Who balances whom — the arithmetic behind a mockup that doesn't turn into a wall

Vol. 1 told you which instruments to pair for a feeling. Vol. 2 tells you how much of each: how many players, in which register, at what dynamic — and what that means for CC1 in your DAW.

It's an interactive HTML reference (one file, works offline, no install) with 165 orchestral doublings across woodwinds, brass, percussion, piano & harp and strings, every ratio and register cross-checked against Rimsky-Korsakov's Principles of Orchestration and Adler's The Study of Orchestration.

Filter by the problem you're solving, not by instrument: melody projection · warmth · brilliance · power in tutti · bass foundation · chord voicing · colour & tension · impact & accent

Every card gives you:

the doubling and why it works
RATIO — how many players against how many (1 flute ≈ 8–10 violins, 2–3 horns per trumpet…)
REGISTER — where each instrument has to sit for the blend to exist
DYNAMIC — the passage level at which it behaves as described
IN THE MOCKUP — the one thing to do with CC1 / CC11 / timing in samples
WATCH OUT — the mistake people make with this exact pair
the source it was checked against
Balance Sheet — slide the dynamic from p to f and watch the families converge (1 trumpet = 2 horns = 4 woodwinds ≈ 14 strings at forte, near parity at piano)
A/B from the video — the six doublings from the YouTube video with the actual DAW exports: "as written" vs "balanced"
Common Mistakes — 23 balance errors with the fix for each

Format: single HTML file (opens in any browser, phone or desktop, no internet needed) + Cubase project file nad MIDI file used in my YT video. Personal-use licence.

Pairs with Vol. 1 — Orchestral Combinations by mood & colour. Several doublings appear in both, described from the two different angles: what they feel like (Vol. 1) and how much of each you need (Vol. 2).

Oppenheimer - Can You Hear The Music - Project & MIDI files