T-rebel's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[SD] Fuzion]

Meh...

It's really well mastered, and it has an awesome intro (like the first 5 seconds), but it almost instantly fell apart for me when that clarinet-sounding synth came on. To me it was a total red herring for a trance-type track.

I didn't find that there was much complication to any of the melodies you used. I don't think there were too many changes in chord progression or key changes either... just the same kick punch and major/minor over and over again... the only thing that really changed was the synths you used to go over the same melodies again. Also, the offbeat bass was overused and NEVER changed up again after the intro.

7/10
4/5

SupraDarky responds:

Yeah if you don't like that synth right at the start, then I can see how you won't like the song. The song did change up halfway through though, including the bass.

[Groovekiller]

What was that spanish guitar you sampled?

Just wondering what the original was?

Also, I don't know what you think went wrong in rendering... I could only hear maybe 2 places in the whole song where a track might have been clipping. That's about as close to studio production value as I've seen on NG.

I think you could probably stand to shorten ths track by a bit, IMO it kind of makes the spanish guitar sample seem tired after 2 minutes, even if it is super fucking catchy.

Last, I thought the last 2 minutes of this track were totally epic. That break beat at 2:17 was completely mind blowing. You fully deserve tops for the week. Shit, if this track doesn't make the all-time list I'll be disappointed.

Awesome work mn,
10/10
5/5

Anti-Citizen responds:

This is the original.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUBiyR 5siQs
But i ripped it from this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eits utpOc
From 4:21

And the rendering thing was kinda set up as a sort of joke.. because.. you know.. shit's glitchin' and such.. ok so its not funny. but anyway. thanks for the review. :D

[Tether Your Consideration]

Definitely Dub Step

Also, definitely AWESOME.

You, sir, are a master of mastering. Perfect sound levels throughout. You did a great job balancing so many different synths without making any of them stand out too much. At the same time, it never got cacophonous, either.

The other thing about this that stood out was that you went out of your way to make sure this track would be original and constantly evolving. Even with all the variations, there were still clear themes that ran through the track. That gave a nice continuous flow.

Add to that: beats as flawless as I've seen on NG. I especially liked the compression on the snares (either that or they're one sick preset). Nice variations in the tempo and seamless transitions.

5/5 | 10/10 -- COUNT IT!

InvisibleObserver responds:

I think the louder repeating snare is 2 sounds mixed together to form a 'new' one. I'd have to open the file to know precisely, but I can tell you its not a tacked in preset. :P

Have a peak at Building and Significate Epitome, they are wandery-evolving as well in nature, though generally speaking slower paced. They might be up your ally. I guess let me know and I won't make the mistake of recommending them to you again. The cleverness being why would I anyways. Hur-hur.

Thanks for the comments on the beats. I've been really amping up my time spent on mixing and production, and this is probably one of my more recent peices where I spent some focus time on the percussion... b ut that being said this song is more textural and wandery in tings I spent alot of time on. I think the drums are nice and well enough done, but I don't think they are quite "take your pants off, drop your jaw" amazing.

Have a listen to SessileNomad 's music, he writes IDM (break-beat/jungle off shoot) which is home to very complex and fast percussion.

[-When I'm Gone-]

Nice beat, nice mastering

I thought this comment really summed it up for me:

"the beat is hot, the ryms hmmmmmm its ight"

But, I'd add that I thought it was really well produced and mastered all 'round.

aliasf responds:

im tryin to explain what goes through my mind when im walkin with my head down and thinking at the same time and how its like a journey but if you dont get it then dont sweat it

[TI:.Lonely Energy]

Could be better with some rearranging I think...

That was a nice lead that came in at 0:50, but I felt like it was the whole of what this track really had going for it... everything after the 1:30 mark felt really tired by comparison. I think I would have rearranged the track to build up to that massive lead somewhere later on. When it came back the exact same way again at 2:40 it was kind of a let down to see that this wasn't going to get more creative anymore. I think you should consider rearranging this thing, because the parts are great, but the intro was quick, whereas the bridge was like 2 minutes long.

TIMarbury responds:

Thanks for the critique i usually always do my songs in this format so its what i'm use to. i guess. In other releases i will think about not repeating the lead twice and maybe mixing it up more.

["Exit to the West" Loopab]

Pretty...

...pretty simple

Pretty straightforward arpeggios. I do stuff like this fooling around on my piano in D major: It's fun, it's easy and it sounds epic. Still, it was a good job to keep this track somewhat simple. I really liked the swell behind the horns at 1:02, but at 0:50 the whole track cut out for a second, you should have left at least the pad (from the first section) going for a moment because it made that first transition very abrupt.

XayberOptix responds:

Yes, you're right. I actually kept it very simple and memorable. :) It's the same melody 3 times but different in each loop. I purposely left "gaps" in between each part so that it would be easy for whoever uses it for their project to be able to loop any of the 3 parts without it "running into" the other. With some audio editing creativity, one should really easily be able to line up all 3 parts on top of one another in a multitrack editor and "switch" or "fade" to the other parts for an interesting blend. Thanks for reviewing!

[Get Down (Or Up)]

NOT Jazz.

As VGM or maybe techno this would have had a better score, but if you're asking me to listen to an 8bit synth and an extremely repetitive riff, and call it Jazz, there's no way I'm going to pretend I'm happy about it. I'll give you the exception of the break from 2:10 to 2:18, but after that the beat just went back to a standard 4/4 with no syncopation.

Biggest mark of jazz: "1 a-hand 2 a-hand 3 a-hand 4 a-hand" is how you count the time. You just had "1 and 2 and 3 and 4" standard march time. Sorry to be blunt about it, but it's just not Jazz.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Technical wankery.

Touching on various influence and really not trying to be any of them. This is filed in the Miscellaneous category, which should've offered a chance for you to calm down and focus on the music itself. I understand the attitude and essence of Jazz. It's simply a spice.

Review the music next time instead of complaining so heavily about a tag that doesn't matter.

[Sacrifice (Final ver.)]

Classification: 80's Acid Trip.

This was like NIN meets Rick Astley... The production is totally awesome, but it's just not my style of music. I would have given you a 9 for something less 80's style.

Magza responds:

That's an epic genre name, I really appreciate the feedback. The rest of my stuff is a little less 80's- esque I think, but then again I do love 80's music :)

[It Fades]

Good song, bad production

Your guitar isn't bad, but it's clipping like a mofo. You need to check the levels on your mic before you record stuff man. It's not hard.

Croire responds:

Thanks for the advice bro, i sorta like the bassy vibraty sound but I honestly should adjust it

[Doppleganger Momento - DJ Osmo]

You'll get the hang of it!

I know it's harsh getting a low score when you're just starting out, but you do need work on a lot of areas of this track.

I thought it needed a bit more variety in the beat; same kick and hat went all the way through the track; also, the setup was very standard. kick-snare-kick-snare is not a full beat.

You need to use the volumes for individual channels to tweak the levels for each synth you choose. As it was, when you brought more synths in, they were all in competion. I can hear that you tried playing with the automation during this track, but rather than just sliding knobs up and down with automation, make sure the sound levels are right throughout.

I could tell that the track was improving as it went along; I think you'll improve pretty quickly, just based on how this improved from beginning to end. Good luck in future!

5/10
3/5

Graham2430 responds:

Thank you! Pretty accurate score, btw. So, more variation on beat, and work with the mixer. The main problem I've been having is the competition between the different synths. Thanks again!