You know the feeling. 

You've spent way too many hours getting a really sweet mix on your new orchestral track and you're pretty happy with the result so you bounce it down and take a break for a while so you can listen to it later with fresh ears.

You come back to the studio, cue up a few tracks from your favorite composers of a similar style and press play. And your face drops.

For many of us, there is nothing in music more beautiful and expressive than a group of talented orchestral players performing a well-written score. The range of techniques available to each instrument along with the possible combinations of those instruments results in a 'magic' that is almost impossible to achieve in any situation.

The problem is that many of us don't possess the training or experience to confidently generate a decent written score for a string quartet, let alone a full orchestra. And even though recent technology has developed to such a point that it’s possible to create a great sounding ‘mock-up’ with sample libraries and sequencers, unless you have a good knowledge of how all the instruments work and their expressive capabilities and limitations you are at a distinct disadvantage.

We've all been inspired by powerful and emotional orchestral cues. Especially when they are perfectly paired with an unfolding scene on a big screen. They can empower us, bring us to tears and unsettle us.

And as composers, who doesn't want a piece of that action?

But is it really possible to create a cue that brings that same sonic power and emotion when you don't have access to world-class orchestral players playing in beautiful spaces? Is it really possible to produce a track in your DAW that is almost as good as the real thing?