most people" there is only what you charge.

Yeah it is, and it's a sad thing to watch. Lots of indies can't afford to pay top rates and I understand that, we all should, but it's like paying for some kid in China to build you a pair of sneakers for a dollar. Yeah, you got a great price and that's fine, do it, but you should feel embarrassed--especially if they did a great job. My problem is when people learn the wrong information and then use that to guide not only their actions but set a precedent for the actions of others who don't have the experience to know better. So I am compelled to say something when I see this happen. $50/min is ridiculous and its even more ridiculous if they do a good job. You can't even properly equate that to a professional rate structure and it's totally obfuscating the reality of how low that is by using a rate structure based on quantity. I allocate myself between 6 and 20 hours per minute of music, which is a large margin, but no two minutes of music are alike. Am I going to work for $7 to $2.5 an hour respectively? Fuck no. You want to be a professional? Act like one, think like one, work like one, and charge like one.

If anyone told you $50-100/min they themselves were inexperienced. While the indie marketplace can be all over the map with respect to pay for composers, the earlier mention of $1000/min is a bit closer to the map. In the professional world, for advertising, you could be expected to make anywhere between $3,500-15,000 for a trailer. So the developer is willing to pay, that's great, but wants to shop for a lower price--of course, s/he's committed to getting the most for their buck. S/he didn't say that the COULD NOT pay $1,000, they said they WOULD NOT. It's not that there isn't a budget for this, it's that s/he doesn't WANT to pay. Well, unfortunately, s/he's in luck, because composers are stupid gits who will also do whatever it takes to get the job, even if that means undercutting the shit out of each other. So to SpookyStatic, I will score your trailer for more money than you're willing to pay, but not more than you can pay. I'm more expensive than just about anyone else in this thread and I'll hit it out of the fucking ballpark. But you have to want it. And to the other composers desperate to attach their name to anything that moves, you have to want it too--success requires self-respect. You can charge less, you can charge less until you're free, and that's fine, you might do great work, but at some point it stops being called work. Good luck, SpookyStatic--I hope your game does very well.

QL Pianos does have repetition samples, which I don't think any other piano sample library has currently--I don't know what that feels like, action wise, to play, but I think the idea is really cool. Keep in mind that QL Pianos is a large library, a beastly library. The full version is something like 60GB for each one of its 4 or 5 piano libraries, weighing in at like 300GB or something. It's huge. I think that's like 20GB per Piano per Microphone. If I were looking to buy Pianos, I would get the GOLD version, because I'm not sure if my computer could handle the full version. I use the following Piano libraries and recommend those as well, though you can tell I prefer Steinways: Galaxy Vintage D CineSamples Piano in Blue

Some synthesizers allow you to duplicate or double the wave form output of the synth, you could have two saw waves at the same exact tuning and they'll sound just a bit bigger--but if you detune one of the waves, then they'll get a bit dirtier sounding. As far as envelope--we're talking about some of the most basic components of producing sound, you might do well to read up a bit about the technology you're digging into: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer