T-rebel's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[FD - Moontears Pt. III]

Great composition, but I'm going to nitpick a bit at your mastering. I felt that the strings came in a bit heavy after the intro, around 0:22. I would have toned them back a bit more, just to make the piano's entrance a bit more obvious. Also, I think you should keep the strings soft while that early piano solo's going on until about 1:30. Once you come to the reprise of that section around 2:00, that's when I'd let the strings come in harder. That way, when you have the strings carrying the melody at 3:00, they'll feel more built up. As it was, they didn't quite resonate as I felt they could have if they'd been building up.

The next section (starting at 3:30), with the piano carrying the melody should vary a bit more in volume, maybe start it even softer than you do now. I'd start building towards the crescendo at 4:08, with those 3 chords building up to the slide at 4:28.

I loved the way you reduced the volume after that. That's where I'd like to see the dimminuendo at in other places. However, I think the strings come in a bit too strongly at that point (5:02). Build them up gradually, because as you have it now they over power the piano as soon as they come in. I also suggest that you reduce the compression and the "heat" on the piano during all its crescendos. It's very strange to have it ringing on all the louder notes; pianos don't really do that unless the pedal's down, and basically you've got it down throughout the whole piece, particularly around 5:45.

THanks for taking the time to compose this one. It's a really great arrangement and it's not overly complicated.

ForgottenDawn responds:

Thanks for your critique and time.

[KrazR-Screams Of Silence]

How is this even close to being dubstep? There's basically no melody in the bass clef... it's all sweeps and pads. This is the sort of "I heard some Skrillex and I think it's dubstep" nonsense that should get blammed, but nobody knows any better.

Look, it's a well made track, but this is closer to house than dubstep with all the chorus FX and piano...

Bones341 responds:

Not being funny, but I don't see you writing much dubstep, how the hell would you know? I didn't even know there were rules in music!

Whatever man! I wrote this song to whatever I think sounds good, if you don't like it then that's your beef

[DJ Dela - Elite (Original]

It's not really my taste, but still I can admit it was well well executed. It's so square wavy and chorus FX'd, that it's borderline trance music; a few more bps and it would be.

I'd also have liked to see a bit more variety in the beat, it was pretty much all kick clap from beginning to end. At least one break beat would have been nice. Also, not quite enough bass in there -- would make addition if I could make my sub start pounding with this track.

You did such a great job with the rest of this, that you're still getting a 4, but just by a hair!

DJDela responds:

Not quite the music style you'd expect variety of the drums from.
I wouldn't say it's trance, just a standard electro style with hard bass and some melody.
Anyway thanks for the review.

[=KL=Waterfall(demo updated)]

Not my fav lead, but a good track just the same

That echoing synth you're using sounds like it came from sytrus; I can't remember the name of it though. Interesting choice for the opening; not my favorite, but it's defensible I guess. I will say this, though, I thought that you did a great job building it up, but I think it would be better if you automated the 'pluckiness' on that synth. That way, it would sound more like a lead by the time the chorus come on. I find the pluck's attack really annoying over that square wave bass.

My only other critique is that I think the bass should be a bit lower, because you lose the rest of the pluck synth behind it (you hear mostly the attack and almost none of the sustain). Adjusting the lvls on that bass would make your lead stand out more (which maybe you don't want, but I'd prefer it).

All in all, I think this has some promise, but it needs some work and (obviously) some variety as it gets longer. Good luck finishing her up, man!

4/5
7/10

Kriegless responds:

haha, actually the only thing that I'm using that is from Sytrus is the pads and they are modded ;)

the beginning is kinda just in there. I might keep it, I might not.

I'll consider the lower base, I still need to do some more internal equalization to get everything to stand out the way it should, however, that will come all in good time. :)

thank you for the review, I will definitely (and already have) adhere to your advice.

I'm actually listening to it right now, thinking and scheming on how I can make this song into a true work of art.

If you want to have further say in the making of this song just PM me!

Thanks!

Kriegless~

P.S. BTW everything in this song is original. All the loops are mine and there are almost no default synths in there. Everything either has filters or are modded within the synth. I do need better drums...but that will also come good time. :)

[Hipster]

what's it got do with hipsters?

I found your kick drum was a bit loud before you brought the other instruments; you might consider tweaking the volume down a bit before the other synths come in. I liked the transition around 1:00, I got the feeling you were trying to get a sort of 'freeze frame' effect. I thought you could have held the last sweep from the previous section as part of the transition where instead you ended that note. Didn't have much of an ending, and while you were fading the synths out, you forgot to lower the volume of the beat with them. Personally, I've never been a fan of fade endings.

Overall, it's a decent track, but it could use a bit more variety in the beat. I think there were only maybe 2 variations throughout. Still, great choices with the synths for your melody, and generally good EQ work. I think your 2nd lead (afer the transition @ 1:00) is a touch too loud though.

Nice work,
7/10
4/5

BuggMusic responds:

it's got nothing to do with hipsters, just couldn't think of anything sensible for a name.

I didn't entirely understand what you meant with the ending, I just kind of took away layers which is what I do pretty much all the time. I think I really need some new speakers as I seem to be getting my levels very screwed up as you mention with the kick and lead being too loud. Thanks for the review.

[Metal Nightmare (Boss Battle)]

Heroic's just another way of saying BRASS SECTION

It seems from the last comment that you're supposed to make this for someone's flash?
I have 2 suggestions for making this more heroic without much reworking
(1) it needs to build faster, because VGM doesn't get the luxury of long build-ups. I'd suggest a quick transition at the 0:10 mark.
(2) After the transition, you should go for brass section backing. The timbre of Brass instruments is just pure win, and it'll detract from that despair-ish feeling.

If all else fails, you might just have to change your chord progression. It sounds like you're basically staying in harmonic minors all the way through, and if you transition to a major or a melodic minor you might change that. But I know you don't want to go back and re-write, so maybe just try the brass?

Hope it turns out well!

SFaPiL2 responds:

Yeah, I pm'ed SSJ3-Goku4567 saying that this wasn't what he was asking but to just give it a listen. Ironically, with the intention of making something for him I made a stream of other projects that had nothing to do with his request.

"But I know you don't want to go back and re-write": no no, quite the opposite. I'm sure you noticed the lack of time spent on it... I didn't layer it enough and the scale isn't really the "heroic" kind.

I need to think about the transitions you suggested me to take...

thanks a ton

[Hunted Hunter - WIP]

I like the mid-east feel this has.

Really interesting marriage of desert-wind style and with a bit of 8-bit beat and heavy guitar. I think they really work well together, with the exception of that sweep you have going. I think you should kill it at 0:20. It's really just lingering unnecessarily after that. Another thing you could try (because I think that sweeper is a preset from FL Studio) is to put that sweeper through Wave Traveller at 0:20, to make a ridiculous transition. I don't know how it'll work out (I've never tried scratching over a sweep) but it could be legen... wait for it...

...AWESOME

SFaPiL2 responds:

Wow... all these reviews. Thanks man. Yeah, I've been changing some things a while back. The sweeps are actually all done using Battery 3's reverse reverberation of a hall (if I remember correctly). I've just recently removed the sounds of the percussions generating the sweeps by overlapping it with an inverted non-reverb version of the same pattern. That idea of using wave traveller is... well... very sexy ^_^... I've been attracted to that plugin for a while but never actually had the time to give it a go.

I still need to add pads, some different beats and way more riffs. Oh, yeah, and add some synthetic bass in there to compase [EDIT: compensate] the lack of it (either that or EQ the bass of the 2nd guitar and tweek some things).

Thanks T-rebel. You rock \m/.

[Random 90s Music Loop (SFPL)]

Ace of Bass called...

...and they want their hidden track back! Also, it kinda reminds me of Night at the Roxbury. Altogether, not a bad job. I would change that detuned or chorus-FX'd piano though.

SFaPiL2 responds:

Really? I thought the piano was the thing that held it all together.

man... it sure is loud compared to the rest now that I'm hearing this track again.

[Sinister Plot (circus theme)]

I think I have a way...

At 1:03, take the major lift 1 chord earlier, and hold it for a full bar. Think of it as the transition to whatever your next section will be. If I were writing a next section, it'd have an accordion in it; just a thought. Good luck, man!

SFaPiL2 responds:

I'll try this out. T-rebel 2 d res-q!!

[Cloudfully]

You played Paschelbel's Cannon in D...

So now you play everything in D major. I used to do that too and it was loads of fun. BUT... 7 minutes of happy-go-lucky triads is a bit too much, man...

I liked the piano solo at 2:48, even though it wasn't complicated, it was a nice change of tempo and it broke up those triads a bit.

On the whole, your tempo changed a lot. (You wouldn't want to hear this with a metronome next to you). On the other hand, your diminuendo is bit too gradual and subtle. When you want to transition from an upbeat section to something a bit more somber ( > ) you should try making it more obvious.

It always seems more obvious to you when you're playing it, but an audience doesn't notice these things as easily. If you listen to classical pianists, they exaggerate diminuendo to the point where they become hard to hear.

pftq responds:

Good suggestions, thanks - I agree my piano playing is not that refined, will try to work on that. Overall, I was really just putting down thoughts to notes and wasn't expecting this to be a final product