T-rebel's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Just Chilin']

Nice Work!

I wish this track had a few more transitions, but on the whole it's extremely well mastered and I really like the complementarity of the synths you chose. It just kinda felt though that from beginning to end the track didn't really GO anywhere. Same themes kept popping up over and over again.

I'd suggest adding at least one section that breaks the mold a bit... maybe a hard break beat, maybe a really big chorus somewhere, I can't say for sure. All I know for sure is, at 5:00 in length, this track needed something more to keep me interested for the whole 5 minutes.

Another idea might have been to change the beat up a few times here and there. Otherwise, it was really easy to listen to for about 2 minutes. I say, either shorten it up, or change it up a bit.

AEPfx responds:

very helpful stuff thanks a lot dude

[FREEDOM123]

Pretty bare-bones stuff

I don't think the beat changed once in the 2 minutes that this song was going on. Neither did the hands-up bass. Also, the intro was WAY too long for a 2 minute track. The whole thing stopped super abruptly without any real outro at all. It would probably take me all of 30 minutes to replicate this whole track once I found the synths you used. I'll give you a 5 because you at LEAST didn't just use a standard kick-crash beat, and you did take the time to bring in a second riff. Still, this is FAR from a finished track. I would suggest submitting this as a loop that's about 30-45 seconds long.

[FFVI - Aria de Mezzo Caraterre]

Needs better FX

I found that you really captured the feel of the original, but at the same time, I didn't feel like (at least on the intro) you really added that much depth to the song. It's more or less the same thing with different instrumentation. What this needed was some sort of beat, and maybe a good pad and deep strings to really make it FEEL like you were adding to what the original brought to the table.

Overall though, it's pretty well mastered. The only real comment I would make is that the Choir sample you used doesn't have enough release (resonance). You might also have tried using an echo effect. Same goes for that music-box-ish synth you used in the intro.

[I: Foreword: Amycus Carrow]

Interesting, but...

...it could have used some variety in the crash cymbal, and I also found that the voice samples you used were kind of inappropriate considering the hard-core-ness of the rest of the track. It kinda made me feel like I was listening to some Dance-Core or something...

Also, I would have considered filling the break in your rhythm guitar with a heavy bass pluck of some kind. It's too much dead air right in the middle of this huge guitar.

Jakisdead responds:

Thanks for the advice, dude!
Yeah about the samples.. I was in a REAL Harry Potter mood at the time (you should download the E.P.)
I'll probably redo this one day, and make it a little more fulfilling.

[Ere We Go Again]

Generic, but well mastered

So I thought you might have overdone it with the "put your hands in the air" voice sample, it was kind of annoying to have her voice going over the "here we go again" sample. Especially since her sample was much louder, even though the NAME of the track is Ere We Go Again...

I gave this one an 8 cuz it's well mastered, the synths are well balanced and the piano's at a pretty good background volume. The sweeps were clean and the FX are well used.

If you were to reduce the number of voice samples going on all the time and maybe put in a more convincing break beat at 2:45, I think this track would have had a solid 10.

VenoMuk responds:

Thank you T-rebel, its always nice to get feedback on what i can improve, i have implemented the changes you have said, and will be updating this track shortly, thank you for your time and your review, its always nice to get constructive critisim :)

[pallo]

Been done before, but it's done well.

I'll have to agree with Box-Killa: the drums could have used some mastering, which is something I'm guilty of myself (often enough) when I make a short track. I don't usually fuss about that sorta thing, but everything else in the tune is flanged (fruity flanger?) so it wouldn't hurt to put a little something on the drums.

8/10
4/5

[Goodbye to Boodbye]

Not bad!

I couldn't give it 2 high a score though, because i felt like (if it started as a piano solo) the piano was far too understated to be carrying the melody. If you do a re-edit of this song, I'd bring the volume up on the piano, so that it FEELS like the piano is playing the concerto here or something, you dig?

Other than that issue, I thought it was a well written piece for piano, it'd make a good song in a movie, during a montage of some sort. Keep up the good work!

[Para - Smog Step Sanctuar]

Shoulda been the tops.

This one shoulda been tops of the week IMO. WAAAAY better EQ and LVL's than the other tracks in the top 5. Awesome choice of synths, and it was definitely less repetitive than any of them.

Nice job on this one. I like that you didn't try using too many pads or sweeps. You kept it clean, and it worked really well. Post more of this, if only for my sake!

[Z-tone - Grendell(ExtendedMix)]

must have been a slow week

Enh, i feel like this was long and used the same synths without any real variation for a whole 6 minutes. A few fades were a nice touch, but really they couldn't hide the fact that this track did very little over a whole 6 minutes. I don't understand why you bothered with those voice samples... they didn't really add anything but a break to the same ol' that you had goin on for 6 minutes. Maybe I'd have liked the NG cut better... also, the clapping synth was WAY overused. I definitely wouldn't have expected this track to make tops of the week.

Z-Tone responds:

i dont agree with everything.
but i guess i$ cant make something everyone likes
but thanks for the review and thanks for being honest i respect that

[Blood, Bullets & Tears [SFPL]]

Definitely improved from the first version

Clearly better mastering, and some interesting bits of melody you added; also, good job on switching up the piano a bit more. The only thing I would say is that your initial riff (the arpeggio you start with) should definitely stop playing at some point before 2 minutes have passed. Believe me, it'll come back to bite you in the ass when more reviewers weigh in. Plus, even though this version's not too repetitive, people will attack it for being repetitive if they can still hear that same riff you started with all the way through the song.

Nice effects and good job on the harmony. Only other comment I would make is that you could use an interlude or a key change at some point to ease the mood in the song. It might make the sort of "anguishy" feel of the song more apparent if there's a lighter bit to contrast it, you dig?

Nice work; 4/5 9/10.

SFaPiL2 responds:

I was trying to follow your advice when improving it and I must say that it was no easy task. Now I know where I should be focusing on with my future creations.

Thank you very much ^__^. Your tips are very useful!

Cheers.